Homeowners are discovering that remortgaging isn’t anything like it used to be before the coronavirus pandemic. In some ways that is exceptionally good for homeowners rather than bad. First of all, there are low interest rates available to rival even those found only years ago during the economic crisis recovery. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) weeks back cut the standard base interest rate to the lowest level ever in the Bank’s 325 year history.

In addition, lenders are in the unique position of needing to come up with rulings on valuations of properties based on the current need to social distance and respect coronavirus quarantine and distancing guidelines. Homeowners will need to be focused on asking the way that the lender will handle the valuation that will be comfortable with their own needs and concerns. Many are allowing the remortgage to complete if the loan to value (LTV) is at a particular threshold for the deal. It would be helpful to keep this part of remortgaging in mind and speak to the lender about the issue early in the process. A remortgage broker would be familiar with each lender’s requirements and could cut down the time needed to discover which would best fit in with your needs and expectations.

Homeowners that shopped for a remortgage before the pandemic took shape will likely discover there are fewer remortgage products on the market. While lenders have put out products that reflect the Bank’s cut to the standard base interest rate, there are fewer of them available. In one aspect it cuts down on options, but another way to look at it is there is less to muddle through to find the best offers. 

Online shopping and remortgaging is the new preferred way to do business. Perhaps only the most tech minded were keen to do most of the remortgage work online or by phone. Now it is the preferred path and lenders are making changes that are impacting the process to make it more user-friendly. In will likely continue to be the option most preferred in the years ahead as homeowners realize how easy it can be to do most of the remortgage work, if not all, from home.