How Much Can I Borrow With a Remortgage?

A remortgage is a clever way of taking advantage of any extra value held in your property. in most cases house values generally rise every year, so from the time you originally purchased your house up until now, it is likely to be worth more than the original mortgage you took out.

How does a Remortgage work?

A remortgage is essentially a way of paying off one mortgage and replacing it with another. Many people will remortgage for several different reasons but most commonly it is to save money. By remortgaging your home, you generally transfer your current mortgage to another lender who is offering a much lower interest rate, which means your monthly repayments will work out cheaper, and the total amount you repay will end up less too. Other people will remortgage to free up any equity within their home, By raising extra finance they can use it to pay off existing debts, finance home improvements, the purchase of a new car or anything else their heart desires.

Why Remortgage your house?

A mortgage doesn't remain fixed throughout its lifetime. Interest rates are variable, although you may have a fixed rate for 2 years or so initially, this will change at the end of promotion period. It is important to always check you have the best mortgage deal you possibly can, so it is advisable to compare different lenders and their mortgage offers. Remortgaging doesn't involve moving house but allows you to get a better mortgage deal. If you are looking to pay off your mortgage early, consolidate any other debts you may have, get cheaper monthly repayments by having a more favourable interest rate or raise money for other purposes, then a Remortgage could be the answer.

How much can I borrow with a Remortgage?

This depends on how much equity is held within your property. As with secured loans, it is possible to borrow on the difference between your house value minus the outstanding mortgage balance. If you have a good credit history (no arrears, defaults, CCJs, bad credit or excessive debts on credit cards) you can usually borrow up to 90% of the equity of your home. If you have a bad credit history on file, the Loan To Value (LTV) may be reduced to 75 or 80%. You can usually borrow anywhere between £5,000 and £100,000 depending on your circumstances and the lenders criteria.

How long does a Remortgage take to complete?

It takes approximately a month to process and finalise a remortgage although in certain cases it may be 6-8 weeks. Once you have applied for a remortgage, you will receive a mortgage offer in advance from the lender. If the lenders surveyor is happy with the valuation of your house, they will contact your existing lender to complete the paperwork, where you will receive a letter of completion.

What's the difference between a Remortgage and Refinancing?

Nothing. Refinancing is simply another word that can be used to describe the act of replacing a mortgage with one that already exists, using the same property as security against it.

I want to Remortgage. What should I watch out for?

One thing to be wary of when switching mortgage lenders is that there is invariably a transaction fee charged. These mortgage arrangement fees increase yearly, and they can be a way for lenders to keep interest rates low to attract new customers. It is always advisable to make sure the amount of money you are saving is more than the cost of this transaction charge, otherwise you could end up being out of pocket.

Another charge you may incur is an early repayment fee from your current mortgage lender. Make sure you are not tied-in with your current lender, this may make it even more expensive to remortgage if you have fixed penalties to pay.

If you remortgaging to borrow money, remember your house is used to secure the loan. By failing to repay mortgage repayments means you are vulnerable to having your home repossessed.

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