Your Home Finance
Worried about remortgaging? The bigger risk is staying on a deal that stopped serving you.
Early repayment charges, product fees and the rate all pull in different directions. Total cost — not the headline rate — usually decides which move is right.
30+ years
remortgage advice
Total cost
modelled
Whole of market
access
ERC and fees
checked first
How your case is assessed
How lenders assess a remortgage
A remortgage is a fresh application, not a renewal. Lenders reassess your income, your property and your credit file as they stand today — which is why the answer can differ from the last time you borrowed.
Equity and loan-to-value
Rates step at 90%, 85%, 80%, 75% and 60% LTV. Rising values or a reduced balance may have moved you into a better tier than you were in when you last borrowed — that's often where the real saving sits.
Early repayment charge and timing
Leaving a deal early can carry a percentage of the balance as an ERC. Sometimes paying it still wins on total cost; often it doesn't, and the right answer is to secure a rate for the day your current deal ends.
Affordability reassessed today
Income, employment status, commitments and dependants are all reviewed again. A change since your last mortgage — self-employment, reduced hours, a new loan — can narrow the panel even though the payments have always been met.
Total cost, not the headline rate
Product fees, valuation, legal costs and ERC can outweigh a small rate difference on a modest balance. On a large balance, the reverse is usually true. The maths has to be done on your numbers.
You don't need to guess between switching, transferring and doing nothing — we model all three on your figures before any hard search.
Specialist insight
Not every remortgage decision looks the same on paper
High LTV · mid-deal ERC · income changed
Higher challenge
Narrower panel · ERC can wipe out the rate saving · a product transfer with your existing lender sometimes beats switching outright.
Strong equity · clean file · deal ending soon
More lender choice
Broader whole-of-market access · better rate tiers · a rate can usually be secured months ahead and reviewed if the market moves.
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 remortgage strategy
Helping clients with complex credit histories for over 30 years · CeMAP, Cert CII (MP) · FCA regulated
“Most people worry about remortgaging at the wrong moment. In practice, the expensive decision is usually the one nobody made — the deal that quietly rolled onto the standard variable rate.”
Reviewed by Jay Sabine · Mortgage adviser · 30+ years' experience
Lived experience
Mistakes we repeatedly see
Not theory — the patterns that keep costing homeowners money between one deal and the next.
Letting the deal lapse onto the standard variable rate
The SVR is almost never the best rate a lender offers. Two or three months of drift after a fixed rate ends costs more than most of the rate differences people spend weeks agonising over.
Comparing rates without including the fees
A lower rate with a £1,499 product fee can cost more than a slightly higher fee-free deal on a smaller balance. The comparison only means something once fees and ERC are inside it.
Accepting the existing lender's offer without checking
A product transfer is quick and sometimes genuinely the right answer — particularly where income has changed. But taken automatically, it's a decision made by convenience rather than comparison.
Consolidating debt into the mortgage without modelling the term
Moving unsecured debt onto the mortgage lowers the monthly payment and can raise the total interest paid substantially over 20 years — and it secures that debt against the house.
Real client scenarios
Real remortgage journeys
Based on genuine cases we've helped with. Personal details have been changed to protect privacy.
Wanted to switch early — waiting won
- Mid fixed term
- ERC modelled
- Rate secured ahead
- Switched at expiry
Situation
Homeowner 14 months into a five-year fix, convinced they were losing money after seeing lower rates advertised.
Challenge
The early repayment charge on the remaining balance outweighed the rate saving over the period they'd actually hold the new deal.
What changed
We modelled switching now against securing a rate to start the day the ERC period ended, and set a diarised review of the market in between.
Outcome
They stayed put, avoided a four-figure charge, and moved onto a new deal with no gap and no SVR month.
Why it worked
The question was never 'is there a lower rate' — it was 'what does the whole move cost'. Once that was on paper, the decision made itself.
Self-employed since the last mortgage — panel mismatch
- Two years' accounts
- High street declined
- Repackaged once
- Offer issued
Situation
Homeowner who had left employment to work for themselves since taking out their existing mortgage, remortgaging for the first time as self-employed.
Challenge
The high street assessed the lower of two trading years and the affordability failed — despite a spotless payment history on the current mortgage.
What changed
We identified lenders that average the two years and take account of retained profit, and packaged the case once with full accountant evidence.
Outcome
Remortgaged onto a mainstream rate tier without a trail of declines on the file.
Why it worked
It was a criteria problem, not an affordability problem. The same accounts read very differently depending on which lender is reading them.
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 review your current rate, balance, end date, early repayment charge and property value (no hard search)
- 2
Jay models total cost — rate, fees and any ERC together — against staying put or a product transfer
- 3
We tell you honestly whether switching now, waiting for your window, or staying is the better decision
- 4
If proceeding: application → valuation → offer → completion timed to your deal end date
Reassurance
- Free initial review — before any hard credit search
- We compare switching, product transfer and doing nothing on total cost, not headline rate
- If your current deal is genuinely the better option, we'll say so
Before you enquire
What we'll ask you on the first call
Straightforward questions — no hard credit search at this stage.
- Current lender, rate type and the exact date your deal ends
- Outstanding balance, estimated property value and any early repayment charge
- Whether you need to borrow more — and what for
- Anything that's changed since your last mortgage: income, employment, credit or dependants
Advisory promise
When we might tell you to wait
We won't always tell you to remortgage today.
We may advise staying where an early repayment charge outweighs the saving, where your deal end date is close enough that securing a rate for that date is cleaner, or where a recent credit event means waiting a few months would meaningfully widen the panel.
If your existing lender or your existing deal is genuinely the better outcome, we'll tell you — even though there's nothing in it for us. We give advice, not just applications.
Straight answers
Common questions about remortgaging
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 chase the lowest advertised rate. We work out which option costs you least over the term you'll actually keep it.
Review your remortgage options
Tell us your current rate, balance and when your deal ends — we'll model what switching, transferring or waiting really costs.
We won't recommend a lender until we've compared it against your existing deal, your early repayment charge and the fees on both sides.
Most remortgage windows open six months before your deal ends — knowing your options early costs nothing and protects the rate.
£500 adviser fee — payable on completion.
Let's review your remortgage timing and options
Free adviser assessment • 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.
Related guides
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If your remortgage hinges on one of these questions, these chapters go deeper.
Remortgaging explained
The process, the timings and what changes since your last application.
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Two-year vs five-year fixed
How to choose a term based on your plans rather than rate predictions.
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Remortgage with bad credit
When credit marks since your last mortgage narrow the panel.
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Home mover mortgages
If moving rather than remortgaging is the decision you're actually facing.
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