A remortgage is one of the higher-value hours you will ever spend on admin. Moving off a standard variable rate onto a competitive fix can be worth hundreds of pounds a month.
The process itself is not difficult. What slows it down is documents, and it is remarkably consistent which ones.
Start six months out
Most lenders let you secure a new rate three to six months before your current deal ends. Because a rate offer typically holds for around six months, starting early is close to free optionality: you lock something in, and if better rates appear before completion many lenders will let you switch.
The alternative is landing on the standard variable rate for a couple of months while an application works through, which is an expensive way to be late.
Proof of identity and address
A valid passport or driving licence, and usually two proofs of address from the last three months. A utility bill, council tax bill or bank statement.
The paperless trap catches people here. Downloaded PDF statements are often rejected because they lack the bank’s letterhead or a stamp. If everything you have is paperless, request an official statement early, since posted copies take a week or two.
Proof of income
This is where most delays happen.
If you are employed: three months of payslips and usually the most recent P60. If a meaningful part of your income is bonus or commission, expect to be asked for longer, often twelve months, and expect the lender to average it conservatively.
If you are self-employed: two to three years of accounts or SA302 tax calculations with the corresponding tax year overviews. You can download both from your HMRC online account, but if you use an accountant to file, you may not have direct access, so allow time.
If you are a company director: both salary and dividends, which usually means accounts plus personal tax documents. Lenders treat retained profit very differently from one another, so this is where a broker earns their fee.
Bank statements
Three months for your main current account, sometimes six.
Lenders read these properly. Regular gambling transactions, undeclared credit commitments, unexplained large deposits and payments to short-term lenders all cause questions. None of these are automatic refusals, but each needs explaining, and it is far easier to have the explanation ready than to be surprised by the request.
If you are aware of something on your statements that will attract attention, it is worth a light clean-up period of three to six months before applying.
Property and existing mortgage
- Your current mortgage account number, outstanding balance and the deal end date.
- The redemption statement, which your existing lender will provide, showing any early repayment charge.
- Buildings insurance details, since lenders require cover to be in place.
- Your property’s title number, if you have it.
- For leasehold, the lease, the ground rent and service charge details and the number of years remaining. Short leases cause real problems, so check this early.
- Any building regulations or planning documents for work you have had done, plus guarantees for anything structural.
Outgoings
Affordability assessments look at commitments. Have to hand your credit card balances, loans and car finance, childcare costs, any maintenance payments and pension contributions.
It is also worth checking your credit file before you apply, through one of the free services. Errors are more common than people expect and take time to correct.
The unglamorous advice
Gather all of this into one folder before you speak to anyone. Applications stall not because a document does not exist but because it takes eleven days for someone to find it, and by then a rate may have moved.
If you have a broker, sending everything at once rather than in dribs and drabs shortens the whole process considerably.
Where FamilySafe fits
FamilySafe keeps the property file permanently assembled: the mortgage details with the deal end date flagged, the title and lease documents, the insurance, the building guarantees and your income paperwork. So a remortgage starts with a folder rather than a fortnight of searching.
This is general information, not mortgage advice. Speak to a regulated broker or lender about your circumstances.
