What are your mortgage options when moving home?
Moving home does not mean your existing mortgage simply comes with you. Several routes are open to you: porting, remortgaging with a new lender, additional borrowing, or a product transfer. Which one fits best comes down to the deal you are on, the equity you hold, and how much you need to borrow.
Port your mortgage
- Carry your existing deal, and its rate, over to the new property
- Sidestep early repayment charges on your current deal
- You may need a top-up loan to cover the extra amount
- Not every mortgage is portable, so check your terms
Remortgage with a new lender
- Opens up the whole market to find a sharper rate
- Means a fresh affordability assessment
- You may face ERCs if you are still inside your fixed period
- Involves legal work and a valuation
Additional borrowing
- Take on more on top of your existing mortgage
- Comes from your current lender as a further advance, or from a new one
- Handy when you are moving to a pricier property
- The extra amount may sit at a different rate
Product transfer
- Move to a new deal while staying with your current lender
- A simpler route with less paperwork
- Usually no valuation or legal fees to pay
- You are limited to the deals your lender offers
How much can you borrow for your next home?
How much you can borrow when moving home rests on two things: the equity built up in your current property, and how much a new lender will offer against your income.
The equity from your current property becomes the deposit on the next one. Say your home is worth £300,000 and you owe £180,000. That leaves you £120,000 of equity, which is a 40% deposit on a like-for-like purchase and usually gets you the best rates (see how LTV affects pricing). Once you take off selling costs, typically £3,000–£5,000 for estate agents and solicitors, you would have around £115,000–£117,000 to put down on your next purchase.
Add a new mortgage offer based on your income, which is typically 4–4.5x salary, and you have the total budget for your next home. Try the borrowing calculator for an indicative figure.
How much stamp duty will you pay when moving home?
Stamp duty, or SDLT, is one of the larger costs when you move home. What you pay is worked out from the purchase price of the property you are buying.
Current SDLT rates (England & Northern Ireland)
Stamp duty rates and thresholds change from time to time. For a figure based on your own purchase price, use our stamp duty calculator. Scotland has its own version (LBTT) and Wales has another (LTT), each with different rates and bands.
Selling and buying at the same time
Most home movers end up in a chain, meaning you need to sell your current property to fund the purchase of the next one. That ties your move to other people, which is where delays and stress tend to creep in.
Your own buyer has to be ready to go before you can exchange contracts on the place you are buying. If anyone further along the chain hits a problem, whether a declined mortgage, a survey issue, or gazumping, the whole thing can stall or fall apart.
How to strengthen your position in a chain
- Get your mortgage Decision in Principle in place before you make an offer
- Instruct a solicitor early so searches can start straight away
- Reply quickly whenever someone asks for documents
- Think about accepting a slightly lower offer from a chain-free buyer
Options if you want to avoid a chain
- Sell first and rent for a while, which puts you in a chain-free position as a buyer
- Bridge the gap with a bridging loan, a short-term finance that lets you buy before you sell
- Part-exchange with a developer if you are buying a new-build
What are early repayment charges and when do they apply?
If you are still inside a fixed or discounted deal period, your current lender can charge an ERC when you repay the mortgage. It usually runs at 1–5% of the outstanding balance, and where you fall in that range depends on how far into the deal you are.
On a £200,000 mortgage, a 3% ERC comes to £6,000. Porting sidesteps that charge completely, because you are not repaying the loan at all. You are moving it to the new property.
If your deal has already finished and you have rolled onto the SVR (the lender’s standard variable rate), there is usually no ERC to pay. That leaves you free to move to any lender with a better rate.
The moving home mortgage process
These are the stages your mortgage goes through when you move home, in the order they usually happen.
- 01
Review your current mortgage
Look up your outstanding balance, how long is left on your deal, and any ERCs that would apply. Your annual statement or the lender’s online portal will have all of this.
- 02
Understand your equity
Get a sense of what your property is worth now, using online tools or a local estate agent. Take off your mortgage balance and your estimated selling costs, and what is left is the deposit you have to work with.
- 03
Speak to a broker
A broker will weigh up your options, whether that is porting, remortgaging, additional borrowing, or a mix of them, and work out your total budget for the next property.
- 04
Get a Decision in Principle
A DIP from your chosen lender confirms roughly what they are willing to lend. It strengthens any offer you make and signals to sellers that you are a serious buyer.
- 05
Put your current home on the market
Instruct an estate agent and agree a realistic asking price. Pitching it sensibly tends to bring a buyer in sooner and keeps the chain moving.
- 06
Find your new home and make an offer
When your offer is accepted, put in the full mortgage application along with all your supporting documents.
- 07
Valuation and surveys
The lender values the new property. It is also worth arranging your own independent survey to catch any hidden problems before you commit.
- 08
Legal work and searches
Your solicitor runs the searches, checks the title, and handles the contracts on both the sale and the purchase.
- 09
Exchange and completion
Once everything is agreed, you exchange contracts, which makes the deal legally binding, and set a completion date. On the day itself the keys change hands and your mortgage begins.
What other costs should you budget for?
The mortgage is the largest single cost, but a handful of other expenses come with any move, so it helps to budget for them early.
Selling costs
- Estate agent fees: typically 1–1.5% of the sale price
- Solicitor fees for the sale: £800–£1,500
- EPC (if yours has expired): £60–£120
Buying costs
- Stamp duty (see calculator above)
- Solicitor fees for the purchase: £1,000–£2,000
- Survey: £250–£600 depending on type
- Mortgage arrangement fee: £0–£2,000
Moving costs
- Removal company: £500–£2,000 depending on distance and volume
- Temporary storage if needed
- Mail redirection: from £33.99 for 3 months
- Immediate repairs or decorating at the new property
Speak to a moving home specialist
At Clearview Mortgage Solutions we help hundreds of home movers each year find the right mortgage for their next property. We will go through your current deal, work out your equity and budget, and find the best way to fund the move, whether that means porting, remortgaging, or starting fresh with a new lender. For a deeper walk-through, read the full moving home mortgage guide.
Compare deals across the market, or get in touch for a free, no-obligation review of your moving home mortgage options.