Santander mortgage renewal

lordsainsbury

Hello,

My current mortgage deal expires in August and I have received a letter from Santander offering me the change to renew my mortgage early with no early repayment charge. Or, I can choose to wait longer until my current product ends and choose a new product then or a completely different provider.

In the past, I have always just renewed with Santander early when I have received these letters. I would be interested to hear if anyone has received similar letters in the past and chosen to wait until closer to the end of their existing deal. Did the rates offered by Santander improve?

Thanks in advance.

kingstreet

As usual, the rates will depend on market conditions at the time.

If the outlook for rates is worse, they will increase, if it gets better they will be reduced.

Lilla_D

Hi,

Rates are subject to change all the time, so they move up and down - both for Santander and other lenders. If you apply for a deal, then the rate is reserved, so then any subsequent rate increases wouldn't affect you. However, if the rate goes down, you could possibly switch to the new lower rate before the remortgage transaction completes.

You don't have to wait until your current deal expires to look at what other lenders offer and to apply for another deal from another lender. Most remortgage offers are valid for 3-6 months, so you could apply for a new deal from another lender and just complete when the current deal expires in order to avoid paying the early repayment charge.

lordsainsbury

Thanks for the replies. I just wondered whether in waiting I might be more likely to get an improved offer from Santander. My thinking behind this is they would want to keep me as a customer.

Lilla_D

Ah, if you put it like that, then I'm afraid the answer is a definite no. They do not offer you a special deal to keep you. They can only offer whatever rate is available at the time. Insurers can do deals to keep you as their car or home insurance customer, but it's not the case for mortgage lenders.

Ps. Before someone jumps in, I'll add that yes, there is a new lender, who will tailor their rate to the customer and their risk profile and there is some flexibility for some special cases like high net worth mortgages, but not for an average mortgage renewal like this one.

ferry

This new lender sounds quite interesting. Are they only accessable through a broker?

clairebeth

Yes, how interesting, Lilla D!

lordsainsbury

That's great, thanks Lilla.