Do you need to re-mortgage if you move house?

September 12, 2016 by Brendan O'Neill

Advice & Tips

It is a common misconception that you have to re-mortgage if you want to move to a new house, but you may be able to take your mortgage with you to a new property, or you may be able to secure a ‘home mover’ mortgage.

Your existing mortgage may be portable so you can take the deal to a new property. For instance, if you have a five-year fixed rate deal which you are two years into, but sell your property, you may be able to transfer the remaining three years of the deal to the new mortgage. However, you must check that the lender allows this.

Lenders don’t automatically allow a mortgage to be transferred to a new property purchase, even if the product is portable. The lender will still need to conduct credit and affordability checks, even if you have been a customer for many years. Lenders will also want to make sure that the new property will provide sufficient security for the mortgage.

If the new mortgage is more expensive than the amount you currently have with the lender, you will usually only be allowed to ‘port’ the existing agreed amount, while applying for a different mortgage for the remainder. You can always decide to pay off the mortgage with the proceeds of the sale, but consider any early repayment charges before doing so. If you were tied into a high fixed rate deal, this may be beneficial for you.

Consult with a CeMAP qualified mortgage adviser, who will calculate the cost of paying off a mortgage early.