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

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.

21st February 2023

I’m tied in to a fixed rate, but I want to move house. Can you help?

With rates being so low for the last couple of years, we’ve been recommending fixed rates constantly. They give the borrower certainty, ability to budget, removes exposure to interest rate rises, but it also ties you in for 2, 3 or 5 years.

With rates shooting up over the last few months, we’ve been approached by several clients who want to move, but don’t want to lose their fixed rates which have been as low as 1.14%.

The good news is that most lenders will allow you to port your mortgage to a new property and even borrow more should you wish.

How we helped a client tied to a fixed rate mortgage

One of my clients had owned their home in Manchester for several years and fixed in to a low rate with HSBC in 2022. They now had changed jobs, had a pay rise and wanted to buy a larger property in the countryside with their partner.

They were tied in for a few years and had an early repayment charge of several thousand pounds if they were to repay their HSBC mortgage before the end of the fixed rate. Even if they did that, they would be facing rates of around 5%, significantly higher than what they were currently on.

Affordability wasn’t particularly an issue, but they needed to borrow more than their existing mortgage.

HSBC are one of the better lenders as they do what they say they’re going to do, when they say they’re going to do it. That sounds simple, but it isn’t always the case.

I spoke to our contact at HSBC and they confirmed that they were able to move their mortgage from their existing property to their new home.

Not only that, they were able to extend the term to 35 years, which brought down the monthly payment to a more manageable level.

Not only that, but they were able to add the partner on to the mortgage, despite them not being on the original mortgage.

Not only that, but they also allowed them to borrow more money on top of what they already had outstanding, although this extra money was on one of their current 5 year fixed rates, not the rate they had previously.

This meant that they had two parts to their new mortgage, one for the existing loan amount, on the existing rate and a second part for the additional borrowing on a new 5 year fixed rate.

This was significantly cheaper for them, compared to paying their early repayment charge, losing the great rate they are currently on and taking a new mortgage with a new lender.

It was an almost identical process to if they were buying a mortgage without porting a mortgage and required no extra paperwork or hoops to jump through.

This meant that they could move into their dream home now, rather than having to wait for their existing fixed rate to end and also meant that it was significantly cheaper than paying the penalties and taking a new mortgage.

Tied To A Fixed Rate Mortgage But Want To Move House? Speak To Our Team

If you are currently tied in with your existing mortgage, but would like to move then we can help!

For some people it will make sense to port their mortgage to the new property as shown in this example. For others, it may make sense to pay the penalty and change lenders.

We are happy to talk through all the options with you, find the right lender arrange the mortgage for you.

If you want to review your invest properties, then do give us a call on 01174 520 330. Our initial conversations usually last around 20 minutes.

Alternatively, you can email enquiry@lloydwellsmortgages.co.uk and let us know how we can help you.

We will discuss:

• How much you can borrow

• What that will cost

• What fees can you expect

• How Lloyd Wells Mortgages work

• What insurance you will need

• What documentation you will need to provide

• Next steps

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