Remortgage to NatWest

You can remortgage at any time, but it only really makes sense to do so when it works to your advantage.

While most remortgage when they get to the end of a mortgage deal, it could be advantageous to remortgage earlier if you could achieve a lower interest rate, or if you've built up a certain amount of equity in your home.

The decision on when to remortgage comes down to a consideration of costs and benefits. If you want to remortgage before a fixed rate deal comes to an end, for example, you'll probably have to pay early repayment charges or fees. These costs would often outweigh the potential benefits of remortgaging.

When you remortgage, you may be looking to release equity from your property. This means borrowing more from your new mortgage lender than the remaining money you owe. You could then use this additional money to fund home improvements, or a one-off purchase like a car or holiday, for example.

Releasing equity will increase your loan-to-value (LTV). So, if you had built up 60% equity in your home (a position of 40% LTV), you might consider remortgaging at 60% LTV. This means your equity would drop to 40%, but you would have 20% of the value of your property available as useable funds.

A higher LTV, however, means you owe more money to the mortgage lender for your property, so you'll pay more in interest and any other applicable charges. A higher LTV may also mean you have to pay a higher rate of interest on the loan.

If you're interested in remortgaging to NatWest to unlock equity in your home, it's best to arrange a branch or phone appointment with one of our mortgage professionals.

No. As part of a standard remortgage, we will provide a free conveyancer for the legal work involved. This means we won’t charge you legal and valuation fees, although there may be instances where you don’t qualify for this. You can talk to us when applying to find out more specific information.

There may be some scenarios where you may want to appoint a conveyancer, such as when adding or removing a party to the mortgage when you remortgage.

Applying for a remortgage could be more difficult if you have a poor credit score, but a poor score doesn't necessarily mean you can't remortgage.

If you know you're likely to be planning a remortgage in the near future, it's a great idea to be aware of your credit score in advance, and take actions to improve your score if necessary. This could improve the range of options available when you come to remortgage.

NatWest customers can check their TransUnion credit score for free using our Mobile Banking app - criteria apply. Find out more in our credit scoring guide.

It depends on whether you’re sticking with your current lender or moving your mortgage to a new one.

If you’re staying with your existing provider by moving on to a new deal (also known as switching your rate), you won’t usually require a solicitor. 

However, you will need the help of a solicitor when remortgaging to a different lender. This ensures all the legal documents for your new mortgage are filed correctly.

Remortgaging can typically take 4 to 8 weeks from application to completion. But the exact timeline depends on whether you switch to a new lender or stay with your current one. If you switch with your existing lender, also known as a product transfer, the process could be much quicker – and sometimes instant.

Yes, we’ll typically pay legal and valuation fees for a standard remortgage on your behalf. That includes:

• valuation fees for properties valued up to £10 million
• standard legal fees paid up to £2 million loan size.

Complex conveyancing cases or certain property types, such as shared ownerships, won’t be covered. You’re also responsible for paying fees for any non-standard legal work, such as title transfers.

You’ll generally need a maximum Loan-to-Value (LTV) of up to 90% to remortgage with us. But the exact LTV you need depends on your specific remortgage goals.

You can remortgage up to 95% LTV if you’re simply moving your existing balance without borrowing any extra money. If you’re borrowing more funds, the maximum LTV is capped at 90%.