Moving is a purchase and a sale running at the same speed, tied to a chain you only partly control. The mortgage question sits underneath both, and getting it settled early removes most of the pressure from everything else.
You have done this once, which helps. Lender criteria, affordability rules and the cost of borrowing have all moved since then, which does not help.
Many mortgages can be ported, meaning you carry your existing rate to the new property. It can save an early repayment charge and preserve a rate worth keeping. Porting still requires a fresh affordability assessment, and lenders can decline it.
We compare porting against a new arrangement elsewhere, including the charge for leaving, and tell you which leaves you better off in total rather than only this month.
Most moves involve a larger mortgage. Additional borrowing is assessed on current criteria, which may differ from the rules that applied when you first bought. Where a port and a top-up are combined, the two parts can carry different rates and end dates, and we will set out how that works before you commit.
Exchange and completion usually happen on the same day for both properties. That requires the mortgage offer, the deposit and the legal work to line up with a chain of other households doing the same thing.
We keep the lender, the valuer and your solicitor moving in step, and we tell you early when a date looks unrealistic. Bridging finance is occasionally the answer where a chain breaks, and we will be candid about the cost of it.
The earlier we look, the more room there is to plan the timing.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
