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Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Borrowing over a longer term can mean paying back more in total.
There’s no single answer to whether you should remortgage. It depends on when your current deal ends, how much equity you have, what you want the money or the new deal to do for you, and, if your credit history has taken a knock, what’s realistically available to you. This guide sets out the main questions to work through, rather than telling you what to do.
What should you think about before remortgaging?
Four things tend to matter most: timing, cost, equity, and purpose. Getting clear on each one makes it much easier to have a useful conversation with a specialist adviser, or to compare a remortgage against staying put.
Is your current deal ending soon?
If you’re on a fixed or tracker deal, check when it finishes. Many lenders let you arrange a new deal a few months ahead, often 3 to 6 months before the current one ends, so you’re not left sitting on the standard variable rate (SVR) even briefly. If your deal has a while left to run, remortgaging early is possible but usually comes with early repayment charges to weigh up, which our guide on remortgaging early covers in detail.
What are the costs and early repayment charges?
Remortgaging isn’t free. There’s typically a valuation, legal work, and sometimes product or broker fees, though many straightforward remortgages come with a free legal package included. If you’re still within your current deal, check for early repayment charges (ERCs), since these can be significant enough to change whether remortgaging now makes sense.
How much equity do you have?
Loan to value (LTV) is your mortgage amount divided by your property’s value. For example, £150,000 owed on a £250,000 home is 60% LTV. Lenders set pricing and criteria in LTV bands, often in 5% steps, and generally the lower your LTV, the wider your choice of deals. If your equity has grown since you last remortgaged, or you’ve paid down some of the balance, that can open up options that weren’t available before, even with adverse credit on file.
What do you want the remortgage to achieve?
Be honest with yourself about the goal. Common answers include lowering monthly payments, releasing some equity, consolidating other debts, or simply matching term and lender flexibility to a change in your circumstances. Each has different implications:
| What you want | Worth knowing |
|---|---|
| A lower rate than your SVR | Compare against staying on SVR short term versus ERCs on your current deal |
| To release some equity | Increases what you owe and usually needs enough equity to stay within lender LTV limits |
| To consolidate debts | Secures previously unsecured debt against your home; a longer term can mean more interest overall |
| To change the term | Shortening raises monthly payments; extending lowers them but costs more in total interest |
| To add or remove a borrower | The remaining or joint borrower(s) need to pass affordability in their own right |
Should you remortgage with bad credit?
Having a CCJ, default, missed payments, an IVA, or another mark on your credit file doesn’t automatically mean you shouldn’t remortgage, but it does change a few of the questions above:
- Realism about rates and choice. Rates for adverse credit are often higher than mainstream rates, and the number of lenders willing to consider your application may be smaller.
- Timing relative to when the adverse credit was recorded. Most negative information stays on file for 6 years, and some lenders take a different view of older marks versus recent ones.
- Whether you’re trying to solve a debt problem or a rate problem. If you’re struggling to keep up with existing payments, remortgaging to consolidate debt is one option, but free debt advice from MoneyHelper or StepChange is worth exploring alongside it, particularly if arrears are involved.
- Whether staying with your current lender might be easier. A product transfer, where you’re not borrowing more, can sometimes be offered without a full affordability reassessment, though the lender still decides what to offer.
What are the alternatives to remortgaging?
Remortgaging isn’t the only option, and it’s worth being clear on the alternatives before deciding either way:
- A product transfer. Staying with your existing lender on a new deal, without borrowing more. Where you’re not increasing the balance, FCA rules allow lenders to switch you without a full affordability reassessment, though the lender still decides what to offer, including to customers in arrears.
- A further advance. Extra borrowing from your existing lender, sitting alongside your current mortgage rather than replacing it.
- A second charge mortgage. A separate loan secured behind your first mortgage, sometimes considered when leaving your current deal would mean large early repayment charges.
- Staying put. Sometimes the right answer is to do nothing yet, particularly if ERCs are high or your credit file would benefit from a little more time before applying.
- Getting free debt advice first. If money worries, rather than simply wanting a better rate, are behind the question, speaking to MoneyHelper or StepChange before any mortgage decision can help you see the fuller picture.
None of these is automatically better than remortgaging. Which one fits depends on your deal, your equity, and what you’re trying to achieve, which is exactly what a specialist adviser can help weigh up against your actual figures rather than general rules of thumb.
What if your circumstances have changed since you last remortgaged?
It’s also worth revisiting the question if your circumstances have shifted since your last mortgage decision, even outside of your credit file. A change in income, becoming self-employed, a new dependant, or a change in household composition can all affect what a lender will offer, in either direction. Someone who was declined or offered limited options previously isn’t necessarily in the same position now, particularly if time has passed and any adverse credit is older or has been resolved.
What this means if you’re remortgaging with adverse credit
If your answer to “should I remortgage” is genuinely “I’m not sure yet,” that’s a sensible place to be. Pulling your statutory credit report (free from each of the three agencies) before you do anything else means you and any adviser are working from the same picture a lender will see. From there, a specialist adviser can talk through whether a full remortgage, a product transfer, a further advance, or simply waiting makes more sense for your particular situation, since none of these options is automatically right or wrong.
If money worries are part of what’s driving the question, particularly mortgage arrears, it’s worth speaking to your current lender early, since lenders are required to treat struggling borrowers fairly and consider options like a payment arrangement. See our guide on when to remortgage for how timing fits into all of this.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if I should remortgage now or wait?
It depends on when your current deal ends, whether early repayment charges apply, and what you want to achieve. Our guide on when to remortgage sets out the usual timing, and a specialist adviser can look at your specific deal.
Is it worth remortgaging if I have bad credit?
It can be, but it’s worth understanding your credit file first and being realistic about what’s available. Bad credit doesn’t rule out remortgaging, but it often narrows the choice of lenders and can mean higher rates than someone with a clean file.
Should I remortgage to pay off debts?
This needs careful thought, since it turns unsecured debt into debt secured on your home and can mean paying more interest over a longer term. A regulated adviser has to consider whether it’s appropriate for you rather than just whether it lowers your monthly payment.
What if I’m not sure remortgaging is the right move at all?
That’s a reasonable position to be in. Alternatives include a product transfer with your existing lender, a further advance, or a second charge mortgage, or simply staying on your current deal or its standard variable rate for now while you get specialist advice.