Porting a Mortgage: Transferring a Mortgage to Another Property

How does it work?

Technically speaking, your existing mortgage will be paid off with the proceeds when you sell your house, but you’d be moving onto a new mortgage with the same lender, retaining the same rates and terms for the original loan amount. The amount you borrow doesn’t have to be the same – it could be more or less than before.

When porting a mortgage, a deposit isn’t typically required if the new property’s value matches or is less than the current one. For a pricier home, you may need to cover the value difference. Lender policies vary, so it’s crucial to understand specific requirements and any potential impact on interest rates or terms.

You can transfer your mortgage to a new property through ‘porting’ with your current lender. The porting process is similar to applying for a new mortgage. The main considerations for the lender will be whether you can still afford the mortgage and whether their position is likely to change in terms of risk.

For example, if the value of the new property is different and the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio increases, there is more risk involved, and the lender might reconsider re-approving you for the same deal or offer different terms for the additional borrowing.

Why port your mortgage?

The main reason people port their mortgage is because they think they’re on the best interest rate possible and don’t want to give it up. Others might feel that the terms and conditions of their existing agreement are the perfect fit for their needs. In other words, they want consistency.

Another advantage of porting a mortgage is that there are no early repayment charges (ERCs) to foot if you’re locked into a fixed-rate deal. The process can be quicker than applying for a mortgage from scratch, but only if your circumstances haven’t changed since entering the deal.

But there are drawbacks to consider too. The biggest one is that sticking with your current lender without checking the entire market first could mean you miss out on a better deal that’s available elsewhere. This is why you should always speak to a broker before agreeing to port.

How to transfer your mortgage to another property

Your first step should be to find a specialist mortgage broker with experience in this type of lending as this will save you a lot of time and boost your chances of getting approved at the best terms available.

Using our free broker-matching service you can speak straight away to the right broker by simply making an enquiry online. They’ll be able to guide you through the following steps and give your application the best chance of success:

• Establishing whether your mortgage is portable and checking if any early repayment charges may apply
• Downloading and optimising your credit reports in order to correct any inaccuracies or remove outdated information before you apply
• Finding the right lender and securing the best deal for you

What will your new mortgage payments look like?

You can work out what your mortgage payments will be after you port your loan to your new home by using our mortgage porting calculator below.

Input the total mortgage amount to be ported – i.e. the outstanding balance plus any extra you’re borrowing – along with the term length remaining and your current interest rate to get your calculations.

Bear in mind that your exact repayments may vary as your mortgage lender has the right to adjust your interest rate if you are porting and borrowing more. You should speak to a mortgage broker if you want bespoke repayment calculations that factor in these variables.

Factors that affect whether you can port

When porting your mortgage to another property, you’re basically re-applying for the same deal all over again. This means that your mortgage provider might take another look at your affordability and credit history to make sure you still meet their eligibility criteria.

Whether you can – or indeed, should – port your mortgage may depend on these factors.

Whether your circumstances have changed

If your personal or employment circumstances have changed since you took out your original mortgage, the options available to you might be different than they were last time around.

For example, if your credit report has improved or your income has increased, you might qualify for a more favourable mortgage deal than the one you have currently. If this is the case, it’s a good idea to have a mortgage broker round up every deal you now qualify for.

On the flip side, if your income has dropped or you’ve had credit problems since you took out your mortgage, there’s a chance mortgage porting might not be a viable option, as your lender might tell you that you no longer meet their eligibility requirements.

The price of the property you’re buying

Most cases of mortgage porting occur when someone is buying a house with a higher value than their existing one. However, that’s not always the case and there are differences in the application process to be aware of.

• Moving to a cheaper property. Porting your mortgage to a cheaper property can be relatively straightforward because you’re not applying to borrow more money. Despite this, you’ll still have to go through the mortgage application process which may have become stricter since you took out your original mortgage. That said, if the loan amount stays the same but the property value is reducing, the lender may block the move if they consider their position at greater risk, as the loan-to-value ratio will increase.
• Moving to a more expensive property. You would most likely need to apply for extra borrowing if you don’t have the additional capital to make up the difference. If you’re porting and need to borrow more, then the additional borrowing is typically done on a new mortgage product, based on the lender’s available rates at the time. If you’re putting in the cash to cover the additional cost, then the lender will likely be in a stronger position and lower loan to value (LTV), meaning the risk to the lender is lower and there’s less chance of your having your mortgage application declined.

