Remortgage
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Miles Robinson
Job Title: Director & Advising Principal
Remortgage (Part 1)
Miles Robinson gives us a recap on remortgaging.
Podcast approved by The Openwork Partnership on 06/03/2026.
What is a remortgage? How does the process of remortgaging work in the UK?
A remortgage is quite simply switching your mortgage deal to a new lender, without moving home.
It could be that you have a mortgage with a particular lender and you’re wanting to seek a better interest rate. Perhaps your fixed-rate term is due for renewal, or you’re wanting to borrow more to fund home improvements or consolidate some debts.
Perhaps your income’s gone up, or you want to change the term or the structure of the mortgage. Ultimately, you take a new mortgage to pay off the old mortgage and then repay the new mortgage under the new terms.
It’s generally quicker and simpler than taking out the first mortgage to buy a house, because you already own the property. A lot of that prior legal work is done. Nevertheless, there is still a legal process to pay off one lender and take out the new mortgage.
How long does it take to remortgage?
The process starts with an application to the new lender. Typically, you’re still treated as a new customer because you’re borrowing money under new terms and the lender underwrites that as a new mortgage.
We follow the standard process – getting an Agreement in Principle followed by underwriting to check and verify the income. Generally that part of the application takes a couple of weeks.
The lender may do an index linked property valuation, which speeds things up a bit. Income verification and underwriting for that new mortgage takes a couple of weeks. If it is specialist or anything out of the ordinary, applications can take a little longer to be approved.
The next part of the process is the conveyancing, where a legal professional requests the mortgage balance from the current lender. Then they draw the funds from the new lender and carry out due diligence. That again takes two to four weeks, depending on the capacity of that solicitor and their time constraints.
Four to eight weeks is a typical time to remortgage. So if your fixed-rate deal is up for renewal and you’re switching to a new lender or borrowing more, anything within six to eight weeks is a bit tight.
Ideally, we want to start that process at least eight to 12 weeks out – giving us plenty of time to get the new offer in place and the conveyancing done.
How often can I remortgage my property?
Generally, you wouldn’t switch mid-deal. If you’re locked into a fixed-rate, typically there are exit penalties to get out of that current mortgage.
You might instead want to align your remortgage to the end of your fixed-rate or tracker rate scheme, whenever that’s due to expire. That’s the same whether you’re borrowing extra money or if it’s just a like for like switch.
In some cases it can be beneficial to pay the penalty and take a mortgage with a new lender. You might be looking at increased borrowing – but we would explore and discuss that before making any recommendations. We would factor any exit penalties in.
In terms of timeframe, we generally align with your fixed-rate term or your tracker rate term. These could be two, three or five years. Ten year lock-in periods are less common.
What are the main reasons people choose to remortgage? Can I remortgage to consolidate my debts?
Most commonly people remortgage to avoid the lender’s standard variable rate, to move to a lower rate or raise funds for home improvements.
You might want to raise money to buy a car, pay for a wedding or just raise personal funds, which is fine. Most lenders allow this for any purpose, although business investment becomes a little bit more challenging.
Consolidating debts is something we can help with. It is quite a deep advice process. People can underestimate the consideration needed when consolidating debt, as you’re spreading those payments over a longer term. Instead of having a personal loan over five years, you’re spreading it over 25 years or more – and paying a lot more in interest.
We weigh that up and look at the extra cost against what it means if you don’t consolidate debt – and the overall monthly payment saving. A lot of advice is required to understand whether consolidating debts against your mortgage is the right thing.
What factors should I consider when deciding whether to remortgage?
The main thing is, when is your fixed-rate up? Are you tied in and are there early repayment charges to exit? Should we be lining the new mortgage when that expires?
We also look at the Loan to Value of your property. What is it worth now? Is it worth more because you have done renovations and improvements?
You may be in a position where you can remortgage to an interest rate on a lower Loan to Value. If the value of the property has increased, your actual mortgage versus your value may now be less, and you may be eligible for a better interest rate because of that.
People often think it’s very simple to remortgage as they are already paying back the loan. But the new lender still needs to do affordability checks and ensure you can pay the new mortgage, even if it’s the same amount.
There’s also often a lack of awareness of the fees for a purchase or a remortgage. Lenders’ products are structured to either offer slightly higher rates with no arrangement fees, or slightly lower rates where they do charge fees.
The size of the mortgage will influence whether or not it is beneficial to pay a fee. It’s ultimately down to the overall cost over the scheme period, whether that’s two, three or five years. Are you saving enough on the monthly payment and interest to make that fee worthwhile?
We also look at flexibility. Is the product right for you? Are you thinking about moving at some point? Are you looking at making overpayments in the near-term or the short-term?
