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Should you remortgage?

Many can slash costs by switching mortgage

Kit Sproson
Kit Sproson
Updated 10 August 2023

Remortgaging is where you take out a new mortgage on a property you already own. The most obvious reason to remortgage is to save yourself some money – possibly because your current deal has finished and you've moved onto your lender's expensive standard variable rate. However there are also other reasons for considering a remortgage. This guide spells out when you should (and shouldn't) remortgage.

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What does remortgaging involve?

For most people, having a mortgage is their biggest financial commitment. And it follows that streamlining the largest debt can produce the largest saving – sometimes £1,000s each year. If you're the kind of person who shops around to get the cheapest television or mobile phone contract, then you're missing a trick by not using the same skills to save money on your mortgage.

But there are pros and cons to remortgaging. Here we start off talking about the reasons why you might want to remortgage, but if you want to read about the reasons why you shouldn't, you can jump straight to Why shouldn't I remortgage?

Watch Martin's 5-min remortgaging video

But, before you start, it's worth watching Martin's five-minute remortgage briefing, so you know about what you should be looking out for during your remortgage journey...

MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis talks how to get the best remortgage deal
Embedded YouTube Video

Originally filmed for the Daily Telegraph.

Why should I remortgage?

There are many reasons why you might consider remortgaging. These include:

Your current deal is about to end.

Many of the best mortgages only last a short time – often two to five years – the typical length of time offered on a fixed rate, tracker or discount mortgage.

When it comes to an end, your lender will put you on its bog standard variable rate (SVR). It's likely to be significantly higher than your old interest rate and the best buys available right now – currently SVRs tend to be around 7.5% to 8.5%. If so, you want to be ready to remortgage to a competitive rate. Start looking around three to six months before your rate ends, so as to avoid delays that result in you being stuck on your lender's SVR.

You want a better rate.

If you are tied into an initial deal then you might have to pay an early repayment charge (ERC), which can be huge, often 2-5% of your outstanding loan. Plus, there is usually a small exit fee (it might call it an 'admin fee' or a 'deeds release fee') when you repay any mortgage.

This shouldn't mean you automatically disregard the idea of remortgaging, as the savings made can still be huge (especially if you have a large amount of mortgage debt). Use our Compare two mortgages calculator to explore the effect of a better interest rate.

Yet right now, for many homeowners tied into the middle of a mortgage deal, the reality is it would be tough to find a new one that makes financial sense to switch to (particularly if you'd need to pay a hefty ERC to leave your current deal). That's because interest rates are currently far higher than what they were for a long time.

If you are considering remortgaging in order to get a better rate, you need to do your sums before taking the plunge. Our Ditch your fix calculator can help with this, such as showing what kind of interest rate you'd need on a new deal to make paying an early repayment charge worth it.

Your home's value has gone up...a lot.

If the value of the property has risen rapidly since you took out your mortgage, you may find you're now in a lower loan-to-value band, and therefore eligible for lower interest rates. Again, you need to do your sums but it's definitely worth a look.

You're worried about interest rates going up.

Whoa there! Before you panic, you need to check what is meant by rates going up. If it's the Bank of England base rate that is predicted to go up, this may affect your mortgage payments directly, depending on the type of mortgage you have. Currently the base rate is at 5.25%.

On the other hand, if it's the rates that new customers are being offered, then this doesn't automatically mean yours will be affected.

You want to overpay & your lender won't let you.

Perhaps you've had a pay rise or maybe you've inherited some money. You now want to pay extra but your current deal won't let you or it will only let you make a small overpayment.

A remortgage will allow you to reduce the loan size and potentially get a cheaper rate as a result. But watch out for any early repayment charges or exit fees you face, and compare this to how much you'd save with the new, lower mortgage.

You want to switch from interest-only to repayment mortgage.

You shouldn't actually need to remortgage to do this, your lender should be happy to make the change for you.

You can even change part of the loan to capital repayment and leave some on your interest-only deal, which is particularly useful for anyone with an underperforming endowment mortgage which is expected to result in a shortfall at the end of the term.

However, it's a totally different story if you want to change from capital repayment to interest only – expect your lender to be difficult if you try to do this (if they even consider it at all).

You want to borrow more.

Perhaps your current lender has said no to lending you extra money or the terms it's offering aren't very good. Remortgaging to a new lender might enable you to raise money on lower rates. But remember to take all the fees into account to see if it really is cheaper than other forms of borrowing.

The new lender will ask you what the extra money is for. Surprisingly, it is likely to be more comfortable with you borrowing the money for a new car than for business purposes. Not so surprisingly, it won't want to lend you money to start a new business….

The most commonly acceptable reasons to raise money are for home improvements and paying off other debts. Just be prepared for your lender to ask for evidence if you are borrowing a large amount, for example builder quotes, or proof that you have paid off the debts.

Martin says...

I always shiver slightly when people talk about adding non-housing debts to their mortgage, whether it's for a new kitchen, a holiday or to consolidate existing borrowing. There are times when this could be a necessary evil, perhaps to get you out of a hole.