The type of property you’re buying

Porting a mortgage to an unusual or non-standard property can be seen as a higher risk for most lenders. They’ll want to know if a property is a good security for the loan, so that in the unfortunate event of repossession, they can resell it easily.

The worry is that the more unusual the property, the more limited the market, so many porting mortgage rules either don’t allow for unusual or specialist properties.

Such properties include:

• Unique properties
• Listed buildings
• High-rise  flats
• Ex-local authority
• Uninhabitable property
• Non-standard construction
• Concrete
• Timber frame
• New builds

This is often the case with big banks and building societies as they tend to have stricter lending criteria around mortgage porting, so they may reject an application for an unusual property, especially one that’s uninhabitable. Lenders might ask for a larger deposit in these cases to offset the risk, so it isn’t always impossible to transfer your mortgage.

Whether you have bad credit

Lenders view borrowers with bad credit as a higher risk and can ask for a bigger deposit or even reject an application. With this in mind, the majority of high street banks and building societies won’t usually consider a borrower who is porting mortgages with recent credit issues.

However, as they already have the debt in place, if the mortgage is just moved to a new property, and the risk to the mortgage lender doesn’t change (or improves their position if the loan to value reduces), they may still consider your application.

If the application to port the mortgage is declined due to bad credit, there may well be other bad credit mortgage lenders happy to approve you for a brand new mortgage, depending on what the issues, how recently they occurred, and whether there’s a good reason for them.

Common misconceptions about mortgage porting

Below we’ve busted some of the most popular myths that circulate around mortgage porting…

Lenders reward customers for porting mortgages:

Many people believe that their lender will offer them incentives to port their mortgage and reward their loyalty. While some mortgage providers do offer better rates for existing customers, this isn’t true of every lender, and even if you are offered an exclusive deal, there’s no guarantee you won’t get a better one by broadening your horizons and considering other lenders.

Porting your mortgage is the quickest option:

This isn’t always true. If your circumstances have changed or you’re moving to a more expensive property, mortgage porting can take just as long as a new application. The best way to save time on your application is to speak to a mortgage broker, as they will help you with all of the paperwork and make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible.

You should always port to avoid early repayment charges:

Not necessarily true. While porting can be a useful option if you’re locked into a fixed-rate agreement with high early repayment charges, it might not be the cheapest option in the long run. It’s important to find out exactly how much those ERCs will set you back, as it might be worth taking a hit if they’re relatively low and there’s a much better deal to switch to.

Which lenders offer mortgage porting?

Most mainstream mortgage lenders including Nationwide, HSBC and Halifax offer portable mortgages, but other lenders such as Swansea Building Society and Aldermore don’t.

Certain mortgage providers only offer porting with caveats, for example…

• Barclays won’t let you port your mortgage to a property you already own, or won’t grant your permission to transfer if you’ve been granted consent to let
• Leeds Building Society won’t let you port Shared Ownership or shared equity mortgages
• Saffron Building Society has porting restrictions on products such as buy-to-let light refurbishment remortgages and self-build mortgages
• Natwest Places restrictions on Help to Buy shared equity mortgages

If you’re worried you might not meet your lender’s restrictions when mortgage porting, speak to a mortgage broker before you apply. They can tell you exactly how likely you are to be rejected by your lender and help you find an alternative mortgage provider, if this is necessary.

In any case, it’s advisable to speak to a broker before you contact your lender about mortgage porting, as it’s important to establish whether sticking with your provider is the best option.

We offer a free broker-matching service that will quickly assess your requirements and pair you with the ideal advisor for you. Speaking to them before you discuss porting with your lender could save your time, money and potential marks on your credit report in the long run.

Call 0808 189 2301 or make an enquiry online and we’ll set up a free, no-obligation chat between you and your ideal mortgage broker today.