Can you port Buy to Let Mortgages?

UKSBD

We currently live in one house which has no mortgage.


Also have a 2nd property which has a £50k BTL mortgage on it.


The BTL was our original home which we would like to move back in to at some stage (within next 18 months/2 years)


Would we be able to port the BTL mortgage to the other property and rent that out instead of the one we are at the moment?


If so, what timescale do they allow?


It would make more sense to move back home 1st, empty other property, tidy up before marketing it, which could easily take 3 months+


Would they allow us to keep the BTL mortgage on the home we moved back in to for 3 months before porting it to the other, would they let us port it to the other straight away even though it may be 3 months before we get a tenant?


Which is the usual way of doing this?

glosoli

You will need to refer to your original offer document / contact your existing mortgage provider regarding their policy regarding porting as there is no universal answer.

theGrinch

read your docs!

saajan_12

Yes - I DID!

I had exactly the same situation as you, wanting to move into my 2nd property which had a BTL mortgage (details here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5515799 )

Few issues I faced
- my BTL lender was a ‘professionals only’ body, so they didn’t want to talk to customers directly but go through intermediaries only so I had to find a mortgage broker to go through (as my initial broker from the purchase wasn’t available)
- lender valued the house I lived in slightly lower than the already BTL flat, and insisted I kept the same LTV (even though it was a low 60%) which meant I had to pay off a chunk of the capital and the ERCs that came with it. I paid this off first and then they did the port.
- My solicitor was involved in removing the charge on the flat and placing it on the house at a cost of £400

YouFind4Us

Try speaking with your lender. Because you want the mortgage to continue but on a different property they may be willing to change this providing it doesn't say in your docs that it isn't permitted. BTL mortgages are different to personal mortgages and they may need a new deposit against the other property so the details are down to your lender. I would suggest you check your mortgage documents and speak to your lender explaining what you would like to do and get a definitive answer off them.

kingstreet

Don't forget, you are only porting the rate here, not the actual mortgage.

You would need to qualify for the new mortgage like any other borrower applying and then the rate can be transferred to the new mortgage at completion.

I would suggest seeking independent broker advice to establish the best route to approach this.

UKSBD

Thanks all,


The property we are in at moment is worth at least £100k more than the one we have the BTL mortgage on so I shouldn't think we will have much trouble getting a BTL on this one after we move out.


Thinking about it more we would probably get a better deal starting a new BTL mortgage


With that in mind, would we be able to apply for a BTL mortgage on a property we are currently living in and how long would they allow us to stay living in it?

saajan_12

UKSBD wrote: »

With that in mind, would we be able to apply for a BTL mortgage on a property we are currently living in and how long would they allow us to stay living in it?

Surely apply now, and inform the new lender of the date of drawdown (similar to completion if you were buying it) as the date you will move. On that date, you pay off the old mortgage and remove the charge from the BTL.