How to remortgage your Help to Buy home without borrowing more money
When you need permission to remortgage, what documents you’ll need and how to apply.
Applies to England
Making changes to your equity loan
Before you make any changes to your equity loan or mortgage, you need to understand how those changes may affect you. You should think about getting independent financial and legal advice.
You need to keep paying your management fee and monthly interest (if this is due) until you repay your equity loan in full.
You’ll need to settle any outstanding payments, or ask our Customer Service team to set up a payment plan, before we can continue with your request.
Remortgaging with your current lender
If you’d like to stay with your current lender and remortgage without borrowing more, you don’t have to contact us or apply to remortgage, but check with your current lender if you need a Deed of Postponement.
A Deed of Postponement is a legal agreement between the first charge mortgage lender (your repayment mortgage lender) and the second charge mortgage lender (us).
There is a different application if you want to apply to remortgage and borrow more money.
If you’re changing lender, you need to apply to us first
If you want to remortgage with a new lender (without borrowing more), you need to apply for our permission. This is because we will need to complete a Deed of Postponement.
You’ll need to pay an admin fee of £115 to apply to remortgage with a new lender. If you get our permission, it’s valid for 6 months.
There is a different application if you want to apply to remortgage and borrow more money.
Negative equity
You are in negative equity when your home’s current value is less than the total of what you owe on your repayment mortgage and equity loan (and any other secured charges).
If you’re in negative equity, please contact us to discuss your options.
How to apply for permission to change lender
Follow these steps to get your application ready.
1. Get a repayment mortgage redemption statement
Contact your current mortgage lender to get a redemption (or repayment) statement. This confirms the total amount you need to repay.
We need to check this to make sure you’re not borrowing more when you remortgage.
The statement must be less than 12 working days old when you send it to us. If it’s older than this, you’ll have to get a new one.
2. Get your mortgage offers
We’ll need to check your new mortgage offer.
Contact your new lender for a copy of your new mortgage offer.
3. Get a breakdown of your lender’s charges
Your current or new mortgage lender may charge you fees to remortgage and move to a different product or rate.
Ask for a breakdown of their fees, and check that they’re not more than £2000.
If they are, you may not be able to remortgage with this lender. Contact our Customer Service team to check.
4. Find a conveyancer
We’ll need your conveyancer’s contact details on the application form.
You can either:
- find a conveyancer on the Law Society’s website or the Council of Licensed Conveyancers’ website.
- ask your lender if they can instruct their own solicitor to act for both of you
5. Pay any arrears
If you’re behind with your equity loan payments, you cannot remortgage.
Make sure you pay everything you owe on your equity loan, or contact us on the details below to set up a payment plan.
After you apply, you’ll also need to pay an administration fee of £115 to remortgage with a new lender.
6. Complete the application form and send us your paperwork
Complete the application form, and send your documents to us by email or post.
You can find our contact details at the end of this guide.
7. Pay the administration fee
After you’ve sent your application form and documents, you’ll need to pay us a £115 admin fee.
You can pay this by:
- online bank transfer
- debit card by calling 0300 123 4123
- cheque
If you pay online, you must tell us by email or phone so we can confirm it on your customer file.
We cannot progress your application until we’ve received this payment.
Payment details
Bank name:
Lloyds Bank PLC
Account name:
EQGATEWAY RE HE HELP TO BUY ADMIN
Sort code:
30-80-12
Account number:
24501860
Reference:
Your customer reference number or first line of your address and postcode
8: Getting a decision
When we have received all your documents, we’ll contact you with a decision by email or post.
If your application is accepted, we’ll issue an Authority to Proceed (ATP). This is valid for 6 months from the date we issue it. If you do not complete your remortgage within 6 months, you may have to repeat the application process.
If your application is declined, we’ll contact you by phone or email explaining the decision.
Complete the remortgaging process
Your conveyancer completes the remortgage process
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If your application is accepted, we send your conveyancer an ‘Authority to Proceed’ document.
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Your conveyancer prepares a Deed of Postponement, which we need to agree to, along with your mortgage lender. This is a legal document that ensures your new repayment mortgage is the first charge on your home. Your equity loan is the second charge on your home.
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We’ll check the Deed of Postponement, send it back to your conveyancer and record the new mortgage details on your Help to Buy account.
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Within 5 working days of completing, your conveyancer sends us written notification that the remortgage has completed, and a certified copy of the Deed of Postponement.
Customer Service team
Email:
[email protected]
Post:
Help to Buy customer services, PO Box 5262, Lancing, BN99 9HE
Phone:
0300 123 4123
When emailing our Customer Service team, please include your account number and a brief summary of your query in your email subject line, for example, ‘Remortgage’.
Our Customer Service team is available Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm and Saturday, 9am-1pm (excluding UK public holidays).
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Updates to this page
Published 5 May 2021Last updated 4 February 2022 + show all updates
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Updated to make the separation between Homes England and the equity loan administrator clearer.
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First published.