My problem isn't that it is wrong per se, in fact often it's a good move, but the issue is many people see it as a no-brainer solution.

Let me make something plain. Borrowing £1,000 at 5% over 20 years is more than twice as expensive as 10% over 5 years. Put that way, it suddenly doesn't seem so much of a no-brainer now does it?

You want a more flexible mortgage.

Maybe you want to be able to miss a payment. Changing jobs, going back into education, going travelling – whatever the reason, there are mortgages which will let you take payment holidays.

Or maybe you've been tempted by different, whizzy mortgages which combine your savings accounts with your mortgage.

Whatever flexibility you want in a mortgage, chances are it's out there. But remember products don't offer these twiddly bits for free. Expect to pay for flexible features with a slightly higher interest rate. So don't be tempted to go for bells and whistles unless you will actually use them.

If it sounds like remortgaging could be the right move for you, you want to start the search 14 weeks before you want to remortgage.

Why shouldn't I remortgage?

Depending on your circumstances, remortgaging right now might not be the best option for you, and could come with disadvantages. Here are some of the reasons why this might be the case.

Your mortgage debt is really small.

Once your loan falls below a certain amount – say around £50,000 – it may not be worth switching lender simply because you are less likely to make a saving if the fees are high. In fact, some lenders won't even take on mortgages below £25,000.

Do have a look but you'll probably want to look at rates with a small fee, or no fee at all. The smaller your mortgage, the worse the effect of any fees you need to pay. Quite often, you'll be better remaining on the higher interest rate.

Your early repayment charge is large.

A large early repayment charge could mean that it'd be utter foolishness to move before the end of the incentive period. Do your sums to find out – use our 'Ditch your fix?' calculator. If it would cost too much to free yourself from your current deal, then it's all the more important that you do your homework, and be ready to move as soon as you can.

It's always worth asking your current lender to let you switch to another of its deals (known as a product transfer) by paying a reduced early repayment charge. You're unlikely to get to move to its top-of-the range deal but as long as it's significantly better than the one you're currently on, and doesn't lock you in for much longer, it might be worth it.

Again, use our Ditch your fix calculator to check whether paying a reduced early repayment charge would be worth it.

Your circumstances have changed.

It's possible that your financial position has altered since you took out your current mortgage – for instance, one of you has stopped working or you have become self-employed.

Strict mortage rules mean lenders MUST see evidence of your income. New lenders may not be prepared to offer you a loan because you no longer fit their criteria, meaning you may have to stay where you are.

If this is the case, one alternative would be to check the best deal your existing lender will give you. Moving with the same lender is called a product transfer. It may not necessarily be the wider market's top rate, yet it's an easy start point at the very least – as there's normally less paperwork involved than a remortgage (provided you're not changing the terms of your mortgage or borrowing more) and typically fewer fees.

Our Mortgage Best Buys comparison tool has a function which allows you to see the product transfer deals available to you.

Your home's value has dropped.

You may have had a 10% deposit when you bought your home and got a decent mortgage, borrowing the remaining 90% of your home’s value. But now, your house price has dropped and the amount you owe is a bigger proportion. Unfortunately, you're a victim of evaporating equity, even if you have been making repayments, and that can hurt you. In some cases, you may be in negative equity, where your debt is higher than the value of the property.

The only thing you can do is sit tight, make overpayments whenever you can afford it as long as you won't be charged fees as well, and wait for prices in your area to go up again.

You have very little equity.

If you need to borrow more than 90% of the value of your property then you'll often find it difficult to find a better rate.

Having said that, 95% mortgages are more competitive these days, so it's worth checking to see if it's worth switching. Don't forget to check if your current lender charges an early repayment charge to leave.

You've had credit problems since taking out your last mortgage.

These days lenders are picky about who they lend to. The regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, also requires them to carefully check the mortgage is affordable, not just at current rates, but at a higher rate too, to ensure you could cope if interest rates were to rise.

As a result, lenders will want a lot of detail about your outgoings, and are looking for spotless repayment histories or at least a good, clean record of handling debts well.

It might only take one recently missed payment to your credit card, loan, mortgage, utility company... even your mobile phone to scupper your chances. See our How to boost your credit score guide for more details.

You're already on a great rate.

You may be already on such a fantastic deal that you'd be mad to move right now. This probably applies to a lot of homeowners with older mortgage deals, considering that interest rates are far higher right now than what they were prior to mid-2022.

Yet don't get too comfortable. Once your deal comes to an end, chances are your current lender probably won't be offering the best rates on the market, so eventually you'll need to consider hopping onboard the remortgaging merry-go-round.

Now you know the pros and cons of remortgaging, read our Getting ready to remortgage and Cheap mortgage finding guides so you can prepare yourself and your finances to give you the chance to find the best deal possible. If you're ready to find a top remortgage rate, head straight to our Mortgage best buys tool.

We've also got some handy mortgage calculators...

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