When a fixed rate ends you move onto your lender's standard variable rate, which is nearly always a lot higher. The good news is that you can line up the next deal months in advance. Here is the timeline we use.
Six months out: start looking
Most lenders let you secure a new rate up to six months before your current one ends. If rates rise in the meantime, you keep the one you locked. If they fall, you can usually swap to the lower one before completion. There is no downside to starting early.
Four months out: compare a switch with a move
Your current lender will offer a product transfer. It is quick and needs little paperwork, but it is only one lender's pricing. We put it side by side with the whole market, over the full term of the deal, including any fees. Sometimes staying wins. Often it does not.
Three months out: apply
A remortgage to a new lender needs an application, a valuation and a solicitor. Three months is comfortable. If you are borrowing more, for an extension or to consolidate, this is the point to say so.
The week it ends
The new deal starts the day after the old one finishes, and you never touch the variable rate. Then we diarise the next end date and get in touch six months before that one, too.
