FISCUS MORTGAGES - INFORMATION AND ADVICE

When should I remortgage?

If you feel that you are not making the most of your current mortgage deal, then the best time to arrange a remortgage is usually going to be as soon as possible. However there are certain situations where it may pay to wait a couple of months, and there are also certain times of year which are better for remortgaging than others.

GOOD TIMES TO REMORTGAGE

As soon as any tie-in period ends - An obvious place to start would be to plan to start looking for remortgage deals around one month before the end of any tie-in. Active remortgagers that “shop around” can make tremendous savings on their existing mortgage.

Three months after a pay rise - This is a good time to demonstrate to your bank that you have a sustainable higher level of income. From an overall personal finance point of view, this is also a good time to review your outgoings before you become too comfortable with the extra income. A key consideration to make with any pay rise is that with modern pressures to spend, it can be very easy for pay rises to be rapidly absorbed into your existing monthly outgoings. Taking a look at your finances three months after a pay rise is a good opportunity to look through your bank and credit card statements, to see if any bad spending habits have cropped up.

Reaching the end of a loan repayment - This is always a good time to reassess your finances, as a major monthly expense has been taken out of the equation. As with receiving a pay rise, it is also extremely important to make sure that your reduced monthly commitment is not counterbalanced by immediately taking on additional spending burdens. It is particularly easy to negate the advantages of a completed loan repayment, when the amount you were repaying each month was £100 or less. One option to consider is finding a mortgage deal where you can repay an extra £100 each month, thus ensuring you pay off your mortgage quicker.

As a New Year's resolution in January - The New Year can be a good time to remortgage, if it is part of a genuine financial New Year's resolution which you have a realistic chance of sticking to. The danger of a remortgage in January is that it can be used to soak up excess Christmas spending. If the Christmas period has been particularly excessive, it is usually financially prudent to make some cutbacks in the New Year. A remortgage package which consolidates your existing debts into one monthly payment, may lead to additional spending, as your monthly loan repayments are drastically reduced. Therefore, if you are remortgaging at this time, make sure that you have a system in place to curb additional spending.

In the middle of summer - This can be a good time to remortgage, simply because this is a quite time of year for brokers, so mortgage agents are particularly keen to attract your business and thus offer some tempting rates. They will also have more time to hunt down the best possible mortgage deal for you.

In the middle of February - If you are looking to release a lump-sum for investment. A remortgage typically takes around 4 weeks to arrange, so making an application in February should enable funds to be released in time for the 6th April ISA deadline.

BAD TIMES TO REMORTGAGE

When you are considering buying a new car - A secured loan will protect the lender by holding the vehicle as cover. If financed through a remortgage, your home would be at risk if you fail to make repayments. Moreover, funds from your house should be used to continue to build equity. By investing in a car, you are purchasing a depreciating asset which in turn has the opposite effect – it lowers your overall level of equity.

In early November just before the Christmas rush - Remortgaging to release lots of cash just before Christmas leads to the very tempting option to spend, spend, spend over the festive period. Ideally, monies from a remortgage should be sensibly spent.

Shortly before booking a holiday - It can be very easy to spend money while overseas, as using foreign currency can distort your spending patterns.

CHECK YOUR MORTGAGE DEAL ANNUALLY

Even if you think that your current mortgage deal offers very attractive terms, it is worth reviewing this at least once every year in order to make sure that you continue to get the best possible rate. Our Mortgage Rate Beater calculator allows you to assess how much you could save by switching your existing mortgage to a better deal, highlighting the mortgages that offer better value and the amount you would save. In addition to this, our remortgage tables are updated daily and provide an accurate gauge of the best remortgage deals currently available on the market.