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Ported mortgages

Journalist: Melissa Lawford, The Telegraph

ended 06. December 2023

Have many people been purchasing using ported mortgages? Has the number of people buying using ported mortgages increased? Who is buying homes using ported mortgages (how old are they, what kind of properties are they buying)? Are people able to move house without getting hit by higher mortgage rates because they are porting their mortgages (what rates have they been able to get, compared to if they purchased with a new deal)?

10 responses from the Newspage community

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Craig Fish
Director at Lodestone Mortgages
Ported mortgages, whilst useful to the client at the time, often have a very nasty sting in their tail, and any broker will warn a client of the potential downsides and difficulties that may occur down the line. In 2024 I have seen more ported mortgage enquiries than I have in the rest of my 20+ years in financial services put together. This is because people still want to move home, to something bigger but don't want to lose the low rate that they are currently benefitting from, for obvious reasons, and pay a penalty that would apply for breaking their original agreement early. In all cases extra borrowing has been taken and the rates available have been more than double what clients currently have. This I feel is likely to be a problem in the future unless rates drop significantly as when a client's current rate ends, their payments will significantly increase on that portion of their mortgage. Potentially difficult times and regrets lay ahead.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
Ported mortgage deals have always been popular, avoiding uncessary early repayment penalties to break a current deal early. Borrowers have been more aware of the opportunity to move home with a low rate, but often confuse the facility with a guaranteed mortgage approval. The porting option is not guaranteed, we have seen a few clients with a change of income or work type that has meant they cannot port their deal. The borrower still has to fit the current lenders lending criteria first, and show the mortgage is affordable, and only then they can use that legacy cheap deal. Successful borrowers are seeing a saving ofe 3-4% over equivalent deals in the current market, saving thousands in monthly payments. A Mortgage broker can check your current mortgage deal and ensure you have that option to port the current deal to a new home.
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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
We are not seeing significant numbers lower or higher than normal porting applications. Lenders have different policies for porting but most consumers don't realise that porting their mortgage is only possible if you meet the lender's terms and conditions at the time as it is treated as a new application. Some lenders waive affordability if porting the same amount or less. If additional borrowing is required this will be available on the products available at the time. We are seeing more people taking tracker or no penalty mortgages if they are considering moving or wanting to keep their options open just for ultimate flexibility.
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Stephen Perkins
Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
Any homeowner with a mortgage on a low rate with still time on it, will certainly be looked to retain as much of their mortgage on that rate and only take any additional borrowing on the current higher rates. This also often saves paying early repayment charges. This option is now more popular due to increases in rates, whereas previously it may have been cheaper to take a new rate.
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Ken James
Director at Contractor Mortgage Services
Porting mortgages has never been as popular as it is right now, preserving the existing rate that may be 2 or even 3% lower than current market rates, You can also avoid the early repayment penalty that would have applied had you sold and not ported whilst in a fixed period. There are of course downsides such as upsizing if you need additional borrowing this will be with your existing lender reducing your options of choice. The new lending will be a second loan and you will have two loans side by side, two different endpoints on the deals also mean two potential product fees to pay. whilst the Porting option is one to consider it's always best to make sure you are fully aware of all the Pros and Cons of such an action, don't forget just because they have lent this money to you already you still need to undergo a full mortgage application.
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Elliott Culley
Director at Switch Mortgage Finance
Porting is a term a lot of mortgage holders are less aware of. It can be used to negate any early repayment charges and keep your current mortgage rate whilst moving to a new property. It is a conversation we have with our clients when remortgaging to let them know this is a possibility if they are thinking of moving soon. You want to make sure you are with a lender that allows porting or has good affordability calculations as it can lead to some clients restricted in what they can do if they want to port. Recently we had a client who couldn't lend as much with his current lender than he could if he moved to a new lender. A choice had to be made around if he wanted to lend more or keep hold of the current rate he had. So it's always best to consider your long term goals when deciding on your next mortgage.
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Jamie Alexander
Mortgage Director at Alexander Southwell Mortgages
This year, there hasn't been a significant rise in the number of ported mortgages for us. It seems most clients would likely choose this option anyway, mainly to avoid early repayment charges. However, the real attraction at the moment is the opportunity to hold onto their exceptionally low-interest rates, often below 2%. They're aiming to keep these rates and are willing to borrow any additional amount needed at the current, higher rates, which could be more than double their original rate.

Every lender has their own set of rules and procedures. Despite the potential challenges, for many, the effort to retain those low-interest rates is well worth it.
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Gary Bush
Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com
Ported Mortgages are one of the most unused aspects of modern mortgages in the UK - this is driven by the fact that the mortgage market is very competitive and generally, there are better terms available by analysing all lender options again. There has been a slight uptick in the use of ported mortgages in 2023 while the rate crisis was at full pace, due to the fact that the existing lender can usually re-offer faster than a full fresh applicant case - however, there really isn't that much difference.
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Adam Hinder
CEO at Simply Lending
The desire to port has certainly increased however the ability to hasn't.
With many people still on long, low rate fixed products there is obviously motivation to port their existing product when upsizing or downsizing.
The issue is often not whether to port or not to port (based upon porting making sense) but whether to upsize or downsize if they no longer meet the criteria to port and subsequently the decision becomes to move and lose the product or stay to keep the competitive product of a byegone era.
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Scott Taylor-Barr
Principal Adviser at Barnsdale Financial Management
Porting your mortgage, being able to transfer the balance and interest rate you have from your current property to a new one, has long been an important tool in the mortgage brokers kitbag. The main reason for doing it is to avoid triggering payment of any Early Repayment Charges, but more recently it's also had the added benefit of preserving the ultra-low interest rates many people will currently have. Anyone looking to move home should look at porting their mortgage in the first instance due to those reasons, with any additional borrowing required being on a new deal with their existing lender. The only times people would usually consider not porting their mortgage (assuming they have the option, not all lenders have the facility) is if the lender they are currently with either won't agree to the required size of the new mortgage they now require, or simply won't lend on the property they have fallen in love with.