Santander remortgage (A 9 point guide)

In this brief guide, we will cover Santander remortgages and where you can obtain a Santander remortgage.

Getting a Santander remortgage

You may want to consider a Santander remortgage if you currently have a Santander mortgage and are considering remortgage to a better rate with Santander. This is known as a mortgage product transfer.

You may want to get a Santander remortgage:

To save money

Remortgaging to a better mortgage deal when your fixed-rate mortgage deal comes to an end could be an easy and straightforward way to save some money. This is especially true as most mortgage lenders will move you to their standard variable rate mortgage product which usually has a higher APR when your fixed-rate mortgage deal comes to an end.

You may also be able to save on interest charges on your current mortgage by overpaying your mortgage. You can see how much you may be able to save by using the Santander overpayment calculator.

to release equity

You may also want a Santander remortgage if you want to release equity. This could be the case if your property has risen in value and you now have considerable equity in the property which you now want to convert to cash so you can go on a holiday or fund other purchases.

To release equity with a Santander remortgage you will simply get a mortgage which is bigger than the current balance you owe on your current mortgage. Your conveyancer will then pay you the balance that is left after your original mortgage balance has been paid off by your new remortgage lender.

To borrow more money

You may want a Santander remortgage if you want to borrow more money. This is also known as a further advance if you have your original mortgage with Santander.

Should you get a Santander remortgage?

When considering whether to get a remortgage, you may want to consider if getting a Santander remortgage is the best course of action. You may want to consider getting a mortgage broker who may be able to advise you on all the mortgage products available to you and if getting a remortgage is the right thing for you at this moment. It may be the case that waiting a few more months may give you access to better remortgage deals.

The mortgage broker may be able to assess more products than one mortgage lender and hence a Santander remortgage may not be the best option as there may be other lenders out there who could offer you a better mortgage deal .

What is the Santander remortgage process?

The Santander remortgage process could take a few weeks and you may be required to have some of your documents ready to ensure the process runs smoothly.

Some of the documents you may require for your Santander remortgage include:

3 months worth of bank statements

Your identification documents

Any utility bill from your current address

3 months worth of payslips

Your mortgage statement

Your mortgage redemption statement

Your P60 tax return

Your SA302 calculation form if self-employed

Your company accounts or self-employed accounts if self-employed

Accountant certificate for mortgage

To get your Santander remortgage you won’t usually need to have any face to face meetings and everything can be done online or over the phone.

When getting a Santander remortgage you won’t need to pay for most fees aside from a valuation fee for your property.

What mortgages can you get with a Santander remortgage?

With a Santander remortgage, you don’t have to stick with Santander if you already have your mortgage with them, you can remortgage to any other mortgage lender which provides you with the best deal.

The mortgages you can access when getting a Santander remortgage are:

Fixed-rate mortgages:

With these mortgages, the rates are fixed for a period of 2, 3 or 5 years and provides you certainty over your mortgage for that time frame.

Variable-rate mortgages:

You can access a host of variable mortgages and this mortgages will have a variable rate which can be increased or decreased at any time by the mortgage lender. You will be informed before a rate increase.

Tracker rate mortgages:

You can access a host of tracker rate mortgages from various mortgage lenders. These mortgages will usually track the bank of England’s rate and will move in line with it, although it may not be the exact rate but rather a rate which will increase by the same point or decrease by the same point as the bank of England rate.

Buy to let mortgage

You may be able to access buy to let mortgages with up to 95% Loan to value (LTV).

Should you get a Santander remortgage or make overpayments?

Your current mortgage may allow you to make overpayments. This may be more suitable than getting a Santander remortgage but you should seek independent financial advice about this from a mortgage broker or any other suitable financial advisor.  It may be the case that your current mortgage is already as good as it gets and you won’t be able to get a significantly better remortgage deal. In this case, one of your best options will be to simply make overpayments on your current mortgage.

Before making any overpayments you should ensure your current mortgage lender does not have any limitations or penalties on how you can make your mortgage overpayments.

Santander mortgages may also allow you to make overpayments on your mortgage but there may be a fee for doing so and a limit on how much you can overpay your mortgage each year. You should check your key facts illustration for this or ask your mortgage adviser.

Does Santander offer the best remortgage deals?

The remortgage deal you may be able to get with Santander will depend heavily on what your current mortgage affordability is. If you are worried that you may not be eligible for a remortgage then you should speak to a mortgage broker who may be able to analyse your situation and let you know what remortgage deals you may be eligible for and how you may be able to improve your mortgage affordability.

One of the key factors in improving your mortgage affordability is your credit score.

You can check your credit score by signing up with one of the four credit bureaus: Crediva, Experian Equifax and Transunion or by signing up to services such as clearscore and checkmyfile.

To improve your credit score you should try the below:

Registering on the electoral roll

Getting a credit builder card

Getting a secured credit card

Getting a credit builder loan

Avoid missing credit repayments

Avoid making late payments

Can you get a Santander remortgage with Bad Credit?

In reality, it is very hard to answer this question as it depends heavily on the type of bad credit you may have.

Santander will consider this and let you know if you are eligible for their mortgage products. Using a bad credit mortgage broker with experience of remortgaging borrowers who have bad credit may help you.

Bad credit could include:

A CCJ

An IVA

A debt management plan

A default

A bankruptcy

A home repossession

Is Santander a good mortgage lender?

As with all mortgage lenders, you will have to make up your own mind on if Santander is a good mortgage lender or not.

Throughout our Santander mortgage review, we didn’t find any reason to term Santander mortgages as a bad mortgage lender.

You should also be aware that all mortgage lenders in the UK are regulated by the FCA and so they have to meet certain minimum standards. Mortgage lenders and all FCA regulated entities have to “treat customers fairly”.

If a mortgage lender doesn’t treat you properly then you may be able to claim compensation from the financial services compensation scheme.

How long does a Santander remortgage take?

We considered how long the remortgage process could take with Santander. 

The remortgage process could take as long as 4 weeks but this is all dependent on your personal circumstances. If you are getting a remortgage on a non-standard construction property then you may find that it takes longer to get a remortgage.

This could also be the case if you have bad credit. You may need a specialist bad credit mortgage broker to assist you in finding a mortgage lender willing to offer you a remortgage.

If you are remortgaging from Santander to another mortgage lender then you will need a redemption statement.

This is a document which your mortgage lender gives you to let you know how much you need to pay to settle your mortgage.

You may want to consider a few factors before requesting a mortgage redemption statement. E.g when will the last interest charge be placed.

Using a mortgage broker for your mortgage

Whilst writing up this guide, we considered the potential effects of using a mortgage broker and we concluded that using a mortgage broker to search for what mortgages you may be eligible for maybe a better use of your resources than simply applying directly to a mortgage lender like Santander.

This is because mortgage brokers will have access to a host of mortgage products which make up a majority of the market from a long list of mortgage lenders. This in stark comparison to the few mortgage products each mortgage lender may offer.

In this blog, we discussed getting a Santander remortgage. If you took out a government scheme when you got your initial mortgage deal then you should consider how this may affect your ability to get a remortgage.

If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.

You can also contact the debt charity “Step Change” if you are in debt and need help.