A commercial remortgage is when you refinance an existing loan secured against a commercial property, such as an office, warehouse, or retail unit. This can be done to secure a better interest rate, release equity, or adjust the loan terms to suit your business needs.
Yes, many lenders consider remortgage applications even if you’ve faced past financial challenges. Specialist lenders may be willing to assess your current trading position and future potential rather than your history alone.
The amount you can borrow typically depends on the value of your property, your business’s financial strength, and the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio offered by lenders. Most commercial remortgages range from 60%–75% LTV, but this can vary case by case.
The short answer is once you’ve made an offer on your property! However, we recommend that you apply for an agreement in principle before you start looking for properties. That way you can find out if you can borrow more than you expected or save yourself some disappointment if you can’t afford the house you’ve dreamt about just yet.
As a first time buyer things can get confusing very quickly, with large sums of money and long term repayments you want to be confident you’re choosing the right mortgage product for you. Luckily your mortgage advisor will help to choose the best mortgage product to fit your needs but we’ve explained the different types for those interested!
Tracker mortgages follow the Bank of England base rate plus a few percentage points extra. For example, you might pay the current base rate of 4.25% plus an extra 1% making your total interest rate 5.25%. These types of mortgages can either track at a certain amount for a certain period of time, say 2 years, before moving over to the lender’s standard variable rate, or they could be a “lifetime” tracker, tracking at a certain amount above Bank Base rate for the whole term of the mortgage.
With a discount mortgage you pay your lenders standard variable rate and they will offer a percentage discount on the variable rate. It could look something like this, your lender’s standard variable rate is 7% and they offer you a 1% discount, so you would pay 6% interest. These types of deals, like the tracker mortgages, usually have an introductory rate before moving to your lender’s standard variable rate.
Fixed rate mortgages are exactly how they sound, you pay the same interest rate for the entire deal period regardless of any interest rate changes or Bank of England base rate changes. Fixed rate mortgages are good for those that like to know exactly how much they’ll be paying each month.
These deals tend to be offered in 2 and 5-year terms before they fall back to the standard variable rate. This when remortgaging to another product can help save some money.
Each mortgage provider has their own standard variable rate and it can be set at whatever value they like. Standard variable rate mortgages can change at any time and are mostly driven by the mortgage product market as lenders compete to offer the best rates. As there are plenty of deals to be had out there we would recommend remortgaging before you move to your lender’s standard variable rate. We recommend getting in touch with your advisor at least 6 months before your offer period ends to give you and your advisor time to find the best deal.
Unfortunately, it’s not just the mortgage you need to pay for, other costs are attached along the way. It’s best to think about these early on in the house buying process so that you have to cover these extra costs as well as your deposit.
Some mortgage providers will charge you a fee for valuing the property you’re looking to buy while others will include this as part of the mortgage but charge higher interest rates. Typical valuation fees range from £200 – £700 depending on the value of the property.
The valuation looks only at the value of the property whereas a house, building or property survey will uncover any structural and other types of issues. The most common types of house surveys are the RICS HomeCondition report, RICS HomeBuyer report and a more in-depth building survey that looks at the structure. These can range from £500 to £1500 depending on the survey and property type.
It’s also worth noting that you may need to do this more than once if you pull out of the offer due to anything found in the report or if your offer falls through for another reason.
These are the fees that are paid to your solicitor or conveyancer to cover the legal aspects of buying a property. This includes things such as:
Stamp duty is a tax you pay on all property and land transactions however as a first time buyer things are slightly different. If you buy a property in England or Northan Ireland, provided that the property you buy is £500,000 or less, you won’t pay any stamp duty on the first £300,000.
On anything between £300,001 and £500,000, you’ll pay a reduced rate of 5%. If your first house costs over £500,000 you won’t qualify for a discount on stamp duty and you’ll pay the standard rates.
Things are slightly different in Scotland and Wales, in Scotland you’ll have to pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax which works in a similar way to stamp duty. The tax-free limit for first time buyers is set at £175,000, if your home is more expensive you can still benefit from tax relief on the first £175,000 of the purchase price. In Wales, you pay a Land Transaction Tax and there is currently no tax relief for first time buyers. However you only pay the Land Transaction Tax on properties over £180,000 which means it works out similarly to Scotland.
If you’re moving into your first home you will need to move everything from your old home into your new one. Depending on the size of your current home you might be able to hire a van and move everything yourself or if you have a lot of things it can be easiest to hire a removal company. These costs vary and depend on how much there is to move and how far it needs to be moved.
If you’re lucky enough to move into your own home at a young age the chances are that you won’t have much furniture to move into your new house. When buying your first home it’s worth checking with the seller what they plan to take with them when they move so you have a rough idea of what you’ll need. While luxuries such as a cosy corner sofa or a home office sound appealing, you’ll need to think about what you’ll need from day one. This includes essentials such as a fridge, oven, plates, cutlery and all the other daily essentials that are easy to forget.
You’ve now moved into your new house (yay!) but there are ongoing costs to consider alongside your mortgage payments. Although the exact costs will vary on a range of factors, your ongoing costs might include:
These costs can add up to £4,144 per year however this will vary depending on a range of factors such as location, house size and your personal requirements.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Not all Buy-to-Let mortgages are FCA regulated. This website provides general guidance and does not constitute financial advice. Mortgage rates and product availability are subject to change. Mortgage Circle is authorised and regulated by the FCA (No. 797652).