1. Review your existing mortgage
Before anything else, understand what you’re currently on, your rate, deal end date, whether ERCs apply and how much they are, and whether your mortgage is portable. This information shapes every subsequent decision.
Moving Home
Everything you need to know about your mortgage when you move, whether you’re porting your existing deal, taking out a new one, or deciding between the two.
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Your mortgage repayments
Repayment
Interest Only
£
£
These figures are only illustrative. An assessment of your needs will be confirmed before a recommendation can be made. A Key Facts Illustration, which ispersonal to your circumstances, will be provided if a recommendation for a mortgage product is made.
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Your loan details
£
Auto-filled from your purchase price & deposit
yrs
%
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Your results
Monthly Payment
---
Capital repayment mortgage
Borrowing amount---
Mortgage term---
Interest rate---
Total interest---
Total repayable---
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Based on a capital repayment mortgage
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Your affordability
£
£
£
Repayment
Interest Only
These figures are only illustrative. An assessment of your needs will be confirmed before a recommendation can be made. A Key Facts Illustration, which ispersonal to your circumstances, will be provided if a recommendation for a mortgage product is made.
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Your results
Max Borrowing
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Capital repayment
Max Purchase Price
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With your deposit
£
Adjust your deposit to see how it changes your maximum purchase price.
Household income---
Monthly commitments---
Income multiple used---
Loan-to-value (LTV)---
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This is an estimate — a mortgage adviser can give you an exact figure
Process of buying a new home
2. Work out your equity and deposit
Get a realistic current valuation of your existing property. Deducting your outstanding mortgage balance from that figure gives you your approximate equity, which forms the basis of your deposit on the new property. Factor in the costs of selling — estate agent fees, solicitor fees, and any ERC if applicable.
3. Establish your budget for the new property
Using your deposit figure and an estimate of how much you can borrow, establish the price range you’re working with. Our affordability and repayment calculators are a useful starting point, and a mortgage adviser can give you a more precise figure based on your full circumstances.
4. Speak to a mortgage adviser
Before you start making offers, speak to an adviser. They’ll assess your current mortgage, compare porting against new mortgage options, give you a realistic borrowing figure, and obtain a Decision in Principle so you can make offers with confidence. Doing this early avoids the situation of finding a property and then discovering your mortgage options are more limited than you expected.
5. Find a property and have your offer accepted
With your Decision in Principle in place and a clear budget established, you can search for your new home with confidence. Once your offer is accepted, your adviser will progress the mortgage application
6. Instruct solicitors
You’ll need a solicitor for both the sale and the purchase, some use the same firm for both, others use separate solicitors. Your solicitor will handle the conveyancing on both sides, manage the flow of funds, and coordinate with the other parties in the chain.
7. Formal mortgage application and valuation
Once the offer is accepted, a full mortgage application is submitted and the lender carries out a valuation of the new property. For a port, this will be with your existing lender; for a new mortgage, it will be with the new lender.
8. Exchange of contracts
When all searches are complete, both sides are satisfied, and the chain is ready, contracts are exchanged. At this point the transaction is legally binding and a completion date is set. Your deposit is paid to your solicitor at or before exchange.
9. Completion
On completion day, mortgage funds are transferred, your existing mortgage is discharged, and the keys to your new home are released. Your solicitor manages the flow of funds between all parties.
These figures are only illustrative. An assessment of your needs will be confirmed before a recommendation can be made. A Key Facts Illustration, which is personal to your circumstances, will be provided if a recommendation for a mortgage product is made
Why Chat?
We help buyers, movers and homeowners navigate the mortgage market and find the perfect deal, in 3 simple steps.
Discover your true affordability
Our smart affordability tools take into account your income, outgoings, and financial goals to give you a clear, honest picture of your borrowing power, so you can search with confidence and find a home that truly fits your life.
Compare live rates & repayments
Take the guess work out and start comparing. Our platform pulls live mortgage rates from across the market, so you can instantly see what your monthly repayments could look like, side by side, in real time. Whether you’re a first-time buyer, moving or remortgaging, find the deal that works hardest for your money.
Speak to an expert in 24hours
You’ve done the hard work, now let’s make it happen. Speak to one of our mortgage experts within 24 hours and get personalised advice that turns your research into reality.
Get fee-free mortgage advice. For life
Any Chat Mortgages customer that takes out a mortgage with us once, gets our service fee-free every time they need mortgage advice. For ever and ever. So you get the same five-star service you experienced the first time around, at no additional cost.
Mortgage Tools & Calculators
Professional tools designed to help you understand your mortgage options, compare rates, and make informed decisions about your financial future.
Still have questions?
Still have questions about mortgages, rates, or the application process? Our FAQ section covers most queries
Not found your answer?
Should I wait until my current deal ends before moving?
Not necessarily, and often the right property at the right time is worth more than the saving from avoiding an ERC. The key is to calculate the full cost of moving during your deal period, including the ERC, against the benefit of the move, and to compare porting against taking out a new deal to understand the most cost-effective structure. Many people move during a fixed period and find that porting preserves a favourable rate effectively, or that the ERC is modest enough that the saving on a new deal elsewhere outweighs it. An adviser can run the full comparison for your specific numbers.
What if my new property is worth less than expected when the lender values it?
If the lender’s valuation comes in below the agreed purchase price, known as a down valuation, it affects the LTV calculation, which in turn affects the mortgage amount and potentially the rate. In this situation you have several options: you can make up the difference from additional savings, renegotiate the purchase price with the seller, challenge the valuation if you believe it’s inaccurate, or in some cases switch to a lender whose valuation methodology produces a different result. Down valuations can cause real delays and are worth being aware of as a possibility, particularly in fast-moving markets. Your adviser and solicitor can help you navigate the options if this arises.
How long does the moving home mortgage process take?
The timeline varies depending on the length of the chain, the complexity of the applications involved, and how quickly all parties respond to queries. As a rough guide, from accepted offer to completion typically takes between ten and sixteen weeks, though it can be shorter in a simple chain and considerably longer in a complex one. Getting your mortgage in place and your solicitor instructed as early as possible, and ensuring all documentation is ready to submit promptly, gives you the best chance of a smooth and timely completion.
What happens to my mortgage if my sale falls through?
If you’ve already had your new mortgage approved but your sale falls through before completion, your existing mortgage continues unchanged, you haven’t closed it yet, so nothing changes on that front. The new mortgage application may lapse if completion doesn’t happen within the offer validity period, but this can usually be restarted. If you’ve already exchanged contracts on the purchase and your sale subsequently falls through, you’re in a more serious position, you’re legally committed to the purchase without the funds from your sale. This is a relatively rare but genuinely serious scenario, and it’s worth discussing with your solicitor how to manage the risk of this during the conveyancing process.