Mortgages for your next home

Advice about buying your next home to help you feel prepared to get your next mortgage

Getting a mortgage for your next home

If you’re moving to your next home you’re likely to take out a new mortgage.

When you’re moving you can:

  • apply to transfer your current mortgage to your new home, this is called porting

  • apply for a new mortgage

  • remortgage to raise money for a deposit on a new home

  • use the equity from your current house to pay for your new home outright. This is if the sale value of your home covers the purchase price of your new home

Get advice about moving home.

Your mortgage will be repaid in full when you sell your current home to buy another. You’d then take out a new mortgage to pay for your new home. 

You can use the equity in your home as a deposit. 

So if you’ve got a £300,000 mortgage and you’ve got £175,000 left to pay you’ll have £125,000 equity. 

To find out how much you can borrow you will need to: 

  1. get a property valuation so you know how much it’s worth

  2. see how much you have left to pay on your mortgage

You can then work out how much you can borrow using a mortgage calculator.

To apply for a new mortgage:

  1. check how much your property is worth

  2. see how much you have left to pay on your mortgage

  3. see if you have to pay an early repayment charge and how much it’ll cost

  4. compare mortgage rates

  5. apply for a mortgage using a high street lender, a bank or an online mortgage broker like Better.co.uk

Apply for a mortgage

It’ll often take between 4 to 6 weeks once you’ve applied for a mortgage.

It could take longer if your lender asks for more information or if there is an issue with your application. 

How to port your mortgage

To port your mortgage:

  1. speak to your lender or broker 

  2. your lender will review your situation to check if you’re still eligible for the deal

  3. the lender will arrange to port your mortgage

It often takes 1 to 3 months once you’ve applied to port your mortgage.

When porting, the lender will close the mortgage to move it to a new property and then reopen it on the same terms.

Mortgage options

You can transfer your current mortgage to your new home by porting it. 

When you port you’ll:

  • stay with the same lender

  • keep the deal for the same balance

So if you're on a great deal, porting lets you keep it.

This could save you money if you have a fixed-rate mortgage and:

  • took it out when interest rates were lower

  • would have to pay an early repayment charge to end it

More about porting a mortgage.

How to port your mortgage

To port your mortgage:

  1. check the terms of your mortgage. Ask if your lender will port it and if there’ll be an early repayment charge

  2. speak to your lender about other deals and what you need for affordability checks

  3. get mortgage advice from a broker or financial adviser and see what other deals there are

  4. compare options and work out if porting is worth it

  5. reapply for the loan

  6. get a mortgage valuation on the home you’re buying

  7. The lender will give you a mortgage offer

If you do not or cannot port your mortgage you’ll need to apply for a new one. 

You may have to pay an early repayment charge if you’re still in your initial period. 

It’s good to check the costs to make sure this is the best option for you.

You can also choose to remortgage to raise money to buy your next home. 

This works if you are planning to:

  • buy a second home to rent out as a buy to let

  • live in part time for example, in an area close to work

  • move to a cheaper mortgage rate

Renting out your current house

You can remortgage to buy a second home and keep one to rent out. 

You’d need to work out if the costs of a buy-to-let mortgage and your rental income are worth it. 

Learn more in our buy-to-let guide

Where to buy your next home

If you’re looking to buy your next home you might want to consider different areas to see how much you can get for your money. 

Your preferences may change depending on your age and situation so it’s worth thinking about what you want to be doing in the years after you move. 

When looking to find the right area for you, you may want to think about: 

  • house prices in different areas

  • restaurants, shops and pubs nearby

  • public transport and distance to your work

  • how far from your friends and family you want to be

  • if you’d prefer to live in a town or the countryside 

  • local parks and outdoor spaces

  • local schools

  • crime statistics

  • employment opportunities

Learn more about the most popular places to live in the UK.

House prices in different areas vary by large amounts of money. 

In 2020, London had the highest average house price which was £500,000.¹

The North East had the lowest average house price at around £140,000 in 2020.

Learn more about UK house prices.

Costs of buying your next home

The cost of your mortgage depends on if you’re:

  • porting your mortgage

  • getting a new mortgage

  • borrowing more

Find out all the costs of buying a home.

If you’re thinking about getting a new mortgage but you’re still on your initial period, you may have to pay an early repayment charge. 

These are charges as a percentage of what you have left to pay on your mortgage. This is usually between 1% and 5%. 

The percentage you pay sometimes goes down each year into the fix. So if you’re 1 year in you might have to pay 5% but 1% if you’re in year 5. 

It’s a good idea to work out how much it’ll cost you to leave and the savings on your new deal.

It’s often free to port your mortgage. 

If you’re getting a new mortgage you’ll have to pay the usual mortgage fees and charges. 

Learn more about mortgage costs.

If you’re buying your next home there will be costs involved. 

You’ll have to pay moving costs and stamp duty

Learn more about the costs of moving home.

How to pay the mortgage if something happens

Buying your next home can be scary as it’s hard to know if things will change. 

You can never be 100% secure but there are things you can do to feel in the loop and protect yourself.

To help you understand changes to the market you can read our:

You can also get mortgage protection insurance which can help put your mind at ease if something unexpected happens.

More about mortgage protection insurance.

Get a mortgage with Better.co.uk today

  • Our remortgage customers saved an average of £290 a month in August 2023*

  • Better.co.uk is a fee-free mortgage broker

  • 5-star Trustpilot rating from over 5,000 reviews

  • Compare mortgage deals from over 100 lenders

  • Skip the paperwork: apply online any time

Important info & marketing claims

You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage. Your savings will depend on personal circumstances.

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

*The savings figure of £506 is based on Better.co.uk remortgage customers in December 2023. Read more on our marketing claims page.

We can't always guarantee we will be able to help you with your mortgage application depending on your credit history and circumstances.

Average mortgage decision and approval times are based on Better.co.uk's historic data for lenders we submit applications to.

Tracker rates are identified after comparing over 12,000 mortgage products from over 100 mortgage lenders.

As of January 2023, Better.co.uk has access to over 100 lenders. This number is subject to change.

For buy-to-let landlords, there's no guarantee that it will be possible to arrange continuous letting of a property, nor that rental income will be sufficient to meet the cost of the mortgage.

Sources

¹ Office for National Statistics, 2020 UK house prices