How long does it take to remortgage a property?

Remortgaging takes around 8 weeks on average, but it can be done in as little as four weeks if your broker, bank, and solicitor are all conscious of a tight deadline.

What do you want to achieve from the remortgage?

Great interest rates – One of the most common reasons for remortgaging is to take advantage of historically low-interest rates. You’ll likely be looking at a much lower interest rate than the Standard variable rate offered by your lender when your current deal finishes, resulting in a significant reduction in your monthly payments.

Home improvements – Do you want to use any of the money from your new mortgage to make some improvements to your house? Perhaps you want to add a new kitchen or bathroom, or perhaps you want to expand your home with an extension. The lender isn’t interested in the finer points of your home improvements (unless you are borrowing large sums to do this because it may affect the value of your home), but they do want to know how much money you’ll need to complete them. If you want to get big renovations made to your home, now is a good time to start gathering builders’ quotes.

Debt consolidation – When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will want to know about your whole financial situation, including any credit cards or loans you might have. If you want to combine all of your debts, you should seek sound financial advice from a mortgage broker or mortgage consultant. In any case, you’ll need to provide information about all of these on the application.

What is the remortgage process?

We’ll walk you through the remortgaging process in the first section of this guide. This will allow you to comprehend what will be done and, more importantly, what you will be required to provide to complete the remortgage as quickly as possible.

It is a simple process, much the same as most mortgage applications,

1. Submit your application
2. Send the lender the documents they have requested and no more
3. Complete the solicitors remortgage paperwork (remortgage questionnaire and proof of ID etc) and send to the solicitors (the solicitors will contact you in due course and send you this paperwork)
4. Your solicitor will work towards completion once your mortgage offer comes out

Make remortgaging easy. Get a mortgage broker!

As independent mortgage brokers, we will conduct a comprehensive search of the entire mortgage market to find you the cheapest deal. This is just the beginning of what we will do for you.

If you’ve decided on a mortgage and we have found you the best deal, we’ll submit your mortgage application to your new lender.

We will oversee the entire remortgage process from start to finish. We’ll communicate with you, your mortgage lender, and your conveyancer, making the whole process go much more smoothly.

Depending on how much you are looking at borrowing, the mortgage lender will sometimes want a physical valuation. This means you will get a call from a surveyor who will make an appointment to come and inspect your property. This usually takes less than an hour and is just a little more detailed inspection for the mortgage lender.

Will I need a solicitor to get a mortgage?

You may have used the services of a solicitor or conveyancer when purchasing your home. When you remortgage, the process is identical, though the conveyancer would have to do a lot less work because you already own the home. The conveyancer’s main duty is to pay off your old mortgage lender with the money borrowed with your new mortgage lender. They’ll also move any funds you’ve collected for home renovations or debt consolidation to your bank account. Many high street lenders provide free legal services when you remortgage.

What fees can I expect to pay when I remortgage?

Most lenders have different rates with different fees. Most high street mortgage lenders give you freebies like a free valuation or free solicitors but sometimes you have to pay arrangement fees depending on which rate you choose. A typical arrangement fee will be around £999.

What is the fastest way to remortgage?

Why is timing a remortgage important?

You want to start to remortgage three months before your current introductory period expires because timing a remortgage incorrectly will cost you thousands of pounds. This means you’ll avoid early redemption fees and you will not spend any time on your lender’s SVR, which can much more expensive as your current mortgage interest rate.

Why does it take so long to remortgage?

It’s considered as a new mortgage application if you decide you don’t want a product transfer and want to remortgage with a new lender (you’ll normally get better offers this way).

The new lender must also be confident in your finances, the ability to repay the monthly repayments. It will go through a thorough underwriting and valuation process, which normally takes the longest time.

You don’t need to wait for solicitors’ searches or other people in the chain because you aren’t buying a house this time, but solicitors will check you are the legal owner of the property and are allowed to remortgage.

How long does it take a solicitor to complete a remortgage?

When it comes to remortgaging, there is still some legal work to be done. Your conveyancers will need to confirm your identification and property ownership. They must also register the new mortgage lender with the Land Registry and arrange for the funds to be sent to repay your current lender. The solicitors can complete a full remortgage in around 2 – 3 weeks.

As previously stated, if you use your current lender, your remortgage will be considered as a product transfer, which means you do not need any additional legal work.

What to do next

Give us a call today to discuss your options. We have been established for years and have over 50 years of combined experience in the industry and offer a whole of market mortgage broker service. We are a team of mortgage advisers that are at hand to help you. We look at the overall value of the rate, deals, and incentives. We will advise you whether staying with your existing provider or remortgaging to a different lender is best for you.