10 Best Tips for Remortgaging Your Home
Whether you’re waving goodbye to your existing home because you’ve fallen in love with a new one, or simply because your current mortgage deal is coming to an end and you’re shopping around for a new package. Feast your eyes on our impressive list of top tips to help remortgaging your home a stress-free experience.
In no particular order, here goes…
1) Contact your existing lender
Explain to your current lender that you’re looking to remortgage and see what deals they can offer. Chances are they’ll negotiate competitive rates to keep you as a borrower.
2) Do your homework
Be streetwise when it comes to different types of deals; research online and check out newspapers for remortgage packages. Knowing what offers are out there will prevent you from getting the short end of the stick and help you negotiate better deals with lenders.
3) Seek advice from brokers
Believe it or not, some brokers offer their services free of charge. Not only do brokers have an in-depth knowledge of the remortgage industry, information may also be available to them that is not readily available to the public. Contact them for more tips and advice.
4) Pay off existing debt
To improve your chances of obtaining a better deal, ensure you clear any remaining debts. Outstanding payments will not impress lenders.
5) Increase your credit rating
We’re not going back on our word here but we’re going to encourage you to apply for more credit cards; don’t take this the wrong way and start splurging on money you don’t have! Be sensible and use what you know you can pay off to demonstrate that you can pay off money lent to you.
6) Ask about benefits
Go on, be cheeky and query about freebies. Perhaps the broker could negotiate free valuation and arrangement fees? You just never know what you could get if you keep prompting…
7) Organise your paperwork
You know the drill; lenders and brokers like to see paperwork (and they like to see lots of it too), so be prepared by investing in a folder to store all your bank statements, bills, payslips etc. This will help to lessen stress!
Processing time
Ask how long the whole process will take so you can take into consideration other preparations and plans – for example, furniture hunting around the time given.
9) Ask about any penalties
Make sure you’re aware of any early repayment penalties or early redemption charges. If you know that you’re likely to switch deals after a given time (perhaps you want to apply for a decent fixed rate that only lasts for a few years), be prepared to cough up when the time is right.
10) Breathe and smile
Remortgaging may be a stressful process but don’t take it out on brokers, lenders or even worse, on family and friends. As long as you remember to breathe and smile, you’ll get through the whole thing in one piece!
