A remortgage, or refinance, is when you take out a loan on a property on which you already have a mortgage. Quite simply, remortgaging replaces your existing mortgage with another, which can be done because your existing product is coming to the end of its’ term, because you want a cheaper rate, to change the terms of your loan or to borrow more money for things like home improvements.

1. Your current mortgage product is coming to an end
   If your existing mortgage is coming to an end shortly, we strongly suggest you get in touch with our remortgage advisors at least 5 or even 6 months before your existing mortgage product ends. This gives us enough time to review your circumstances, check what your existing lender is going to offer you to stay with them and compare this with what else is available elsewhere on the market. It’s important not to just automatically switch to a new mortgage product with your existing provider as unfortunately, some lenders work hard to entice you in first of all and then do not offer the very best rates to keep you at the end – crazy we know! This means you could be switching to a rate that is not only more expensive than you could have got elsewhere but also no longer suitable for you as your personal circumstances may well have changed.
2. You want to borrow more
   When it comes to refinancing and remortgaging, many clients like you decide that this is the perfect time to try to raise some more funds to finally get that new kitchen or do up the bathroom you promised you would do soon after you moved in. If the value of your home has increased since you bought it and the loan decreased you may find you have enough equity in the property to borrow a little bit more than you now owe for this purpose. We can help work out if this is possible, affordable and indeed sensible to do at this stage.
3. You want to change your mortgage terms
   Many people overlook one of the most important things when it comes to remortgaging; are the terms of your current mortgage still relevant to you? Staying with your existing lender often means just switching to a new rate without revisiting your affordability and circumstances. For example, it may be that you can now afford to
   shorten the term of your mortgage because your income has increased and the rates available are cheaper than when you first took out the loan. Doing this could have huge benefits, as it will get you closer to owning your home outright and may also result in saving hundreds or even thousands of pounds of interest.

If you are lucky enough to have savings this could also be achieved by taking out an offset mortgage that your existing lender may not even offer.

We strongly recommend you take some professional advice before you do anything and we are of course delighted to impart some pearls of wisdom to help you decide whether to remortgage.