Home Mover Mortgages
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Home Mover Mortgage
What are my mortgage options when moving home?
You have quite a few. It all depends on when your current mortgage is going to expire and whether there will be early repayment charges. If so, you can potentially pick up the mortgage and move it to a new lender.
What is a Mortgage in Principle or an Agreement in Principle? How do I get one if I’m moving home?
A Mortgage in Principle, Agreement in Principle or Decision in Principle are all the same thing – a piece of paper to confirm that a lender is willing to give you a mortgage.
Based on your income and your credit, the lender confirms you can borrow a certain amount. It just involves having a conversation with us and providing some documents such as passports, payslips and P60s.
Once we’ve got that, the turnaround is within 24 hours or less. You can then show your Agreement in Principle to an estate agent, to confirm you’re qualified to purchase a house at that value.
How long does the mortgage application process take for a home mover?
It’s pretty quick. As soon as we’ve explained the process, applying for the mortgage can just take two or three hours.
What is the maximum amount I can borrow on a mortgage as a home mover? What is the minimum deposit required?
It really depends on your credit profile, your income and other factors. With the majority of lenders you can borrow up to 95%.
The more you borrow compared to the property value, the higher the Loan to Value will be – and the more costly it is. If you’re upsizing, your Loan to Value is likely to be a lot higher. But 95% is the top-end figure.
Lenders will assume you’ve got some level of equity to put into the next house, so there are no 100% deals for home movers, unfortunately.
What are the eligibility criteria for a mortgage as a home mover?
It’s just having enough money in the pot to move forward. You obviously need a deposit, but people tend to forget about some other aspects, including legal fees.
Most people know about stamp duty, too, but not everybody. If you’re going to keep your current property, there’s an additional stamp duty charge for the new one you’re buying. It’s important to think about those additional costs, so pick up the phone. We go through everything with a fine tooth comb to confirm whether you can do this.
The main eligibility criteria is around whether your credit is good enough for a particular lender. Your credit profile will influence which lender you fit with. Then it’s about affordability – your income and what level you can purchase a house at.
The property is important too. If you’re looking at a particularly quirky property, with a thatched roof, that’s single skinned or built in the 1600s, it’s definitely worth seeking advice to make sure someone will lend on that.
How can I borrow more money on a mortgage if I’m moving home?
It depends how you want to do it. A lot of people change lenders, which involves having a chat with us regarding affordability. Some lenders will give you more money than others – it just depends on the property you want to buy.
We’ll touch on porting in a moment, but that’s another option. It essentially means you’re staying with your current lender. It’s a straightforward process – we just run the calculations and make sure you can afford the property.
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What is porting a mortgage and how does this work?
If you port your mortgage, your current lender will pick that mortgage up and move it to the new property, and you keep the same rate. You won’t pay any early repayment charges for porting – which is probably the main reason why people do it.
The other reason is to keep a really good rate – perhaps you’ve been on a five-year fixed rate and you want to move it over. If you’re upsizing the property you can borrow more as a top-up mortgage.
Can I move house without changing my mortgage?
Yes – this is porting, as we just discussed. You pick up the mortgage and move it from one house to another, and all the fundamentals to the deal stay the same.
It’s still subject to the same rules you agreed when the mortgage was initially taken out. If you had a five-year fixed deal that was going to end in six months’ time, porting won’t renew that for another five years – there would still be six months left.
You can top-up for any additional borrowing. If you’ve got a £100,000 mortgage, you take it to another property and then you could top-up for another £50,000. Essentially, there would be two mortgage accounts.
If your current deal expires in six months and then the £50,000 is a two year fixed deal, they would expire at different times. It can seem daunting and complicated but we would just catch up with you and renew them as necessary. You’re still going to pay one monthly mortgage payment – which will obviously go up, the more you borrow.
The main reason to port is to avoid early repayment charges. But if there aren’t any penalties to end the mortgage, it’s often best to switch lenders. We’d obviously have a chat to see where we end up.
If I move home, will my new mortgage duration be shorter? Could I end up paying more with a home mover mortgage?
If you’re porting your mortgage, the term will stay the same. If you’re upsizing and doing a top up, the term can be whatever you want – shorter, longer or the same. It just depends on your monthly budget and where you want the payments to fit.
Obviously, the longer the term, the more interest you pay. With a shorter term you pay less interest. You can still do 10% overpayments, so it can make sense to take a longer term and have a bit of flexibility. You could always overpay.
What fees will I pay when taking out a home mover mortgage?
The main two costs are stamp duty and legal fees. Some people won’t be liable for stamp duty, but probably 67% will (Source: House of Commons Library Research Briefing 2023). In our initial conversation, we’ll let you know what you’re likely to pay based on the house price you’re looking at.
You will pay a solicitor to transact the deal – paying off your old lender and reinvesting the new mortgage. They also make sure the house is readily available, managing the chain and the details about what’s included in the sale.
You might also want a survey, where an independent surveyor looks at the property and confirms whether any work needs to be done around structural integrity. Protection is another cost to consider. Home insurance is obligatory with a lender, but it’s also worth looking into life insurance, income protection and critical illness cover.
Some brokers will charge a fee – but we don’t charge. We’re paid by the bank. There are no hidden costs and it doesn’t affect what you’re going to pay. Lenders pay intermediaries a ‘packaging’ fee as we vet each deal and make sure it will go through.
What if I have bad credit as a home mover? How will this affect the overall process?
Perhaps when you took that mortgage out as a First Time Buyer, you had perfect credit.
Later down the line, you now have some missed payments, CCJs or defaults. You may not then be eligible to port that mortgage as you’ve now got adverse credit.
That mortgage would potentially need to be paid off, including any early repayment charges. We would need to look at other options for the purchase. It can be done. The lender you’re with might still allow it, but it does depend on the details.
What else do we need to know about mortgages for home movers?
People often differentiate home moving from First Time Buying and remortgaging, but essentially they’re all pretty similar.
The main things to consider are affordability, credit and security. Just pick up the phone and have a chat. You might think you’re in a worse position than you are, but you won’t know until you see a good broker. Get in touch and let’s see what we can do.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.
THIRD PARTY FEE MAY APPLY DURING HOME BUYING PROCESS.
Some brokers will charge a fee – but we don’t charge. We’re paid by the bank. There are no hidden costs and it doesn’t affect what you’re going to pay. Lenders pay intermediaries a ‘packaging’ fee as we vet each deal and make sure it will go through
Podcast recorded 04/2025