The upheaval and added expenditures that moving entails makes it essential to ensure you have the right mortgage deal in place for your new home. The next course of action is to research mortgages for a better deal.

If you want to keep your existing mortgage product when moving to a new home, you can transfer your existing mortgage onto the new property by the process known as porting.

What is porting?
Porting is when you take your current product rate to the new mortgage when you move homes. This means many mortgage lenders will allow you to move your present mortgage product to your new home.

To see if porting a mortgage is something that would be beneficial to you and if it meets your requirements you need to take certain factors into account.

Talk to your Mortgage Broker
Many mortgages are portable, but this of course depends on what the terms are of your mortgage and those of your lender. You will be able to speak to your mortgage broker find out whether your agreement covers porting and any potential charge’s that may be incurred by doing this.

If your new house is more expensive than the house you currently have a mortgage on, then you may have to apply for a higher loan, and at a higher rate of interest on the additional amount borrowed..

If you’re looking to port your mortgage to a less expensive property, than you may incur early repayment charges.

How do I go about porting my mortgage?
If your lender does indeed offer portable mortgages, the next step is applying. When looking to port a mortgage you’re effectively re-applying for a mortgage, so there may be a risk that you may not qualify this time around.

New affordability rules may affect lender’s criteria, so they’re likely to want to take a fresh look at your incomes and outgoings.

As with remortgaging, you should make sure your financial health is optimal for the best chance of having your application approved.

You’ll then need to decide on the amount you wish to port. Is it the same sum of your current mortgage or are you looking to borrow more?

Confirm if Early Repayment Charges (ERCs) apply to you. Normally, ERCs are only applicable if there’s a delay in the selling of your current property and the buying of your new one, or if you’re looking to port some of your mortgage.

To get full independent financial advice on porting your mortgage, remortgaging and more call IMC today on 020 3553 9340 or email us at info@imcfs.co.uk.