Remortgaging is the most straightforward money most homeowners leave on the table. Your existing lender will offer you a product transfer, and it may well be competitive — but it may not be, and you only find out by comparing. An adviser looks at your lender's offer alongside the rest of the market and tells you plainly which is better for your circumstances.
When to start looking
Around six months before your current deal ends. Most offers can be held for three to six months, so you can secure a rate early and still take a better one if the market moves. Leaving it until the month before means taking whatever is available.
Reasons people remortgage
- A fixed or tracker rate is ending
- Raising money for home improvements
- Consolidating more expensive borrowing — which needs care and advice
- Removing or adding someone to the mortgage
- Moving from interest-only to repayment
What a lower loan-to-value does for you
If your home has gone up in value or you've paid the balance down, you may have crossed into a lower LTV band since you last borrowed. That can move you into a materially better rate without you doing anything else. It's worth checking rather than assuming.