Why remortgage?

The simple reason is because it could save you an absolute fortune. Cutting 1% off a £100,000 mortgage will cut costs by around £80 a month. Remortgaging to a better rate could be the biggest single money-saving activity possible, the financial equivalent of liposuction.
The reason for a printed guide is because remortgaging is just too large a subject for an online version. It's something you need to sit down, read through and take some time over. After all, a mortgage is likely to be your biggest single expense and therefore getting the remortgage right offers the biggest single savings.

Has the credit crunch changed anything?

This guide has been rewritten in the face of the credit crunch and its impact on mortgage lending. Finding a top deal now is tougher than it was back in the mid-noughties, as mortgage companies are no longer fighting for business; now many don’t want it.

This makes it even more important that you follow through the guide to understand how mortgage deals work before trying to find the right one for you.

The Remortgage Guide

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/remortgage-guide

Remortgage

A remortgage (also known as refinancing) is the process of paying off one mortgage with the proceeds from a new mortgage using the same property as security. The term is mainly used commercially in the United Kingdom, though what it describes is not uniquely British. Often the purpose of switching is to secure a more favorable interest rate from a different lender.
The process of remortgaging does not usually involve moving home or taking out a second mortgage on the property; it is in effect the transfer of a mortgage from one lender to another. Homeowners may choose to remortgage for various reasons, including to reduce the size of repayments, to pay off a mortgage earlier, to raise capital, or to consolidate other debts.
Homeowners often mis-use the expression remortgage when they are simply switching from one product to another with the same lender; this is not a remortgage which involves the removal of one legal charge over a property and its substitution with another in favour of a new lender.
The ability to remortgage is very much based on an individuals circumstances and as the costs involved can be very large it is always best to take advice from a suitably qualified individual.