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What Does Home Mover Mean?

Anyone that owns a residential property and is planning to move house is known as a Home Mover. Home Mover Mortgages are generally used to either move to a new property or to transfer your current home to a mortgage deal with your existing or a new lender. Porting your mortgage is the most popular Home Mover option, although in certain circumstances, remortgaging is preferred.

What Is Porting?

Porting is an administrative process in which your current mortgage to your new property when you move home. The majority of mortgage terms and conditions allow porting, although not all.

When porting you will need to re-apply for your mortgage on the new property and this will be a similar application process as when you took out your original mortgage. This means that you can have your request to port refused if you do not meet the lender’s criteria, so if your financial health has declined, bear this in mind before you move. You will also have arrangement fees, valuation fees and stamp duty to pay.

Porting your mortgage often incurs early repayment charges, however, some lenders will waiver such fees, as an incentive to stay with them.

Can I Increase My Loan Amount When I Port?

Whether or not you can increase your lending will depend on your personal circumstances and your lender. If you are hoping to move to a more expensive home, some lenders will consider increasing your loan when you port. This will be more likely if your financial circumstances have improved, as you will need to assure the lender that you can afford the higher repayments on your mortgage.

With other lenders, you will be required to take an additional mortgage with them if you want to increase your borrowing.

Can I Decrease My Loan When I Port?

Most lenders will allow you to decrease your borrowing if you are downsizing your property. If the cost of your new home means that you will decrease your borrowing by more than 10%, there are likely to be charges involved

How Do I Know If Porting Is Right For Me?

Even if you are confident that you will meet the criteria to port your mortgage, some terms and conditions will unfortunately not allow porting. You can speak to your current Mortgage Lender to determine whether porting is an option for you. Where it is not possible, they may allow a product transfer, although there are likely to be fees payable in order to leave your existing mortgage deal.

If neither of these options are viable, then you would have to consider remortgaging. Our Mortgage Brokers will be able to explain your Home Mover Mortgage options in more detail, once they are aware of your personal circumstances.

Does The Value Of Your Current Or New Home Affect Your Options?

The current value of your current home can have a significant impact on your Home Mover options. For example, if your home has risen in value, you should have considerable equity. This will lower the Loan to Value ratio of your borrowing, meaning that you have access to better rates and will generally find it easier to port your mortgage, particularly if you are looking to upsize.

If your home has fallen in value, it’s possible that you have Negative Equity, which is where you owe more than your home is worth. This will limit your options when it comes to moving home, although it may still be possible to downsize. If you do choose to downsize, bear in mind that you may have to pay substantial fees if your borrowing decreases by more than 10% of your original loan.

How Can First Step Mortgages Help Find You The Most Appropriate Deal?

At First Step Mortgages our brokers have helped Home Movers in a wide variety of circumstances to both upsize and downsize to a more suitable property. We will look at your existing mortgage terms for you, alongside your financial circumstances, and this will allow us to recommend your most suitable Home Mover mortgage options.
Having access to a broad selection of mortgage products from both high street and independent lenders, we can ensure that you find the mortgage deal that most benefits you, whether you decide to port your current mortgage or remortgage for a better deal. As well as saving you time and money, we are happy to take on much of the administrative aspect of your home move, so that you can focus on a smooth home move.

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