Your Home Finance
Moving home? Don't assume porting is your cheapest option.
Equity, early repayment charges and chain timing usually decide more than staying loyal to your current lender.
30+ years
moving-home advice
Port vs remortgage
modelled
Whole of market
access
Chain-aware
planning
How your case is assessed
How lenders assess a home move
Lenders look at the new property, your income and the equity you bring — but the decision that often costs movers most is whether to port, remortgage, or wait.
Equity as your deposit
Sale proceeds after redeeming your current mortgage become the deposit on the next purchase. Stronger equity usually widens rate tiers — thin equity after costs narrows them.
Port vs remortgage
Porting can avoid early repayment charges, but you still need to requalify and any extra borrowing is often at a different rate. Remortgaging can be clearer once ERC and total cost are modelled.
Chain and timing
Sale and purchase need to line up. A mortgage that only works if everything completes on the same day can fail in a long chain — bridging or selling first sometimes protects more than hope.
Stamp Duty and move costs
Home movers pay standard Stamp Duty (no first-time buyer relief). Temporary dual ownership can trigger the additional property surcharge — refundable if you sell within the allowed window.
You don't need to guess port vs remortgage on a comparison site — we model both against your deal and chain before any hard search.
Specialist insight
Not every lender treats a home move the same way
Thin equity · complex chain · mid-deal ERC
Higher challenge
Narrower panels · porting may not clear the new property · top-up rates and chain risk need sequencing before another application.
Clear equity · clean affordability · sensible timing
More lender choice
Broader high-street and specialist panels · clearer path when equity, income and completion timing align.
Independent reviews
Verified client reviews on Reviews.io
Live verified reviews — not cherry-picked on-page quotes.
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Your adviser
Jay Sabine
Expert mortgage adviser specialising in complex cases including adverse credit, self-employed borrowers, and first-time buyers. All advice is tailored to your individual circumstances.
Content reviewed: 3 August 2026
CeMAP awarded by The London Institute of Banking & Finance. Cert CII (MP) awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Specialist in home-mover and residential purchase mortgages
Helping clients with complex credit histories for over 30 years · CeMAP, Cert CII (MP) · FCA regulated
“People often assume porting is the safe option. Sometimes it is — and sometimes the top-up rate and early repayment charge make remortgaging the clearer decision.”
Reviewed by Jay Sabine · Mortgage adviser · 30+ years' experience
Lived experience
Mistakes we repeatedly see
Not theory — patterns that keep showing up when movers chase a rate before modelling the move.
Assuming porting is always cheaper
Early repayment charges matter — but so does the rate on any top-up. Porting the existing balance and borrowing more at a worse rate can beat a clean remortgage on total cost.
Ignoring equity after selling costs
Estate agent fees, conveyancing and Stamp Duty shrink the deposit you actually have. Planning on gross equity leads to the wrong LTV tier.
Getting an Agreement in Principle too late
Sellers take chain-ready buyers seriously. Leaving mortgage work until after an offer accepted burns weeks when the chain is already moving.
Buying before selling without a funding plan
Temporary dual ownership, surcharge Stamp Duty and bridging risk need a clear exit — hope is not a completion strategy.
Real client scenarios
Real mortgage journeys
Based on genuine cases we've helped with. Personal details have been changed to protect privacy.
Port looked cheaper — remortgage won
- Mid fixed term
- Needed top-up
- ERC modelled
- Remortgage clearer
Situation
Family upsizing mid-fixed term — comparison sites pushed porting to avoid the early repayment charge.
Challenge
The top-up on the new borrowing was expensive enough that total cost beat a full remortgage once ERC was included.
What changed
Modelled port-plus-top-up against a whole-loan remortgage with ERC paid — remortgage was the clearer five-year cost.
Outcome
One clean product, one rate — no expensive top-up hanging off the port.
Why it worked
We compared total cost, not the headline of 'avoid the ERC'. The ERC was real — the top-up was more expensive.
Buying before selling — sequenced properly
- Offer accepted
- Sale not exchanged
- Bridge considered
- Completed safely
Situation
Movers found the right house before their buyer exchanged — pressure to complete first.
Challenge
Rushing a high-street application without a funded bridge or sale plan risked collapse if the chain slipped.
What changed
Mapped equity, temporary dual-ownership Stamp Duty and a short bridging contingency before the residential mortgage was placed.
Outcome
Purchase completed with a clear exit — sale followed without a distressed remortgage.
Why it worked
Timing was treated as part of the mortgage decision, not an afterthought once the rate was chosen.
What happens after you get in touch
From first contact to a clear answer
What happens when you get in touch — no hard search at this stage.
- 1
We understand your current deal, equity, sale/purchase timing and budget (no hard search)
- 2
Jay compares porting vs remortgaging — including ERCs and any top-up borrowing
- 3
We discuss the realistic route for your chain — honestly, without promising approval
- 4
If proceeding: Agreement in Principle → application → completion aligned to your move
Reassurance
- Free initial review — before any hard credit search
- We model port vs remortgage before you commit to either path
- Wrong lender or rushed chain timing hurts more than waiting — we guide the sequence
Before you enquire
What we'll ask you on the first call
Straightforward questions — no hard credit search at this stage.
- Current lender, rate and when your deal ends (and any early repayment charge)
- Estimated property value, outstanding balance and likely selling costs
- Target purchase price and whether you're upsizing, downsizing or similar value
- Whether you're selling and buying together — or need to buy first
Advisory promise
When we might tell you to wait
We won't always tell you to apply today.
We may advise waiting where your equity after costs won't clear the LTV tier you want, your fixed deal ends soon enough that remortgaging later is cleaner, or buying before selling would leave you overstretched without a funded bridge.
If waiting or sequencing the sale first would meaningfully widen options, we'll say so before another footprint goes on your file. We give advice — not just applications.
Straight answers
Common questions about home mover mortgages
Our promise
What we'll never do
- Tell you to apply if it won't work
- Send applications everywhere
- Recommend borrowing beyond your budget
- Hide bad news
We don't push the cheapest advertised rate. We help you understand the right move for your equity, deal and chain.
Find out whether porting is right for you
Tell us about your current mortgage, equity and timing — we'll assess what's realistically possible.
We don't recommend a lender until we've compared porting vs remortgaging against your early repayment charges and chain risk.
A five-minute conversation can stop weeks of applying to the wrong route while your chain is moving.
£500 adviser fee — payable on completion.
Get Clear, Honest Mortgage Advice — Before You Apply
Free consultation • No credit search • FCA regulated
Struggled to get approved elsewhere? We specialise in complex cases including CCJs, self-employed income, and declined applications. Over 90% of our clients had concerns about their situation before speaking to us.
The Basics
Your Needs
Property
Income
Credit
Step 1 of 5
Related guides
Moving home — related decisions
If your move hinges on one of these questions, these chapters go deeper.
Porting your mortgage
When staying with your current deal is worth it — and when the top-up rate isn't.
Open guide →
Remortgage strategy
If total cost and timing matter more than porting loyalty.
Open guide →
First-time buyer
If someone in the household is buying their first home alongside a move.
Open guide →
Bad credit mortgages
When credit marks sit alongside the move and high street may auto-decline.
Open guide →