There's a lot of talk about re-mortgaging at present. Figures from one of the leading banks show that just over a third of their mortgage business is from re-mortgages and these figures are confirmed by figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Banks and building societies are confident that this market will continue to grow at a healthy rate.



Who are the people that are jumping on the re-mortgaging bandwagon?

With house prices continuing to rise and buying opportunities getting more and more difficult to find, people are starting to consider improving their current home to create more space and improved facilities, rather than search for their ideal home. Then there's the outlay involved in moving to consider. When raising a family, often it is very much simpler to stay in the location in which they're settled at nursery or school and extending your home to suit their growing needs.

Owners of buy-to-let property may be interested in going down the re-mortgaging route too. There may be unplanned repairs cropping up, and by re-mortgaging they have the means to fund them. They would also be the possibility of extending and improving the property to generate more rental income as well as increasing the value. For many landlords it may be the means to add to their property portfolios, providing the deposit and legal fees for their next investment.

Many lenders provide a fee-free re-mortgage package and make no charge for property valuation when re-mortgaging. Some also include standard legal work too.

Longer term re-mortgage deals are looking good. More borrowers are taking out the three year rates offered on some mortgages, for instance within the buy-to-let and self certification portfolios and on the more expensive properties, valued at ?500,000 and over.

The banks and building societies are always on the lookout for ways of extending their range of services and staying competitive. Self-employed borrowers may be interested in a flexible mortgage. This can give more control over the mortgage and the facility to under or over-pay will fit in with personal circumstances. Self employed people can choose to use money which has been saved to pay the VAT or the Revenue to reduce the interest on the mortgage until closer to the time the money is actually needed.

Lenders recognise the importance of service in the re-mortgaging industry. Many of their customers have complicated business affairs, from the self-employed businessman to the buy-to-let investor with multiple properties. They need to be able to rely on a team of experienced advisors able to cope with their individual needs efficiently.

The fact that mortgages are dealt with on-line means applications are dealt with in the fastest possible time, with minimum delays. Gone are the days of ?snail-mail? or even waiting for phone calls. Links between brokers, dealing directly with borrowers and lenders are excellent and one individual dealing with the loan means there's someone looking after the file every step of the way.

From the borrower's point of view, this is all good news. If you're in the market for any type of mortgage, contact an on-line broker, who has all the right contacts and will search out the right deal for you.