You can usually remortgage six months after buying your home, and if you are coming to the end of a deal you should start looking about six months before it expires. Those are the two timing rules that matter. The rest of this guide covers what it costs, how long it takes, and how to work out whether remortgaging is worth doing at all — because sometimes it is not.
Most UK lenders apply a six-month minimum after purchase before they will consider a remortgage. The waiting period lets them confirm the property value has held, see that you are managing the payments, and complete their own risk checks.
Some circumstances can allow it earlier — a significant change in market rates, a material improvement in your finances, a relationship change that means the mortgage has to be restructured. Be careful here: leaving your current deal early usually triggers an early repayment charge, and that charge can easily be larger than the saving. Work out the numbers before you move, not after.
Start six months before your current deal ends. This is the single most useful thing in this guide, and most people leave it far too late.
Sometimes the trigger is not the calendar:
Usually, at the right moment — but not always. These are the five situations where it genuinely makes sense.
1. Your fixed or introductory rate is ending. This is the most common and the most clear-cut. Doing nothing means being moved onto the standard variable rate, and that is almost always the most expensive option available to you.
2. You want a better interest rate. If rates have moved, or your circumstances have improved since you last applied, you may be eligible for something considerably cheaper. Small differences compound over a mortgage term.
3. You want to release equity. If your home has risen in value you may be able to borrow more against it — for home improvements, or another significant cost.
4. You are consolidating debt. Rolling other debts into your mortgage can cut the interest rate you pay on them and simplify your finances. But think carefully before securing other debts against your home. You are converting unsecured debt into debt secured on the property, usually over a much longer term — which can mean paying more in total even at a lower rate, and your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments. Our guide to mortgage debt consolidation goes through this properly.
5. You want to change the type or term. Moving from variable to fixed, or shortening the term to be mortgage-free sooner, or lengthening it to reduce monthly payments.
An honest guide has to include this part. Think twice if:
If you are close to the end of your mortgage, or the balance is low, the arithmetic often says stay put. We will tell you when that is the case.
This is the option most remortgage guides leave out. A product transfer means staying with your current lender and simply moving to a new rate with them. A remortgage means moving to a different lender.
A product transfer is usually quicker, needs no solicitor, often needs no new valuation, and typically involves no affordability reassessment. It will not always beat the open market — but sometimes it will, particularly if your circumstances have become harder to place.
We do not charge a fee for a product transfer. If staying put is the right answer we will do it for you free of charge, rather than steering you into a full remortgage that earns us a fee. Our fees are set out in full here.
Plenty of remortgage deals come with no arrangement fee and free legal work. The question is never the headline rate on its own — it is the rate and the fees together, across the length of the deal.
To put some numbers on it. Take a £200,000 mortgage with 20 years remaining:
That is £112 a month, or £1,344 a year. A one percentage point difference is not unusual between a standard variable rate and a new fixed deal.
These figures are an illustration to show the shape of the saving, not current market rates or a quotation. What you would actually pay depends on your balance, your remaining term, your loan-to-value and the rates available when you apply. Use our borrowing calculator for an indication, and speak to an adviser for a real figure.
Typically four to eight weeks. A product transfer with your existing lender can be far quicker — sometimes days.
What slows it down: missing paperwork, a slow lender, an unusual property, anything complicated about your income, and the legal work if you are switching lender. What speeds it up: having your documents ready before you start, replying to requests the same day, and choosing a lender whose criteria you already fit rather than one you are hoping will stretch.
Six months before
Three months before
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How often can I remortgage?
As often as you like, but each time you may face fees or early repayment charges, so it rarely makes sense more than once per deal period.
Can I remortgage with bad credit?
Often yes, though your options are narrower. Specialist lenders may still help, particularly where you have decent equity.
How long does remortgaging take?
Usually four to eight weeks. A product transfer with your existing lender can be much faster.
Can I remortgage to release equity?
Yes, if your property has enough value in it and the borrowing is affordable. The lender will want to know what the money is for.
How soon after buying can I remortgage?
Most lenders require six months from completion. Earlier is sometimes possible but usually triggers an early repayment charge.
Is a product transfer the same as a remortgage?
No. A product transfer keeps you with your current lender on a new rate. A remortgage moves you to a different lender. We do not charge for arranging a product transfer.
We are an independent, whole-of-market mortgage broker based at Beehive Works in Sheffield, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 650114). Between us we have over 30 years of experience, and we have helped homeowners across the UK through exactly this decision.
We will compare your existing lender's offer against the wider market, tell you honestly if staying put is the better answer, and handle the application if it is not. Your initial consultations and discussions with your adviser are free, and our fees are set out in full before you commit to anything. You can read more about our Sheffield mortgage advice, or about moving home if that is what prompted this.
Call 0114 303 1031, email info@friendscapital.co.uk, or get in touch through the website.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home.
