Remortgages.

The main reason most people remortgage is to save money. You’ll need to factor in the terms of your existing mortgage deal and compare it with a potential new mortgage in order to weigh up the pros and cons (or costs and savings).  Alternatively, some people might remortgage if they are changing certain elements of their mortgage, such as the amount they need to borrow or how long they need their overall mortgage to last.

Yes, usually. The mortgage lender would need to carry out the usual checks and affordability assessments, but you can apply to borrow more, for example if you are carrying out home improvements (note you may be asked to provide quotes of any work). Alternatively, you may decide to apply for a smaller sum of funds, for instance, if you have saved up a pot of cash to contribute towards paying off your mortgage balance or come into an inheritance.

You’ll need to work out your loan to value, also known as LTV, which is the ratio of how much you need to borrow against the value of your home. If your home has increased in value you may be able to access a lower LTV band, which usually makes for more competitive interest rates. Conversely if your home has dropped in value, or you’re needing to increase your mortgage balance, you may move to a higher LTV tier.

Our mortgage finder includes a quick loan to value calculator and will be able to show you our currently available remortgage products.

Generally your existing lender will contact you before the end of your mortgage deal and let you know the options available. This may include exclusive follow-on deals for you to choose from, and is usually termed a product switch rather than a remortgage.

Before you took out your mortgage product you will have been given a personalised European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS), which gives full details about your mortgage deal and outlines what happens at the end of the set product period. Usually, at the end of any tie-in you will move onto your lender’s Standard Variable Rate and be able to arrange a new mortgage deal with your existing lender or seek a new provider altogether.

Our existing borrowers will be contacted before their mortgage product reaches its end date and we’ll outline what happens next. For borrowers who choose one of our special follow on rates we’re usually able to move them onto this in line with the expiry of their current product.

When applying for a new mortgage deal you can generally change the total length of your mortgage, subject to meeting the affordability assessments and criteria of your lender.

As a rule the longer you take to repay your mortgage the more it will cost you during the life of your mortgage, even if your monthly repayments are initially lower, so it’s wise to do your calculations and make sure you fully understand the pros and cons.

You may be able to take out a mortgage on your existing property for a number of reasons, including to unlock funds in order to gift a deposit to a child or grandchild, to purchase a second property or to fund a lifestyle purchase such as a static caravan or motorhome. We find these are especially common for our later life borrowers who can utilise pension and investment income to make repayments.

Some mortgages come with ERCs attached, which could mean that redeeming the loan early or switching to a new deal may incur a charge. This is usually calculated as a percentage of the original loan amount or the amount being repaid. You should check your original European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS) which will give full details about any ERCs or penalties you may incur if you exit your mortgage deal before the set tie-in period. Once you know the financial consequences you can carefully consider whether it will be worth remortgaging, and may wish to seek the help of an independent financial adviser.