Remortgage when house is up for sale

pinklady21

Hello all
My house is up for sale. The current mortgage 5 year fix with Natwest comes to an end in May, when it will go onto the SVR, unless I lock into another product with them (I assume, I have yet to hear from them, and intend to call them soon to find out).

My question is, can I remortgage with a different lender after my current fix comes to an end, even though the property is on the market?

The reason for wanting to find another lender:

1. Don't want to be locked into a new fixed deal with Natwest, as I don't yet know where we will be moving to, and whether new property will meet lender's criteria (it is likely to have some land, possibly under 10 acres, possibly more), so may not be able to be ported

2. Natwest are a bit pricey on rates, so might get a better deal elsewhere

3. If I am able to remortgage, might I also be able to increase the loan amount to release some more equity from current house at the same time, which would help with additional funds to buy new house, when we find it. (I have a fairly reasonable LTV - house worth around £400k, current outstanding mortgage around £160k)

Thanks all!

pinklady21

Bumping up. Anyone know the answer please?

new_owner

Would it not be easier to drop onto the standard rate for the 2-3months while you sell?

Every other option will lock you into a provider requiring a port and then less flexibility..

For the sake of 3 months I dont think I would worry about a 2-3% increase.

kingstreet

What happens if the new lender doesn't want to lend on the new purchase and you can't port the rate to a new mortgage with that lender? You could pay thousands in unnecessary ERCs.

help with additional funds to buy new house

Why doesn't the equity do this? Why do you need it in cash?

pinklady21

Thanks for the replies. The house has been on the market for a year. We have accepted two offers, neither of which have completed. I am concerned it may not sell before the "right" new house for us comes along, and we find we can't buy it unless we have already released some equity.
Our requirements for the next house are fairly specific, with very few suitable houses coming up. (it took us 2 years to find this house before we bought it - and we have now been looking again for 18 months already) Being in the position to buy quickly might be helpful when the right place comes up.
Assuming we find somewhere else to buy, but still can't sell the current one, our other option would be to rent out the current house using consent to let for a shortish period until the market picks up - say a couple of years or so. I am prepared to keep it on the market through the spring and early summer, and if it has still not sold, will consider renting it out then.

So - is the fact that the house is on the market a show stopper for finding a new (possibly bigger) mortgage?

I would only sign up to a new deal with a low or no ERC, and would prefer a lender that is likely to be OK with consent to let should we ever need that.
Thank you.

dimbo61

You need to sell first.
Move into rented for a couple of months if you can't find the right house

silvercar

Nothing stopping you remortgaging while your house is on the market.

Whether it is cost effective is another issue.

Thrugelmir

Every property will sell if the price is right. You've still got the best part of 3 months to find a buyer before committing to anything. Now is the time of year to remarket a property. Freshen it up to appeal to buyers that previously may have dismissed it.

AnotherJoe

pinklady21 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. The house has been on the market for a year. We have accepted two offers, neither of which have completed. I am concerned it may not sell before the "right" new house for us comes along, and we find we can't buy it unless we have already released some equity.

You can't magic money out of thin air. It doesnt matter if you release the equity now or when you sell. The total amount you have to buy the new house with is the equity in your current house, any savings and what you can borrow.. it makes no difference what order you access these things in, when you complete it all comes together and is the same amount, you seem to think if you take money out of your house now that's extra money but it isn't because that same.money would be used to help buy the new house. You can't spend it twice.

pinklady21 wrote: »

Our requirements for the next house are fairly specific, with very few suitable houses coming up. (it took us 2 years to find this house before we bought it - and we have now been looking again for 18 months already) Being in the position to buy quickly might be helpful when the right place comes up.
.

That means selling this house first then, releasing equity won't help you unless it's enough to buy it without a mortgage. Are you downsizing ?

pinklady21 wrote: »

Assuming we find somewhere else to buy, but still can't sell the current one, our other option would be to rent out the current house using consent to let for a shortish period until the market picks up - say a couple of years or so. I am prepared to keep it on the market through the spring and early summer,.

Or you could lower the price if this house if its going to take 2 years to sell ! Don't blame "the market" if you are asking too much. And unless you've bought already then any house you want to buy will also rise in price.

pinklady21 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. The house has been on the market for a year. We have accepted two offers, neither of which have completed. I am concerned it may not sell before the "right" new house for us r that is likely to be OK with consent to let should we ever need that..

You should see a broker it's not as easy as you appear to think to get two mortgages and you probabky won't be offered as much on the mortgage forvthe new house even if you can get one. .
Don't underestimate the costs hassle and risks of becoming a landlord .

Did you consider sellling and renting?

pinklady21

Thanks for all the replies. Good news to hear that the fact the house is on the market is not a show stopper.
I asked as I have been asked previously by lenders during the application process - "is the house currently for sale", which would lead me to think that there are lenders who will not look at it favorably.

We have already "sold" the house twice. Usually houses in this area sell fairly quickly. We are getting viewings, but so far only from people who already have a house to sell. Given that both previous deals fell through at the whim of the buyer, one who spent 4 months assuring us they were "definitely serious"...... we are now understandably cautious!

We have had other offers, but much lower than the ones we accepted, and again, from buyers who are not really in a position to negotiate as they have a house to sell.

We are constantly looking at ways to make the house appear more appealing - it is hard keeping it continually tidy for a year!! We don't think the issue is the price - it is well priced for this area, and and we feel that we "tested" the market last year, when we got good offers on it at a closing date.
We are certainly not prepared to "give the house away" for less than it is worth (and having met many delusional sellers, who think their property is worth far more than it is, we honestly don't think we come into that category.)

Why increase mortgage?
We have a very large deposit for the next house sitting in the bank, and increasing the mortgage on our current house now would probably give us enough to be able to buy the next house for cash. Which would help place us in a better position to strike a decent deal.

Renting?
After we sold last year, we did try to find somewhere to rent - found it very difficult. Either very expensive, or would not allow a pet, or didn't want a tenant who is unlikely to stay longer than 6 months.

Renting out current property:
I am already a landlord, and therefore well aware of the costs, benefits, risks etc etc
And before anyone suggests we move into the rental property, we can't as there is a long term tenant in there and it is too small for us anyway.

So thanks all!

AnotherJoe

pinklady21 wrote: »

Why increase mortgage?
We have a very large deposit for the next house sitting in the bank, and increasing the mortgage on our current house now would probably give us enough to be able to buy the next house for cash. Which would help place us in a better position to strike a decent deal.

Would have saved a lot of pointless replies had you mentioned that key fact to start with.

pinklady21 wrote: »

I am already a landlord, and therefore well aware of the costs, benefits, risks etc etc

And that.