First time remortgaging...advice please!

[Startingagainandagain]

I bought my first house, a small terrace, two years ago and the 2 year fixed rate mortgage with HSBC is coming to an end in August this year.

I wonder if anyone who has gone through the process recently could advise:

• I used a broker too get the mortgage and they sent me an email recently to say they would be in touch to discuss remortgaging. Is it really worth going through a broker again if I just plan to stay with the same mortgage provider but go on another fixed product with them?

• If I stay with HSBC, I assume I won't have to go through all the process again (valuation, fees, application...) of applying for a new mortgage and it will be easier to just move to another of their products?

• is it a good idea to overpay a few thousands on the mortgage before I reportage?

and finally, I was hoping to change jobs early this year and I am hoping this won't affect the remortgaging process.

It is a small-ish mortgage of about £70K now.

Any advice would be most welcome! I am on my own so it can all feel rather overwhelming.

It might be worth your while checking in with a broker to check if your current lender still has the best product on the market available to you, it's obviously easier sticking with the same one but can save a lot of money if a different bank has a better rate.

You do usually have to pay a fee on remortgage even if staying with same provider, between £100 - £999 , unless just rolling onto their standard variable rate instead of swapping to a new fixed deal but that's usually a very bad idea. You don't usually have to pay to have the house revalued although we once did as their auto-valuation was showing the house as worth significantly less than we thought and it made a difference to the loan to value ratio.

For the same reason it may be worth overpaying a small amount if it tips you into a better rate e.g. 80% to 75%, otherwise no particular benefit beyond the normal ones of overpaying...

Thank you so much for the feedback!

Sounds like a chat with the broker might be worth it then to go through my options.

A product switch with current lender is the easiest option. No credit check, no worry about new job. You can literally do it online yourself in a few mins. No need for a broker.
But it all depends on what you are offered. Some lenders offer existing customers great deals to stay, others don't.
If they don't and you can see that you could get a lower rate that's when you need a broker

Paying off £?k before re-mortgage? Absolutely yes, as much as you can

You can put your circumstances into a mortgage calculator to see the monthly cost of what your lender is offering - then you could let your broker know the best deal your lender is offering and see if they can find anything worth moving for
Remember to factor in the product fee as well as the monthly payments when comparing.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-rate-calculator/

With your overpayment question you can normally repay up to 10% of the balance each year without penalty (but check with your lender). If you want to repay more than this then yes you could do it when your mortgage ends before taking a new offer. Again if you speak to your lender they may have a process for this.

Might as well at least see what the broker has to suggest (assuming they're free - if not, find one that is). We used a broker for the first remortgage, spoke to her again the second time but after that have been happy enough to do it ourselves.

Have a look online to see if you can get a better rate. First direct is usually better than hsbc but as they're owned by the same bank they're likely to accept you as you're sort of already a customer. And first direct don't work with brokers either.

It's worth overpaying if your mortgage interest is higher than a savings or investment interest would be. I didn't overpay when on a cheap fixed rate as it made more sense to save but now I'm on an expensive rate I over pay instead of saving.

Also first difect is good as you can over pay as much as you like . I don't work for them I promise!

Ps broker is much more important if you're self employed or have strange income. If you have a normal employed job you'll be fine.

Thank you so much everyone for all the advice! it is much appreciated.