Porting your mortgage

Porting: what does it mean? 

Put simply, porting your mortgage is when you buy a new home but keep your existing mortgage rate. 
 

If you choose to port your mortgage you choose to stay with your existing lender when you move home.  

How does it work? 

When you ‘port’ your mortgage you move the deal/rate and not the loan. This means you will still need to reapply, as you are asking the lender to re-lend you money. 
 

When you reapply, the lender will review: 

• loan-to-value of your new property 
• changes to the lending criteria 
• personal circumstances and any changes 
• your finances (including income)  

Once this is reviewed and if accepted you will follow the same process as if you were taking out a new mortgage.  

Is porting the right option? 

What if you want to borrow more 

If you’re moving to a more expensive property, you may need to ‘top up’ your mortgage loan. The extra amount you borrow would need to be put on a different deal, with a different rate. This will split the mortgage into two parts: 
 

Part 1: the mortgage you ‘port’ from your current property to your new property  
 

Part 2: the additional money you borrow on a new deal 
 

Example: Borrowing more 

Lisa and Jim are planning to move to a new home. 
 

Their current property is valued at £160,000. They’re mortgage balance is £130,000, which means they have £30,000 in equity. 
 

The new home they want to buy is £200,000. They plan to use £30,000 of their equity as their deposit and borrow the remaining £170,000.  
 

They choose to port their existing mortgage, transferring the £130,000 balance and securing an additional borrowing of £40,000 through a new mortgage deal to cover the remaining cost of their new home. This would make their new mortgage balance £170,000  
 

Please consider that additional borrowing could be more expensive as your Loan-to-Value could be higher. 

What if you want to borrow less 

You can ‘port’ your mortgage and borrow less. However, you must make sure your new LTV is the same as your current mortgage.  

Example: Borrowing less 

Dan and Adam want to move to a new home. 
 

Their current home is worth £200,000, and they owe £150,000 on their mortgage, so they have £50,000 in equity. That's 75% of the home's value. 
 

The new home they like costs £160,000. They want to have some money to put towards home improvements so they decide to use £40,000 of their equity as a deposit and borrow £120,000 as a mortgage. This allows them to release £10,000 for home improvements.