Porting a Mortgage: Taking Your Deal When You Move

What porting means

Most mortgage deals, especially fixed rates, charge an early repayment charge (ERC) if you repay the mortgage before the deal ends, and selling a home repays the mortgage. Porting lets you move the existing deal, with its rate and remaining deal period, to the new property instead, so the ERC doesn't apply.

Not every mortgage is portable, so check your mortgage offer or ask the lender.

It isn't automatic

MoneyHelper notes that porting can mean a new affordability check. In practice the lender usually:

• reassesses your income, outgoings and credit history, as for a new application;
• values the new property and decides whether it is suitable security;
• checks that the loan to value is within its limits.

If your circumstances have changed since you took the mortgage, for example a drop in income, the lender may not agree to port it.

If you need to borrow more

Moving up the ladder often means a bigger mortgage. Lenders usually keep the ported amount on the existing deal and put the extra borrowing on a separate product at their current rates, sometimes with a different end date. That can leave you with two parts to the mortgage, ending at different times.

If you need to borrow less

If you are downsizing and repaying part of the mortgage, check whether repaying some of the balance triggers part of the ERC, even if the rest is ported.

Timing the sale and the purchase

Porting usually depends on selling and buying at around the same time. If there is a gap, some lenders allow a short window to port, while others treat the old mortgage as repaid and charge the ERC, sometimes refunding it if you take a new mortgage with them within a set period. Ask about this before you exchange.

Porting or switching?

Porting avoids an ERC, but it doesn't guarantee the best overall cost. Compare:

• the ERC you would pay by leaving;
• the cost of porting, including any fees and the rate on any extra borrowing;
• the deals available from other lenders. See remortgaging explained.

If the deal is close to ending anyway, the ERC may be small or nil. See when my fixed rate ends.

Questions to ask your lender

• Is my mortgage portable, and what are the conditions?
• Will I need a full affordability check and valuation?
• What rate would apply to any extra borrowing, and when would it end?
• What happens if my sale and purchase don't complete on the same day?