There are many reasons why you may want to remortgage your home. You may want to reduce your monthly repayments or pay off other debts. You may want to change the terms of your mortgage, perhaps extend the term or the repayment method making it more flexible. You may want to release equity built up in their home, to help members of your family or make a purchase such as a caravan.

The remortgage process may seem complicated and time consuming but don’t worry, we can do most of the work for you and we are here to advise you at every stage. Just give us a call and we can explain the entire process from start to finish.

If you don’t want to call just yet, then read on to find out what is involved in remortgaging , and how to make sure you can find the deal that is right for you and your circumstances.

Remortgage process

Remortgaging your home is much less involved than buying a new property and it should be simple and straight forward. However, you still need to give the matter a good deal of thought before going ahead.

The main thing to decide is what you’re hoping to achieve by remortgaging? You may be looking to save money each month by getting a lower interest rate than you’re currently paying, you may be looking to raise capital, or you may be looking to reduce the overall term of your mortgage.

Very often the reason is that your current mortgage deal is about to end, remortgaging can help secure the best new deal and potentially save you money.

Working out how much you can afford to pay

Before you do anything, you should work out how much you can afford to pay.

You’ll need to find your recent mortgage and bank statements to see what your current interest rate is and how much you are paying each month.

Although most people remortgage to reduce their monthly repayments, there are other reasons that you may want to make changes to your mortgage – perhaps switching from a variable rate to a fixed rate.

In these instances your monthly outgoings could increase when you choose a new mortgage so it’s important to know what you can afford.

This is also a good time to consider what you could afford if your monthly repayments increased.

You should also factor in how much you will need to spend on additional fees.

Investigating what costs are involved in remortgaging

There are usually some costs involved when switching your mortgage to a new lender. These may include an arrangement fee paid to your new lender for setting up the mortgage. There may also be a valuation and legal fees.

Check with your current lender whether you have any early repayment charges, and if so how much they are and when they end.

If you decide to use a mortgage broker they may also charge you a fee for their advice, we are a fee-free broker and do not charge for our advice.

Certain fees can be added to your mortgage but remember if you add them you’ll be paying interest on them for the duration of the mortgage. If you prefer to pay them upfront you will need to make sure you budget for them.

Fortunately, many remortgage deals will have low or sometimes even no set up costs – as part of our advice we always check that the new deal is worthwhile based on both the interest rate and any fees involved.

Check what your current lender is offering

As part of the remortgage process we will always check with your current mortgage provider what they can offer you – they may have some good deals available for existing customers.

We will then compare what they offer with what you can get by switching to a new lender.

Looking around for a new mortgage

When it comes to finding a new mortgage it can become quite daunting, there are hundreds to choose form and comparing the various feature and benefits can be difficult.

If you approach your current lender for advice on the best mortgage deals they will only suggest their own products and rates.

As an independent mortgage broker we will compare mortgages from across the market – to find the best possible deal for you.

Submitting your application

Once we’ve found you the best deal and you’ve decided that a new mortgage is right for you, it’s then time to submit your application.

We’ll send you a Key Facts Illustration (KFI) for the remortgage we’ve recommended this document tells you all about the new mortgage, what it will cost, the fees that my be involved and so on.

We’ll submit your application on your behalf – we can take the information from you during a face to face meeting, or if you prefer over the phone, or via email, saving you the hassle of lengthy application forms.

See our – Remortgage Information Checklist – for the typical information we may need.

Getting your mortgage offer

Once your application has been submitted we will deal with the whole process until the remortgage completes. Your new lender will assess your application considering your personal circumstances as well as arranging a valuation to make sure your property is suitable for mortgage purposes. They will then issue a mortgage offer.

There’s also the legal work to be done – for remortgage most lenders will often appoint their own solicitors or conveyancers but if you need to appoint one, we can recommend one for you.

Once your mortgage offer has been issued, we will double check the information the lender has sent you and make sure everything is correct before you complete. If you’re unsure of anything, we’re on hand to discuss it with you.

Once the offer has been issued the solicitors take over and complete the transfer of the mortgages.

Hopefully this guide has helped you understand how the remortgage process works. It may seem complicated but don’t worry, we will do all this for you. If you’d like some further advice or if you have already decided that it’s time for you to see if a remortgage would be worthwhile, please get in touch.

Remember, if you do decide to remortgage your home through us, we will not charge you a broker fee.