Remortgaging is switching your existing mortgage to a new deal on the same property. It can be with your current mortgage lender or with a different one, whichever suits your circumstances best. You are not moving house; you are moving the loan.
What a fee free remortgage broker adds is the comparison. We hold agency with lenders across the whole of the mortgage market, from the high street names you would expect to building societies and specialist lenders who only accept business through mortgage brokers and never advertise a rate publicly. We put your lender's renewal offer next to the best of that, work out the true cost of each over the deal period, and tell you which one wins.
If the answer is that your existing lender is already the best available, you will hear that from us and we will arrange the product transfer at no cost. Independent mortgage advice that only ever points away from your bank is not independent advice.
We advise clients across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by phone and video, so where you live does not change the service or the rates you can access. We have been arranging mortgages for over twenty years, and every recommendation is made by a named, CeMAP qualified adviser rather than by a comparison engine.
"We will not charge you a penny to remortgage. The lender pays us, so our mortgage advice costs you nothing."
Broker or bank
Your existing lender will always offer you something. Whether it is any good is a different question, and it is the one worth asking before you click accept.
A product transfer with your current mortgage lender is quick. There is usually no valuation, no legal work and no fresh affordability assessment, so it can complete in days. The catch is that you see one set of rates, from one bank, and nobody tells you how those rates compare with the rest of the mortgage market. If your finances have improved since you took the mortgage out, a product transfer will not reflect that.
It is also worth knowing that your bank's staff can only advise on their own mortgage products. They are not being unhelpful; they are simply tied, and the rules do not let them recommend a rival's deal even when it is plainly better for you.
We compare your lender's renewal offer against the whole of the mortgage market, including mortgage providers who never appear on comparison sites and only accept business through mortgage brokers. Where your bank's offer wins, we say so and set up the product transfer for you. Where it does not, we handle the switch from application form to completion.
Our mortgage advice costs you nothing for most customers, because the lender pays us when your mortgage completes. That payment is broadly the same whichever lender we place you with, so there is no incentive for our mortgage advisers to steer you anywhere except the right deal.
A good mortgage broker should be happy to tell you when your existing lender's offer is the best one on the table. If a broker never reaches that conclusion, ask why.
Costs
Switching is rarely completely free, but most of the costs are either avoidable or addable to the loan. Here is every fee you might meet, and which ones we can usually get waived.
Nothing for most customers. Our mortgage broker cost can be up to £995 where a case is genuinely complex, and we agree it with you in writing before any work starts. The great majority of remortgages we arrange are fee free, and the lender pays us instead.
Anywhere from nothing to around £2,000, depending on the mortgage product. A lower interest rate with a large arrangement fee is not always cheaper; on a smaller loan amount a fee free product at a slightly higher rate often wins. We compare the true cost across the whole deal period, not the headline rate.
Most remortgage rates include a free valuation, and many lenders now use an automated model that needs no visit at all. Where a physical inspection is required, expect £150 to £400 depending on property value.
A remortgage still needs a solicitor, but the work is far lighter than a purchase. Most lenders include free legal work as standard, or pay a cashback contribution towards a solicitor of your own choosing.
Leave your current deal before it ends and your existing lender will usually charge a percentage of the balance, commonly one to five per cent. We check the exact figure and the date it falls away before recommending anything, and often the answer is simply to time the switch for the day the charge ends.
A small closing fee, typically £75 to £300, payable to your outgoing lender when the mortgage is redeemed. It is written into your original mortgage offer and cannot be avoided, but it belongs in the sums.
Add all of that up and a typical remortgage still costs a fraction of a year on a standard variable rate. We put the numbers side by side so you can make an informed decision.
Start six months before your current deal ends. Most lenders let you reserve a new rate that far ahead and hold it, so you are covered if rates rise and can usually switch down if they fall. Leave it late and you risk a spell on the standard variable rate.
The process
Six stages, four to six weeks, and our mortgage advisers handle the admin on your behalf at every one of them.
We start with a phone or video mortgage appointment, usually about twenty minutes. You tell us your current lender, your balance, when the deal ends and what you want the new mortgage to do. If you have your lender's renewal offer to hand, even better, because that is the number we are trying to beat.
We search the whole of market panel against your circumstances, not just the cheapest headline rates. Lending criteria decide whether a rate is actually available to you, so eligibility is checked at this stage rather than after an application has already been submitted.
