Home Mover Mortgages

What do we mean by home mover mortgages?

A home mover mortgage is for somebody who is looking to move home. It’s where you own your current home and are looking to sell it and move elsewhere. Or, you may have previously owned a home and are now looking to buy a new property.

What moving costs need to be considered?

There are quite a few things to consider when you’re looking to move home: 

Deposit

The first and biggest one probably is your deposit. How much money have you got to put down on your new property? That may come from the equity you’ve got in your current home, or maybe savings that you’ve built up over a period of time – or a combination of both. 

Estate agent

You’ve then got to consider estate agency fees. There will be a cost for selling your home via an estate agent and that can vary massively. There are big online estate agents like Purple Bricks where you’ll pay a certain fee and they advertise a link for you. But you’re very much involved in the process of viewings. Your local estate agent, on the other hand, will do everything for you. Their fee structure may be a percentage of the house sale.

Solicitors

The next cost is solicitors, also known as conveyancers. You need a conveyancer to do the legal work for the sale of your current home as well as the purchase of your new home. So you want to work with someone who will guide you through that legal process. 

Again there is a big variance between big national conveyancing companies that do a lot online, through to local solicitors. There will be a big difference in service levels and cost levels – again it’s about finding the person that you want to work with. 

Removals

Another area to consider is removals. It might be that you want to hire a van and do it all on your own. Or you might prefer to pay a removal company to come in and do the packing and unpacking for you as well. Again there are big cost variances between those different levels.

Storage

If your sale and purchase aren’t happening at the same time you might need to put your furniture and belongings in storage. It might be for a couple of days or a couple of months. 

Survey

Depending on the type of mortgage and the type of property you’re buying, you will need to explore survey costs. These range from a very basic mortgage survey through to a full-blown structural survey. You might also need specialist surveys on top of that as well. 

The one bit of advice I would give anybody when you’re looking to move is to set aside an emergency pot of money. There will almost certainly be a bill in there somewhere that you didn’t expect. And if there isn’t a surprise bill, you’ve got your takeaway paid for on the first night in your new home.

How much can I borrow?

Borrowing will vary massively from one person to another because it’s always based on your personal circumstances. 

Whilst a lender might apply an income multiplier within their affordability model, your circumstances could be very different to the person next to you. They might be able to borrow more or less depending on whether they have car loans, personal loans, credit cards, school fees or childcare costs. There’s so much that goes into it. 

What the lender wants to do is make sure that any borrowing is affordable. If your monthly payments are too expensive it becomes a real burden and things can get out of hand quite quickly. It’s important to know how much you want to spend on a monthly basis to make sure we get that absolutely right.

What is porting?

Porting is where you transfer your existing mortgage to your new home. Say you’re in the middle of a fixed rate deal and you decide to move. You could take that fixed rate with you and avoid paying any penalties to come out of that deal early. Porting will enable you to transfer it from one property to another.

Can I increase the mortgage value when I port?

Yes! A really straightforward answer. The amount you’ve got on your existing mortgage can be ported over. If you need to borrow any more, then you’d have to take that on the current rate. 

Here’s an example. Say you’ve got a £100,000 mortgage at the moment but you need £150,000 to move into your new home. Subject to credit scoring and affordability checks, you can take that £100,000 with you and avoid any penalties. You could then get the additional £50,000 you want to borrow on rates that are available today with your current lender.

Can I port my mortgage if the new home is cheaper?

Yes, absolutely. Taking that same example, you had a £100,000 mortgage, but perhaps now you only need a £75,000 mortgage on your new home. You can port over £75,000 of your mortgage, again subject to credit scoring and affordability checks. 

That £25,000 that you don’t need anymore you can pay back to the bank. They will probably charge you an early repayment charge for not taking the full amount, but you can then port the remaining balance over.

How do I decide whether to port or get a new mortgage?

What we’ll do here at Tomorrow Mortgages is sit down and look at the options with you. We’ll go through your existing mortgage and really understand what’s good and what’s not good. We’ll see what your plans are, your circumstances and compare porting your mortgage now or looking at a deal.

We’ll explain which one’s going to be better for you so that you understand your options. Sometimes porting your mortgage is worth it. That will vary from person to person. Porting might absolutely be the right thing to do – and sometimes it’s not. But we’ll talk it all through with you.

How does the equity in my home affect my options?

Equity is the gap between your mortgage and your house value. It’s the amount of your home that you own. If you’ve got a lot of equity in your house you will have good options. It means you’ll have a bigger deposit to put down on your new property. 

You might need to borrow a little bit more, or you might have a smaller mortgage depending on your circumstances. 

If you’ve got less equity, your options can be a little bit more restricted on lenders and the availability of products. It might mean you have to put a little bit more money in personally. 

Preparation is key. Have a conversation with us. Look at your options and understand from the very outset what your situation is. Let’s understand what you can borrow. Let’s understand what your penalties may look like and whether porting is a viable option or not. Let’s explore your budget and tailor that new mortgage for you and what you need moving forwards.

What else is important for a home mover mortgage?

There are two crucial parts – preparation and working with people you trust. If you work with the right people the home moving process can be a lot less stressful. By having those conversations from the very outset we can really help you understand what’s the right thing for you.

We’re here to help you on your journey to find that new home and make it a really easy and smooth transition for you.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.