Moving Home in 2025: Alex and Sam’s Guide to Porting Your Mortgage

For homeowners like Alex and Sam, moving house in 2025 is more than just finding a new property—it’s about balancing the financial logistics of selling, buying, and navigating mortgage options.?

Fortunately, porting an existing mortgage can make the process smoother while helping to keep costs in check.

Let’s walk through Alex and Sam’s situation and explore how porting their mortgage works in practice.

Alex and Sam’s Story

Alex and Sam are moving up the property ladder. Their current home, at 1 Station Road, is valued at ￡350,000, with an outstanding mortgage balance of ￡250,000 on a 2.30% fixed rate with NatWest until August 2027.

They’ve set their sights on a new home priced at ￡500,000, using the equity from their sale and some savings for their deposit and moving costs.?

They will need a new mortgage of ￡400,000

They plan to port their existing mortgage to retain the favourable fixed rate (2.30%) for ￡250,000 and take additional borrowing of ￡150,000 at a new rate from NatWest’s current range.

Here’s how their move breaks down:

Costs of Moving

1. Stamp Duty - On their ￡500,000 purchase, Alex and Sam will need to pay ￡15,000 in Stamp Duty as they expect to complete their move after 31st March 2025 when the increase takes effect. You can use tools like the Stamp Duty Calculator?to confirm your own costs.
2. Solicitor/Conveyancing Costs - They’ve budgeted ￡2,950 for conveyancing (sale and purchase combined), based on a quote from a trusted solicitor.
3. Estate Agent Fees - Estimated at around ￡4,000–￡5,000, based on 1.0%-1.2% of the expected sale price plus (20%)VAT.
4. Valuation/Survey Fees - NatWest provides a basic valuation free of charge. Alex and Sam intend to opt for a more detailed Level 2 or 3 Report for additional peace of mind, which would cost ￡550–￡1,200
5. Mortgage Broker Fee - Their broker charges ￡375 for his advice, guidance and support throughout the whole process, payable upon receipt of the mortgage offer.
6. Lender Arrangement Fees - A ￡995 fee applies to the new borrowing, which they can pay upfront or add to their loan (albeit they'll pay interest on this fee if they do).
7. Moving Costs & Contingency - Alex and Sam have wisely allocated funds for moving expenses, furniture, decorating, and unforeseen costs.

By earmarking a total of ￡28,000 Alex and Sam hope to have funds left over, but feel comfortable that they won't be left short and therefore won't need to approach family with a begging bowl at any stage!

Equity and Borrowing Needs

• Sale Price:?￡350,000
• Current Mortgage Balance:?￡250,000
• Equity from Sale:?￡100,000
• Savings:?￡28,000
• Allocated for Moving Costs:?￡28,000
• Remaining for Deposit:?￡100,000

This leaves them needing a ￡400,000 mortgage for their ￡500,000 purchase.

Mortgage Porting: Retaining the Favourable Fixed Rate

Porting allows Alex and Sam to keep their current mortgage rate (2.30%) on first ￡250,000 of their new mortgage. They will then take a rate from NatWest’s current product range for the remaining ￡150,000.?

After discussing their situation, preferences and ￡1,600 monthly budget in detail, their broker recommended the following:

1. 2-Year Fixed Rate at 4.74% for the Top Up (￡150k) | Existing 2.30% fixed rate for the ported loan part (￡250k)

Alex and Sam then hope in 2027?to be able to align both loan parts into a new rate, helping to keep their options open going forward.?

It is also worth noting that their broker explored their options for redeeming their current mortgage and starting a brand new mortgage for the full ￡400,000 to compare the cost. After factoring in the early repayment penalty for leaving their NatWest 2.30% fixed rate early (and the fact that the new rate is higher than 2.30%) it was discounted as it was significantly more expensive!

Fitting within their Budget

If Alex and Sam wanted to stretch to a ￡600,000 home, they’d need a ￡500,000 mortgage (which is at the maximum end of their affordability from a lender perspective).

The monthly payments increase significantly to c￡2,087 per month, which is beyond their ￡1,600 budget

They would also need to factor in an additional ￡5,000 in stamp duty (￡20,000 based on a purchase price of ￡600,000).

Alex and Sam have ruled out this option as they're not comfortable with the monthly costs.

It's worth remembering that just because a lender is willing to lend up to a certain loan amount, doesn't mean you have to take the maximum!

Agreement in Principle

Their broker obtained an Agreement in Principle (AIP) Certificate from NatWest, reassuring Alex and Sam that they can afford their dream home and obtain the required mortgage (subject to NatWest's review of their full mortgage application).

The AIP also boosts their credibility with sellers and estate agents, satisfying their due diligence that Alex and Sam are serious buyers and have their mortgage approved in principle.

Protecting Their New Home

Beyond the mortgage, Alex and Sam need to safeguard their investment and standard of living:

• Life Insurance:?Covers the mortgage debt, to ensure the mortgage could be fully repaid if either partner passes away.
• Income Protection:?Provides?Alex and/or Sam with an income if they can’t work due to illness or injury once their employee sick pay stops. With no income, they would be unable to pay the mortgage, bills and regular household outgoings!
• Critical Illness Cover:?Pays a tax-free lump sum if either suffer a specified critical or serious illness such as cancer, heart disease, stroke etc, which would help ease the financial pressure at a very difficult and emotional time.
• Buildings and Contents Insurance:?Protects the property structure and possessions.

A good rule of thumb is to allocate 10-15% of your monthly mortgage payment for protection policies. For Alex and Sam, they would expect this to be about ￡160 to ￡240 per month.

While this might seem like a significant amount, the peace of mind is invaluable. Think of it as protecting your ability to maintain your home?and your lifestyle no matter what life throws at you!

Next Steps

Alex and Sam are now ready to:

1. Speak with Estate Agents and list their current home,
2. Consider viewing potential new properties.
3. Work closely with their broker to finalise their mortgage options
4. Ensure they make arrangements to protect themselves and their income against the bumps in the road.

By porting their mortgage and carefully planning their move, Alex and Sam are set to upgrade their home while staying on solid financial ground.

Planning Your Move?

If you’re an existing homeowner looking to move in 2025, take a leaf from Alex and Sam’s book:

• Understand the costs of moving
• Explore borrowing options with expert advice from a trusted Mortgage Broker.
• Maximize your existing mortgage benefits by considering porting your existing rate.
• Protect your new home and financial future.

Your home may be repossessed if you don't keep up with your mortgage payments.

This article doesn’t constitute advice - your situation and requirements are unique and therefore you should seek expert advice based on your own individual circumstances.

Figures have been used for illustrative purposes, but vary between lenders and are subject to change on a regular basis

About Me

I'm Mark Humphrey, founder and Advisor at MHC Mortgage & Protection Ltd, a mortgage broker firm based in Whitstable and helping people buy their homes across the UK.

I've worked in Mortgages for over 20 years and am passionate about making the mortgage and moving process as simple and stress-free as possible.

Buying your home is a BIG DEAL and with a bit more understanding and help along the way - it really can be such a positive experience and not the stressful and anxious time that so many people dread!

Please get in touch if you have any questions or I can be of any help at all - [email protected] | 01227 807087

MHC Mortgage & Protection Ltd is an appointed representative of HL Partnership Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Registered in England and Wales - 12067840 – Registered address – 13 Aurum Close, Whitstable, Kent. CT5 3FN