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Yes. Many homeowners choose to release equity, or ‘capital raise’, from their property when they come to remortgage. This could be to undertake home improvements to the property, to use as a deposit for a second home or BTL property, or even to help children with their deposits on their first home purchase. It’s worth discussing your plans with one of our expert brokers to learn what your options are and what your lender will be happy with before making any property finance decisions. 

You typically remortgage when your current initial rate period comes to an end to secure a new mortgage product and avoid reverting onto your lender’s SVR. Other reasons you may look to remortgage your home may be due to a change in your financial circumstances or to raise additional funds.

Generally speaking, it takes between two to six weeks to get a mortgage offer, but this will depend on your lender and the complexity of your application. Once you’ve received your mortgage offer, the next stage of the process usually takes a further 4 to 6 weeks on average.

An ERC is a charge from your lender for repaying either all or an excess amount over an agreed limit off your mortgage before a set date. For example, if you choose to remortgage before your initial rate period ends, you may be liable to pay your lender an ERC. These charges vary depending on the mortgage product and the lender, but on a five-year fixed, rates are usually between 1-5%. Lenders will typically price these on a sliding scale, with the ERCs reducing the further you are into your initial rate period. You can find your lender’s ERCs on your mortgage offer, or alternatively, get in touch with our brokers. 

It’s important to differentiate between the overall term of the mortgage and the initial fixed-rate product term. The overall term of the mortgage may be anywhere from 25 – 40 years when you first take out the loan. The initial product term will typically be a 2, 5 or, in some cases, 10-year product that you will then remortgage from onto a new deal.

If you’re hoping to own the property outright, or have the disposable income and affordability, then you may be looking to keep the full term of the mortgage down. However, if your finances are tight or you want as much disposable income as possible, you may want to consider a longer term. This keeps your repayments as low as possible, however, remember that doing so will increase the total amount of interest you repay, and consequently increase the total cost of borrowing 

Speak to one of our expert brokers to discuss your options.

Having a poor credit score doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get a mortgage. However, more severe credit issues, the types of defaults you’ve had, and how recently you’ve had them may all impact your application. 

Each lender will have their own approach and appetite when it comes to bad credit, with some lenders having specific mortgage product ranges directed to homeowners with poor credit. 

It’s worth noting that a bad credit score could mean that the mortgage interest rates available to you are more expensive. If you have concerns over how your credit score could impact your mortgage application, speak to one of our expert mortgage brokers.