Remortgage FAQ’s

This will depend on a lot of factors such as how much equity you have in your property, your current income and outgoings, what you would be looking to use the money for.When you remortgage you can speak to your mortgage adviser about any considerations like this, they will be able to run the affordability and let you know your options.People commonly look to take money out of their property for home improvements. This can be a great idea as it improves the property and can increase the value as well. It’s a good idea to get some quotes for the work you would like to do and also to speak to a planning consultant if you are looking at any constructional changes. Lenders will ask how the money will be spent and will often require quotes and planning consent if required.Another common reason to take money out of your property is to consolidate debts.People look at clearing debts through taking money out of their property. This can be great to put everything in to 1 monthly payment and might reduce the interest rate you are paying. Your adviser will talk you through other considerations such as the mortgage being a longer term than the debt is currently, the mortgage is secured against your property so if you default on the payment the repercussions are more severe etc. If you are looking at this option, you will need your current debts, the balance outstanding, monthly payment, interest rate and any changes to this interest rate in the future.There are a lot of other areas where you can take money out of your property as well such as personal use, investments, to purchase a buy to let property etc. If you want to consider this options your Mortgage adviser will be able to guide you on viable options.

The quickest answer here is no! It is beneficial to look at all of your options before just staying with your current lender. Lenders often offer existing customers slightly higher interest rates as they know that some people will just select a new mortgage with their current lender out of laziness or because they cannot move to a new lender.Your mortgage adviser will be able to check what your current lender can offer to you and compare this to the market for if you look at a new lender.

Willow Brook Mortgages are based between Bath and Bristol and while this is handy if you live nearby and want to bring documents to us, you do not need a mortgage broker local to you. The days of going in to an office for a couple of hour appointment where fairly non-existent even before covid-19. Willow Brook mortgages have an online mortgage finder so you can enter a lot of information online in your own free time, we offer a telephone service throughout to work around your schedule and we can accept the majority of documents via our online secure portal or by email.

Yes – you will need a solicitor in place if you are moving to a new lender. The legal work is a lot less than when you purchased the property and we have a firm of very competitive solicitors that we work with that work online to keep things quick and easy for you as well.Some lenders will offer a free legal service or cash back towards using your own solicitors, but if the cost is not included it is normally only around £300.

Most mortgage offers are valid for 3- 6 months so this is a good time to start the process or looking for a new mortgage product. The earlier you get the new product secured the more stability you have. Willow Brook Mortgages offer mortgage advice with access to over 100 lenders and we can compare the product you will get with your current lender to the best product in the market

Refer to ‘Can I take money out of my house when I remortgage?’ in this article for further information. When you speak to your mortgage adviser, let them know what you would ideally like to do and they will be able to guide you on whether this would be an option.

Willow Brook Mortgages will find the best mortgage deal on the market. We will discuss the full details of the mortgage, submit the application and support your mortgage through to the mortgage offer being issued. Most mortgages will also include free legal costs or cash back to cover most of your legal work. There can be small legal costs is your property is nonstandard such as leasehold properties, a management company for your property requiring confirmation of moving lenders, adding or removing someone from the property deeds etc.

This is when you change mortgage products with your current lender rather than moving to a new lender. Your current lender will always offer you options to change the product with them when your current product/interest rate comes to an end. It is important to speak to your mortgage advisor as they will be able to compare what your current lender can offer to you with what is available to move to a new lender, as you could save a significant amount of money. When you move to a new product with your current lender, they will have an indexed valuation of your property. This is based on a % increase of your property value since you purchased the property.

The mortgage terminology for this is porting. You will often find this referred to in your mortgage offer from when you took out the mortgage on the property. Some mortgage products can be ported to a new property but this will always be subject to you meeting the requirements for a mortgage on the new property with your current lender. If you have a charge to leave your current lender, your mortgage advisor will have a look at the option of taking your current mortgage with you and whether you can look at a mortgage on the new property with your current lender. Your advisor will then calculate the interest rate to stay with the current lender, the costs and the effect on your mortgage balance. They will then compare this to paying the charge to leave your current lender and the product being offered with the new lender, to get you the best overall saving.

A lot of people took a mortgage payment holiday due to the financial impact of covid-19.As long as you have returned to paying your mortgage fully, this should not have an impact on your ability to get a new mortgage. Lenders will ask on all applications currently, if you have been financially affected by covid-19 and they will be looking at whether you have recovered from this or still suffering financially before making their decision.

You can remortgage your property at any time, however you will often have a charge to leave your current mortgage deal early. There are some scenarios where it might be worthwhile remortgaging early, such as if you are on a high interest rate, would like to look at taking equity out of the property or are looking to add or remove someone from the property. Your advisor will be able to calculate the options for you and advise you on the best way forwards.

For self employed income, lenders will usually be looking at your tax return or company accounts. A lot of lenders will require you to have 2 years of income evidence since you have been self employed. There are some scenarios where you might be able to look at a new mortgage earlier such as with a year self employed and an accountants projection for your second year, if you are on a day rate contract, CIS work or if you have joined a business which was already active.

If you are looking to take the mortgage in your name only, you will need to have the income to support the amount outstanding on the mortgage. If your affordability allows, you can also consider taking equity out of the property to buy someone out of a property. Your mortgage advisor will be able to look at your affordability to let you know how much you can take a mortgage for to see if this would be viable