Remortgaging: what are the costs involved?

Remortgaging can involve less costs than those incurred when buying a property, since in most cases the following charges either won't apply or will be lower than when you first purchased your mortgage, including:

  • Stamp duty - you won't be liable for this at all when remortgaging.
  • Legal fees - solicitor's costs could be lower than when purchasing the property, since the legal process is less complex for remortgaging than purchasing.
  • Homebuyer's report or survey - if you've undertaken a homebuyer's report or full structural survey when purchasing the property, you're unlikely to need to repeat this exercise when remortgaging.
  • Other costs - other costs will apply (as below) but on some remortgage deals the new lender will even meet some or all of these.

When considering whether to switch mortgages, you'll need to bear in mind any early repayment charges that may apply on your existing deal, and the extent to which (if at all) these may reduce the potential savings to be gained by remortgaging.

Many of the costs of remortgaging are similar to those incurred when purchasing a property. These may include:

  • Early repayment charges (applicable in some cases).
  • Lender's arrangement fees.
  • Booking and broker fees.
  • Valuation fees.
  • Legal fees.
  • Higher Lender Charge (in some cases).
  • Discharge fees from your old lender (often called a 'sealing fee').