You get our recommendation in writing, in plain English, with the total cost over the deal period next to your existing lender's offer. If theirs wins, we say so. Nothing is submitted until you have read it and told us to proceed.
We tell you exactly which documents the chosen lender wants, normally payslips or accounts, bank statements and proof of address, then package and submit the mortgage application ourselves. You upload once; we deal with the lender's questions.
The lender values the property, often without visiting, and issues the formal mortgage offer. We chase this daily and keep a close eye on progress, so you hear about any delays from us rather than discovering them yourself.
The solicitor redeems the old mortgage and your new one starts, usually on the day your existing deal ends so there is no gap. We then diarise your next renewal date and get in touch six months before it, so you never drift onto a standard variable rate again.
Who we help
Some remortgages are straightforward and some are not. These are the ones where having a whole of market broker in your corner makes the biggest difference to the deal you end up with.
Lenders differ enormously on whether they use your latest year, an average of two years, or retained profit left in the company. That single choice can move what you can borrow by tens of thousands, which is why we check the criteria before we submit anything.
A missed payment, a default or a county court judgment does not stop you remortgaging. Specialist lenders outside the high street price on how old the issue is and how much of it there was. We search their criteria first so your credit score is not damaged by a rejection.
Borrowing a little more against a property that has grown in value can fund an extension, a new kitchen or a deposit elsewhere. Lenders treat each purpose differently, and some will not lend for certain reasons at all.
Rolling credit into your mortgage can cut your monthly repayments sharply, but it usually costs more in total interest and it secures unsecured debt against your home. We will tell you plainly whether the benefits outweigh that.
Buy to let remortgages are assessed on rental cover rather than personal income, and limited company borrowing follows a different rule book again. We advise on both, and on portfolios where a whole set of deals ends together.
Sometimes staying put genuinely is best, especially where your loan is small, the property value has slipped, or a health change makes a fresh application unwelcome. We arrange the product transfer for you and charge nothing for it.
Not on this list? It usually just means the answer depends on details worth a ten minute conversation.
A few of the mortgage providers we place remortgages with
Six guides written by our own mortgage advisers, covering the reasons people remortgage, what the process costs, and how using a broker compares with going direct to your bank.
From securing a better rate and raising funds for home improvements to consolidating debts or releasing equity, this guide explores all six reasons homeowners switch.
Lender arrangement fees, legal costs, valuation fees and early repayment charges, so you understand every cost involved before switching to a new deal.
Going direct to your existing lender limits you to one set of rates. A fee free remortgage broker searches the full market on your behalf, at no cost to you.
Coming to the end of your Help to Buy equity loan interest-free period? Find out how to repay your equity loan and remortgage at the same time.
Struggling with several debt repayments? Consolidating them into your mortgage can simplify your outgoings, but it needs careful thought. We will explain your options.
Built up equity in your home? Remortgaging to release it could fund home improvements, a deposit on another property, or other major costs. Here’s what you need to know.
Related
Whatever you are remortgaging for, there is a good chance we have written about it in more detail somewhere else on the site.
Not sure which applies to you? Call 03300 432 428 or get in touch and one of our mortgage advisers will point you at the right one.
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More questions
Six months before your current fixed or tracker rate ends. Most lenders let you reserve a new mortgage deal that far ahead and hold it, so you are protected if rates rise and can usually switch down if they fall. Leaving it late risks a spell on the standard variable rate.
An agreement in principle normally leaves only a soft footprint. The full mortgage application does leave a hard search, which is why it matters that the application goes to a lender whose lending criteria you actually meet. Several rejected applications in a row do more harm than the switch itself.
Yes, but the work is light compared with a purchase and most lenders either include it free or pay a contribution towards a solicitor of your choosing. Where you are only switching rate with your existing lender through a product transfer, no legal work is needed at all.
Usually. Additional borrowing is assessed on your income and outgoings as they are now, and the lender will ask what the money is for. Home improvements are accepted almost everywhere; some purposes, including certain business uses, are declined by particular mortgage providers.
We advise clients across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Because we work by phone, video and email, where you live does not change the service or the mortgage rates you can access. There is no need to visit an office.
A higher loan to value limits which products you qualify for, and in some cases a product transfer with your existing lender is the only sensible route because it needs no new valuation. We work out your LTV before recommending anything, so nobody wastes time on a deal that is not available.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The actual amount you will pay will depend on your circumstances; the fee is up to £995 but typically we are fee free. Alexander Southwell Mortgage Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA no. 1011890.
