Cashback Remortgages · Your next home
Mortgage Advice When Moving Home
Moving home means coordinating a property purchase with your existing borrowing, deposit and sale. Keeping your present deal may be possible, but porting is not automatic approval for a mortgage on the next property.
Porting versus taking a new mortgage
Porting usually means applying to transfer an existing mortgage product to a new property, subject to the lender's rules. The new property and your current circumstances still need to be acceptable. Additional borrowing may have a separate rate and deal-end date.
Compare the combined cost of a ported deal and top-up borrowing against a new mortgage, including any early repayment charge on leaving the old product. Ask what happens if the sale and purchase do not complete together.
Work out the deposit you will actually have
Sale price is not the same as available equity. Deduct the mortgage redemption amount and allow for selling costs, legal work, moving expenses and applicable purchase tax. Keep a buffer rather than treating every pound of estimated equity as a deposit.
If a valuation or sale price is lower than expected, the new loan-to-value ratio and borrowing requirement may change. Revisit the budget before making a legal commitment.
Plan for chain and offer timing
Mortgage offer validity, conditions and extension rules differ between lenders. Let the adviser and conveyancer know about chain delays, new-build timing or a gap between transactions. Do not assume an offer extends automatically.
Tell the lender or adviser about material changes in employment, income or credit commitments before completion. Your conveyancer should confirm legal commitment points and tax treatment for the property's UK nation.
Your questions, answered
Can I keep my current fixed rate when I move?
That depends on whether the product is portable and whether the lender accepts the new application and property. Portability is a product feature, not a guaranteed lending decision.
Will extra borrowing use the same rate?
Not necessarily. A top-up can be a separate product with different terms. Compare the total cost and how the two deal periods interact.
Sources and further reading
General mortgage information, not a personal recommendation. Lender criteria and scheme rules can change. Ask an adviser about your circumstances and a solicitor or tax adviser about legal or tax questions. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Most buy-to-let mortgages are not regulated by the FCA.
Discuss the next step for your mortgage
Understand your options before you make a decision.