Moving home mortgages in Leeds

Thinking of moving home?

You have found a house you love, or you are about to start looking, and now there is a mortgage decision to make. Do you take your current mortgage with you, or start fresh? Will the move stretch your budget? And how much will the whole thing actually cost once stamp duty and fees are added in?

Moving home is exciting. It can also feel like a lot to juggle, especially when you are trying to sell, buy and sort a mortgage all at once. This page explains how a home mover mortgage works, what your options are, and how the right advice can take the guesswork out of it.

What is a home mover mortgage?

A home mover mortgage is the mortgage you arrange when you sell your current home and buy a new one. In most cases, you are not starting from scratch. You already have a mortgage, some equity built up in your current property, and a track record as a borrower. The real question is whether to move your existing deal across to the new place or take out a new mortgage entirely.

There are usually two routes. You can port your current mortgage, which means taking your existing rate and terms with you. Or you can take out a new mortgage, either with your current lender or a different one. Which is right depends on your rate, how much you need to borrow, and whether anything has changed in your circumstances.

Can you take your mortgage with you when you move?

In many cases, yes. This is called porting, and it means moving your existing mortgage deal to your new property so you keep the same interest rate and product features. Most mortgages today are portable, but moving is still treated as a brand new application, so your lender will reassess your income, spending and credit history before agreeing (MoneyHelper).

It helps to know that it is the rate or deal that is portable, not the loan itself. You are effectively reapplying for the same product on a new home (HomeOwners Alliance). If your situation has changed, for example, you have recently become self-employed, or your income has dropped, your lender may say no, even though you qualified the first time around.

Porting often works well if you are partway through a fixed deal with a rate that is lower than anything available today, or if leaving your current deal early would trigger an early repayment charge. Keeping the rate you already have can save a meaningful amount, and you avoid the cost of exiting your deal.
If you need to borrow more for a bigger home, usually only your existing balance stays on the current rate. The extra borrowing is arranged as a second part of the mortgage, often at a different rate, so you can end up with two parts running side by side (MoneyHelper). And if rates have fallen since you took your deal out, a fresh mortgage might actually beat your current one. This is exactly the kind of comparison where good advice earns its keep.

Borrowing more when you move to a bigger home

Say you have £150,000 left on a mortgage on a home worth £250,000, which gives you £100,000 of equity. You are moving to a £300,000 property. You would port the £150,000 on your existing rate, then borrow an extra £50,000, with your £100,000 equity making up the rest. That additional £50,000 would usually sit on a separate deal at a different rate (MoneySavingExpert).

It sounds fiddly written down. In practice, an adviser works the numbers for you and tells you clearly what your monthly payments would look like across both parts, so you are not left guessing.

What moving home actually costs

Beyond the deposit and the mortgage itself, moving home comes with costs worth planning for. The biggest is usually Stamp Duty Land Tax. Since 1 April 2025, home movers in England and Northern Ireland pay nothing on the first £125,000, then rates rise in bands (GOV.UK). Here is how it works for a standard home mover.

Portion of property price	Stamp duty rate (mover)
Up to £125,000	0%
£125,001 to £250,000	2%
£250,001 to £925,000	5%
£925,001 to £1.5 million	10%
Above £1.5 million	12%

Because the tax is worked out band by band, a £250,000 home costs a mover £2,500 in stamp duty, a £350,000 home costs £7,500, and a £500,000 home costs £15,000 (MoneyHelper). Stamp duty is due within 14 days of completion and is usually handled by your solicitor.

The other costs to budget for when you move are:

• Valuation and survey fees, which vary with the value and type of property.
• Legal and conveyancing fees for both the sale and the purchase.
• An early repayment charge if you leave a fixed deal early, usually between 1% and 5% of the balance (MoneySavingExpert).
• Estate agent fees for selling your current home, normally a percentage of the sale price.

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Buying and selling at the same time

Most people moving home are selling and buying at once, which means you are part of a chain. The timing can feel out of your hands, because your purchase often depends on your sale completing, and so on up the chain. Getting a mortgage agreement in principle early and keeping your paperwork ready helps you move quickly when the right house comes up. It also makes you a more credible buyer in the eyes of sellers.

What lenders check when you move home

Even as an existing borrower, moving home means a fresh affordability check. Your lender will look at your income, your regular outgoings, any debts such as loans, car finance or childcare, your credit history, and the value and type of the property you are buying (MoneyHelper). If you have changed jobs, gone self-employed, or taken on new borrowing since your last mortgage, it is worth talking it through before you apply, because these are the things that most often catch movers out.

Do not forget to protect your new mortgage.

A bigger home usually means a bigger mortgage, and that is worth protecting. Picture a family in York with two young children and one main earner. If that earner could not work for a long stretch through illness or injury, the mortgage would still need paying. Cover such as life insurance, critical illness cover and income protection is built for exactly these moments, helping keep the roof over your family's head if life takes an unexpected turn.

At Feel Good Financial, protection sits at the heart of what we do. In 2024, we arranged protection for 8 out of 10 of our customers because a mortgage is only really sorted once the people relying on it are looked after too.

Couple standing with moving boxes in a sunlit room with brick walls and large windows.

Moving home mortgage advice in Yorkshire.

Feel Good Financial has been helping people across Yorkshire and beyond since 2012. In 2024, we arranged around £100 million in mortgage lending, working with movers in Leeds, York, Harrogate and the surrounding areas. As a home mover's mortgage broker, we look across your options for you, whether that is porting your current deal, arranging additional borrowing, or finding a new mortgage that fits where you are now.

You also get support through the whole move, not just the mortgage. We help with the house buying process from the search through to handling negotiations, and our mortgage monitoring keeps an eye on your deal so you are not left sitting on an expensive rate when your fixed term ends. If your employer offers the Feel Good Hub, you may be able to access mortgage advice and other financial support through work too.

Thinking about moving home?

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Moving house mortgage FAQs

Often, yes. Most mortgages are portable, so you can move your existing deal to your new property and keep the same rate. Moving is treated as a new application, though, so your lender will reassess your income and circumstances before agreeing (MoneyHelper).
No. Porting means taking your existing deal to a new home. Remortgaging means taking out a new deal, usually while staying in the same property (HomeOwners Alliance).
Yes. Home movers in England and Northern Ireland pay nothing on the first £125,000, then 2% to 12% on the value above that, depending on the price (GOV.UK).
Usually yes, subject to affordability. Your existing balance can often stay on your current rate, with the extra borrowing arranged as a second part at a different rate (MoneyHelper).
You do not have to use one, but a broker compares your options, handles the paperwork, and works out whether porting or a new deal leaves you better off. For many movers, that saves time, stress and money.
It varies, but having an agreement in principle and your documents ready speeds things up. Chains can affect timings, which is why getting advice early tends to make the whole move smoother.