Moving mortgages to a new house - RBS/Natwest and Post Office

adamzetec

I saw a house I like today. It's perfect for me for the short term and I estimate i'd be living in the property for 3-5 years before wanting something bigger. It's not small by any means, it just doesn't have much scope for development. It's lacking a garage which would be a bonus and has 2 bedrooms. Room sizes are average for the area and it's in my favourite location.

However, I have been looking for mortgage deals lasting approximately 5 years. I wouldn't want to tie myself into a deal if it meant it was impossible to move property or if there was a ridiculous penalty. I prefer 5 year deals as I can only see mortgages rising in the next few years.

What is the correct term for this? Would I be correct in thinking it's called "porting" a mortgage? Does anyone have any idea what the policy of the RBS group and post office is with regards to moving property during the duration of the mortgage deal?

Pinkfairywings

Hi

I have a mortgage with the Post Office (mortgages are actually provided by Bristol & West) and am currently porting this to my new house. Bristol and West didnt seem to have a problem with us doing this and have agreed to lend us quite a lot more money! All i will say is to borrow extra money on top their rates werent great but much less than paying the early redemption fee!

All in all they are very quick and efficient

Spangled

Can't comment on RBS/Post Office specifically, but many mortgages offered these days are portable. Check the small print for the portability possibilities for any deal you pursue.

But porting your mortgage is not always straightforward. It's treated as a new application and you'll be assessed once again on affordability/income (so if your income has changed drastically in the meantime, that could be an issue, no matter how much equity you have in your property) and the bank needs to ensure the place you're porting to is OK in terms of valuation/construction, ie if you're porting to some rundown wreck, it could be a problem.

Also if you buy now at, say, 90% LTV, your property in three years' time *might* be worth less than you paid for it and you could be in negative equity. That would make porting very difficult.

Not trying to be overly negative, but it's worth bearing in mind that porting is not always a given.