Remortgages are used for a variety of purposes
Remortgaging is usually the process of switching from one mortgage provider to another however it is also possible to remortgage with the same lender. A remortgage involves the raising of funds from the equity held in your property, similar to that of a secured loan. Remortgaging often occurs when house prices increase quickly for a relatively short period of time, leaving the borrower with a low LTV and lots of equity that can be used for many reasons. It is also a very popular financing method because it is often the cheapest way of raising funds.
Better deals than your current lender
Reasons to remortgage:
- Obtain a better interest rate
- Debt consolidation. Clients may have high interest rate secured or unsecured loans, credit cards etc that they want to repay via a much lower rate remortgage. Caution however should be taken as this could mean transferring unsecured debt onto your home that if you subsequently fail to repay could ultimately mean your house being repossessed.
- Home Improvements
- School Fees
- Holidays/Cars
- Divorce settlement
- To buy a second property i.e.
Current property value – GBP 100,000
Current mortgage amount – GBP 30,000
Remortgage amount – GBP 70,000
In the above example the borrower raises GBP 70,000 (subject to criteria), GBP 30,000 of which will repay the current mortgage and GBP 40,000 can be used as a deposit to purchase another property, probably for investment or BTL. Lenders generally have differing reasons for why they will allow a remortgage, for instance some lenders will allow borrowing for debt consolidation whilst others don’t. Others will allow say a maximum remortgage of up to 75% LTV whereas others will go to a maximum of 60%.
Remortgaging and mortgaging basically uses the same products and has the same criteria. The length of the mortgage or the term is determined in the same way whether it is a mortgage or remortgage. The maximum LTV however is normally lower with a remortgage and the maximum loan size currently available is 85% of the value of the property albeit the majority of choice is available at 70/75%.