Help and guides for remortgaging

Why remortgage?

Remortgaging is moving your mortgage from one lender to another without moving home.

It’s a big financial decision, so start by taking a look at the reasons why most people remortgage:

You want to save money

Interest rates can move up and down regularly so you may find that your current deal is no longer as competitive as it was when you initially took it out, so finding a new mortgage deal could help save some money on your monthly payments.

Usually people wait until the end of their current deal before remortgaging, but this doesn't have to be the case. You can remortgage during the term of your current deal if this makes financial sense. However, you must bear in mind that remortgaging isn't a free process; your current lender may charge an exit fee, as well as an early repayment charge if you decide to leave early, and you're likely to incur costs when setting up your new deal. So, as always it's really important to do all the maths before making a decision.

You want to free up some money

For some people, remortgaging is a method used to free up some equity in their property to help pay for things like home improvements. Rather than packing up and moving to a bigger house, lots of people in the UK add space and value to their current homes with extensions and refurbishments, so remortgaging can release some cash to help pay for these.

Some people free up money to assist with paying off debts, however you should always think carefully about securing other debts against your home as your home could be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

You can usually borrow additional money when you remortgage, however you need to make sure you can afford your new monthly payments before committing to this. If you do decide to do this, we may lend up to 85% of the value of your property (providing you already have some equity in it), so take a look at our current deals to see what's on offer.

There's been change in your financial circumstances

It's not unusual for people's income and outgoings to change, so if this applies to you, you may find you want to review your mortgage to accommodate this. For example, you may have had a pay rise or inherited some money and therefore want to reduce your loan and take out a cheaper product. Perhaps you need some flexibility which your current mortgage doesn't allow, for example the ability to take payment holidays or to make overpayments. If this is the case then read on to see how our Everyday or Flexible range can help you.

Hopefully you're now a little clearer on why remortgaging could apply to you and understand that this is still as much of a financial commitment as when you took out your initial loan. To help work out your finances and the options available to you, we have some really handy calculators and tools you can use.

Our affordability calculator will help you suss out what you can afford if you're considering additional borrowing, and our find a mortgage tool will show you the deals we have on offer at the moment, including how much they will cost you in monthly payments.

Types of remortgage deals

At Virgin Money we offer a range of fixed rate mortgages.

All of our remortgage products come with a free valuation and free legal costs so that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about. All you need to do is decide which product is best for you:

Fixed mortgages

With a fixed rate mortgage your monthly payments would be the same throughout the term of the deal (which is typically 2, 3 or 5 years) so you have the security of knowing what you'll be paying each month.

Everyday range

Key features of our everyday range include:

• Some of our lowest priced mortgage rates
• You can make overpayments of up to 10%
• You can apply for a payment holiday, subject to your terms and conditions

Flexible range

Mortgages from our flexible range provide you with more flexibility than those from the everyday range, key features include:

• You can make unlimited charge-free overpayments meaning you can pay off your mortgage quicker
• You can make underpayments or borrow back the money you've overpaid (subject to our agreement)
• You can apply for payment holidays subject to your terms and conditions

Our Flexible range is currently not available to new customers.

Fees and costs

There will be a couple of fees to pay when taking out your remortgage. It’s always best to understand them and to try and work out how much they will cost you upfront, so you can then set the payments aside.

Fees and costs

Product fee

With some remortgage products there may be a fee to pay as part of the deal. This is often referred to as a product fee and it forms part of the terms and conditions of your mortgage deal. You have the option to pay the product fee at point of application or add it to the mortgage. If the fee is added to the mortgage you will incur interest charges on this fee at the prevailing interest rate for the term of the mortgage until it has been paid. The fee will be refunded if the mortgage does not complete.

Product fees may vary depending on the product, and some products don’t carry a fee. These are referred to as 'fee free' or 'fee saver' products, however they tend to come with higher rates. You must bear in mind if you are switching lenders, your current lender may charge an exit fee, as well as an Early Repayment Charge if you decide to leave early, and you're likely to incur costs when setting up your new deal.

Application fee

An application fee is typically a non-refundable fee that may be charged when you take out a mortgage. For a limited time no application fees are payable on new Virgin Money residential mortgages. Full details of any fees will be outlined within your Mortgage Illustration.

Legal costs

When you buy a home, you will need to pay a solicitor or qualified conveyancer for the legal work required. All of our remortgage products come with free standard legal work.

If you need help finding a solicitor, we’ll be happy to recommend one from our panel.

Surveyor and valuation costs

All our remortgage products come with a free basic valuation and free standard legal work. Please be aware that a physical valuation may not take place on all cases.