Porting Your Mortgage

Porting a mortgage means transferring your existing mortgage product from your current property to a new one when you move home. This can allow you to keep an existing interest rate, which may be particularly valuable if your current deal is more competitive than those currently available.

Porting is not automatic and is always subject to lender approval. Even if your mortgage is described as portable, the lender will reassess your application as if you were applying for a new mortgage.

When considering porting, lenders will typically review:

• Your current income and employment status
• Affordability under current lending criteria
• Credit history and financial commitments
• The value and suitability of the new property
• The remaining term and balance of your existing mortgage

If the new property costs more than your current one, you may need to borrow additional funds. This extra borrowing is usually arranged as a separate mortgage product, often at a different interest rate, and subject to affordability checks.

Porting can help avoid early repayment charges on your existing mortgage, but this depends on the lender’s terms and whether the full mortgage is successfully transferred. If the ported mortgage does not complete on the new property, early repayment charges may still apply.

Timing is also important. Some lenders require the sale and purchase to complete on the same day, while others allow a short gap between transactions.

Porting can be a useful option when moving home, but it is not always the most suitable solution. Comparing porting against arranging a new mortgage can help determine which option best supports your circumstances.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.