Remortgage Advice

What is a remortgage?

A remortgage is a new mortgage on a property you already own, taken with a different lender to replace your existing loan. People remortgage to move off an expensive rate, to fix their monthly payments for a set period, or to borrow more against their home.

Common reasons homeowners remortgage:

• Your current fixed, tracker or discount deal is coming to an end
• You have drifted onto your lender's standard variable rate
• You want certainty over your monthly payments
• You want to borrow more for home improvements or other plans
• Your home has risen in value, putting you in a lower loan-to-value band
• You want to consolidate other borrowing into your mortgage

If your reason for remortgaging is to raise money rather than just to change rate, see our remortgage to release equity and debt consolidation remortgage pages, which cover those situations in detail.

When should you remortgage?

The ideal time to start a remortgage is around three to six months before your current deal ends. Most lenders let you secure a new deal months in advance and complete it the day after your existing rate finishes, so you never spend time on the standard variable rate.

1. Six months before your deal ends: Have your remortgage reviewed and a new deal recommended from across the market
2. Three to four months before: Submit the application so the mortgage offer is issued in good time
3. The day your deal ends: The new mortgage completes and you switch straight onto the new rate

Remortgaging before your current deal ends is possible too, but your existing lender may charge an early repayment charge. We always check whether the saving on the new deal outweighs any charge before recommending you move early.

How the remortgage process works

1. Review: We look at your current mortgage, your plans and your circumstances, then compare deals from across all UK lenders
2. Recommendation: You receive a clear recommendation with the monthly payment, the overall cost and the reasons behind it
3. Application: We submit the full application and deal with the lender on your behalf
4. Valuation and legal work: The new lender values your home and solicitors handle the transfer - both free on every remortgage we arrange
5. Completion: The new lender repays your old mortgage and your new deal starts

A straightforward remortgage typically takes four to eight weeks from application to completion, which is why starting a few months before your deal ends works well.

Remortgage costs and fees

Two of the usual remortgage costs are covered for you when you remortgage through LifePro:

• Valuation - free on all remortgages we arrange
• Legal fees - free on all remortgages we arrange

Costs that can still apply, depending on your situation and the deal recommended:

• Lender arrangement or product fee - some deals charge one, some do not; we compare deals with and without fees on overall cost
• Early repayment charge - only if you leave your current deal before it ends
• Our broker fee - typically £1,250, or up to £1,495 for specialist lending such as limited company buy to lets, debt consolidation and adverse credit history

Your exact fee is always confirmed with you in writing before you commit to anything. Full details of how we charge are set out in our regulatory statement.

Remortgage or product transfer?

A product transfer means taking a new deal with your existing lender rather than moving to a new one. It can be quicker, but you are limited to one lender's range - and staying put is not always the better deal.

Remortgage vs Product Transfer

	Remortgage	Product transfer
Choice of deals	Across all UK lenders	Your current lender only
Borrow more	Usually possible	Sometimes restricted
New affordability check	Yes	Often not required
Valuation and legal work	Required - free through LifePro	Usually not required

We compare both routes and recommend whichever leaves you better off overall.

Because we are independent and cover the whole market, our advice weighs your current lender's retention deals against everything else available - the recommendation is based on what costs you least overall, not on where the mortgage sits.

Why remortgage through LifePro?

• Whole-of-market, independent mortgage brokers covering all of the UK
• Access to all UK lenders, from high street names to specialist lenders
• Free valuation and free legal fees on every remortgage we arrange
• CeMAP qualified advisers with 20+ years' experience
• One point of contact from first review to completion

We also arrange buy to let remortgages for landlords and retirement interest only remortgages for older borrowers, so if your situation is less straightforward there is a route for it.