Remortgage
Replacing an existing mortgage with a new product, either with the same lender (product transfer) or a new one, to avoid reverting to an expensive standard variable rate or to release equity.
When a fixed or tracker deal ends, the loan reverts to the lender's standard variable rate (SVR), typically far above market pricing. Remortgaging replaces the deal before or shortly after that happens. For leveraged landlords it is the single most important recurring financial event, because the whole deal reprices at whatever the market looks like that year.
The timeline that saves money
- 6 months out: most lenders let you lock a new product this early. Locked products can usually be swapped if rates fall before completion, which makes early locking close to a free option.
- 3 months out: compare product transfer offers against the open market. Transfers involve less underwriting but are not always the best price.
- Deal end: complete the switch. Every month on SVR is usually expensive.
What the lender will test
Rent must cover the new payment under the lender's ICR stress test, and the valuation sets your LTV band. A deal that was comfortable at purchase can fail at remortgage if rents have not kept pace or the value has slipped, so run the numbers well before the deadline rather than at it.