Those factors are important – if you’re locking yourself into a new scheme, but you’re expecting to make a large overpayment or you need to move nearer your children’s school in a year’s time. A two-year fix might disrupt that. We may need a product that provides flexibility, portability or no tie-ins at all.
Speak To an Expert
We manage a range of customer circumstances from first-time buyers, home movers, new build purchases, remortgages and debt consolidation. Whatever your financial requirements are, we can assist you.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of fixed-rate versus variable-rate remortgages?
There are two mortgage camps: fixed and variable rates. Fixed rates are predictable, so you can budget, and you’re protected from rate rises within the scheme period.
The downside is there’s no benefit if rates fall, because you’re locked in. If rates come down, there’s no difference to you – and generally speaking you also have exit penalties.
With a variable rate – which tends to be tracker rate products – it depends what the market’s doing. At the moment in October 2025, they’re actually priced higher than a fixed-rate. But if the base rate falls, so does your rate and so do your payments – that’s great.
If interest rates rise, your payments and rate rise too. So there’s less certainty, but generally tracker or variable-rate products have more flexibility. Exit penalties are often less than with a fixed rate, or there are no time periods at all.
When we talk about flexibility, we look at your future plans. What might happen in the next two, three or five years? We can tailor a product to those plans and objectives.
Clients often chase lower rates as opposed to the right product for their circumstances. If you have to pay an exit penalty, that’s going to be far more costly than what you’re saving in the actual scheme period. So it’s not just picking a rate, it’s getting a product that’s suitable for your needs and objectives.
What happens to my existing mortgage when I remortgage? What happens if I don’t remortgage after my deal expires?
A mortgage is simply a loan secured against your property. When you take a new mortgage, you are borrowing a lump sum of money to pay off the old lender. Your old mortgage gets paid off with the money from the new lender, and any fees or interest are settled.
If you don’t remortgage and your fixed rate or tracker rate expires, you’ll roll onto the lender’s standard variable rate. Typically, that’s higher than your fixed rate. There’s often an ‘interest rate shock’ because your payments jump up a lot, so it’s best to plan in advance and avoid that.
Can I remortgage if I have bad credit? How does that affect the process?
Yes, you can. There are lenders that cater for arrears, defaults, County Court Judgments (CCJs), missed payments and any other issues.
Those lenders typically charge higher rates and you often need a lower Loan to Value to access their products. It’s quite tailored to the customer. We would uncover that as part of our fact-find into your objectives.
In some cases, we can just arrange a switch with your current lender. If you are looking to borrow more money, those things will be factored in. It’s not necessarily a blocker, so just seek advice around the best option for you in that circumstance.
Will I have to pay any fees or penalties when remortgaging?
I’ve talked about product and arrangement fees and how we weigh up interest rate versus fees with a new lender. We’ve also talked about early repayment charges if you’re leaving mid-deal.
The other costs are valuation and legal fees. The new lender will want to value your property and you’ll need a solicitor in place to manage the remortgage. Some lenders offer a free basic mortgage valuation. In some cases, they also instruct their own legal representative to manage the legal process of paying off the old lender.
Otherwise, they may offer cash back to use your own solicitor. It’s very product- and lender-dependent. We would normally discuss those requirements as part of fact-finding, to see what your overall overriding priorities are. Is it lower upfront costs or lower cost overall?
Some lenders also have a small admin fee to clear off the mortgage. It’s anywhere from £60 to £250, to cover the cost of releasing the charge from the Land Registry. We factor that into the overall cost of remortgaging.
You’ve demonstrated throughout this episode how a mortgage broker can help. Is there anything else we need to know?
There can be a fair few complexities, and it’s not as simple as just picking a product. Advice can really guide and lead you through the true costs of remortgaging, the paperwork, the application and the communication with the new lender. We just weigh up whether it’s worth switching or not.
We search a comprehensive range of products from across the market, with multiple lenders. That gives you a real market overview of the most suitable thing to do – whether that’s to stay put with your current lender or move.
Key Takeaways:
- Remortgaging involves switching your mortgage deal to a new lender without moving home, often to secure a better interest rate, fund home improvements, or consolidate debts.
- The typical remortgage process takes four to eight weeks, but it’s recommended to start eight to twelve weeks in advance of your current deal expiring.
- Key factors to consider when remortgaging include your current fixed-rate term, potential early repayment charges, your property’s Loan to Value, and any associated fees.
- Fixed-rate mortgages offer predictability and protection from rate rises, while variable rates offer flexibility and potential savings if rates fall.
- A mortgage broker can help navigate the complexities of remortgaging, including understanding true costs, paperwork, and finding suitable products from a range of lenders.
THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.
Approved by The Openwork Partnership on 06/03/2026.
