Remortgaging Guide: Negotiate A Better Deal

So now you've put out a few tentative feelers to see if lenders would be happy to take you on if you decide to move your account. Armed with your newly acquired mortgage market information, it's time to contact your lender. A polite letter is probably best, in which you outline the new deal you would like, and, if necessary, a follow-up phone call. With a bit of luck and patience, your present lender will offer you the opportunity of switching your mortgage to the one you actually want, rather than losing your custom.

Until recently, mortgage lenders found they were losing customers because of their intransigence. And losing customers meant losing money. Nowadays, many of them have departments specially set up to deal with current customers who are thinking of transferring to another lender, and they have the authority to offer these customers special deals on a case-by-case basis - especially to long-standing customers. They're sometimes known as 'under-the-counter' deals.

The benefit of staying with your current lender is that you hardly have to do anything. There are little or no legal or valuation fees to contend with, as that was all paid for when you first bought the property. They simply draw up a new contract and you sign it.

There are obviously some caveats to this procedure. You may, for example, be locked in to your current mortgage with heavy redemption penalties to pay should you move, which means they've got one up on you. So you will need to do a few sums to see if the savings you'll make are worth it. Also, your current lender may demand a rearrangement fee to change your account details. This can be in the region of £250, so if you're in a strong position then it's probably a good idea to challenge this. If they really think they're going to lose you, they might reduce or even waive the fee altogether.

If you got the better deal, congratulations! You have just saved yourself money every month on your mortgage with the least hassle possible. If you were refused and you think a better deal can be had, then it's definitely time to look elsewhere - it's time to turn to the professionals.