Remortgaging Minefield

[1234change4321]

We have been offered a 7.2 follow on rate, I'm looking at remortgaging with a different bank for a better rate but there are costs to doing this.
I can only find 2 year fixes too.
It's the first time I've remortgaged and I'm the first person in my family and friends circle to buy so nobody has any advice.

Does anyone know what's normal and what is best to do? Fees are looking between 1000-1200 pounds to switch which would be about a quarter of our savings.

A quick one minute search on Halifax who we’re with, shows you could get a 3 year fix at 4.34% for a remortgage, assuming your house is worth 140 and you have a balance of 100, to be paid over 25 years. But I agree you should talk to a mortgage advisor or at least compare rates on a site like money supermarket.

yes I'm happy to be recommended anyone
especially as you got such a good rate on a five year fix!

after you get some quotes get the calculator out regarding fee for lower rate. often it is vastly cheaper over the term of the mortgage to pay the fee up front (often paid in instalments the first 3 or 6 months).
if you can pay the fee in instalments and the monthly rate is comfortable for you, you can keep it up as regular overpayment.

Apologies, I should have said ours was over the summer so the rates are likely out of date and unavailable now but were still significantly below what was offered elsewhere at the time. I suppose the key takeaway is to shop around with independent brokers as we never expected to be able to secure such a low rate. We are allowed to overpay 10% each year without penalty too.

p.s also I’m no longer obese ‘just’ overweight so should probably update that too!

Another vote for London and Country L&C - they are great free brokers who have helped us with every remortgage over many years. Will be calling them soon as we also need to remortgage this year. Good luck.

Getting advice is a good idea, because it's good to see what you can get.

You need to work out roughly what your house is worth - you can look in Zoopla but knock some money off because they tend to overvalue. Work out what percentage of the value of the house your mortgage is (so if it's worth £150k and you need £100k mortgage, you want to borrow 100/150, or about 66%. The lower loan to value (LTV), the better rates you will get. It tends to go in bands, so it might be that if you can add a few thousand pounds you'll get a better deal.

If you move to a newmortgage provider they will probably want to do valuations etc. if you stay with Santander it's almost no work at all.

With Santander at 75% LTV you can get a rate of 4.2-4.3%, so it's much better than 7%! But you may be able to get better elsewhere.

(I don't work for Santander; I do have my mortgage with them and find them very easy to use).

Agree it’s easier to stay with current lender as no valuation has to be done, no affordability checks etc.

My daughter just got offered 4.25% to remortgage with Virgin (plus £995 arrangement fee). So that’s the sort of rate you can expect @1234change4321 as long as you have a good amount of equity in your property.

You may be able to get slightly lower by shopping around but not much and you might get offered slightly higher rates if you don’t have as much equity.

We used Ryan Cullen who has now joined this company https://www.emilyjamesfs.co.uk/team

He used to work closely with a chap called Ammar who others we know have used too. Don’t think they work together anymore given the separate companies and no longer being standalone agents but maybe worth enquiring with him too.

https://mortgagesthroughammar.co.uk/

Yeah, I think if it's a very small difference (0.1% or 0.2%) it can be £5 a month - which could add up to £300 over a 5-year mortgage - and I have to weigh up whether it's worth the pain of changing to save a few hundred pounds. For me, I'm happy to exchange a bit of money for a bit of convenience.

I work for a bank, you need a broker they have access to offers that general customers don't have. My bank offer a fix and switch, you fix for 5 years but if rates drop you can move off it after a year with no charges but you can only get this through a broker. That's just an example of what they have access to.

I'm currently re-mortgaging with Loan.co.uk, the mortgage advisor I dealt with there is great and got me a good deal. As far as fees go you can choose to add them to what you're borrowing to spread the cost (although you will obviously pay interest on this!).

I second L &C. They are a broker so they will shop around for you and get you the best rate available. They will also explain the different options and answer and questions.

Definitely get a independent whole of market mortgage broker/advisor. Their service is usually free or a small fee. They are able to do it free as they will get commission from products they recommend.

Look at first direct

Yes I feel the same as you.

Then again some of the best deals don't accept applications via a broker. Like Yorkshire BS are offering one at the moment at 3.99% but you can't apply via a broker only direct.

Absolutely I would recommend a broker but also do your own research so you have all of your options

having a good look with DH

it's such a minefield but I think I'm going in with a little more knowledge behind me now
thanks all

I recommend these too

Shop around yourself.

I had a crap mortgage advisor who gave me a higher rate than I found myself!!

Remember they earn commission!

@1234change4321
-First thing to do, as advised previously, is to find the L&C mortgage website.
-Enter all your details. They will ask for DoB, salary, current deal etc.

• They will offer a range of deals for you to compare. As PP, similar to your home or car insurance renewal quote.
• You can filter by fixed or tracker, and the length of your deal.
• Some products may have an arrangement fee. You can pay this upfront (if you have funds available) or add it to your mortgage.
• Check the Early Repayment Charges, and if you might be able to afford to, if and how much you can overpay.
• Once you have chosen your product, L&C will make all the arrangements. If you are changing lender, they might wish to do their own valuation and legal checks and ask for proof of ID / salary etc. This is why your existing lender may offer a better deal to existing customers - they don't have to do this work again.
• You will agree a date to switch your product and then that's it! You first monthly charge might be slightly higher to cover any admin fees etc
• Congratulate yourself on your first re-mortgage and then forget about it for 2, 3 or 5 years!

Another recommendation for London and County. Free and really good

Hi I’m a broker - happy to help :-)