Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at National mortgage broker Mortgage Advice Bureau comments on remortgaging in the current climate. "Many people will invariably have a number of different motivations for seeking a remortgage, but the massive rises in the costs of utilities, food, transport and fuel will be the prompt that drives them to seek out advice to see if money can be saved on their current mortgage and hence cut down their monthly outgoings.

Many borrowers will have read stories in the media that suggest mortgage products are not available. It is true that far fewer products exist currently than at the peak of the market, however there are still mortgage deals available and many of these can offer a significant cost saving to a borrower rather than staying on a lender's standard variable rate (SVR).

Although now interest rates appear to be falling, for those borrowers who are on a lender's SVR, the recent reductions in the Bank Base Rate may not always get passed on by lenders.

A customer coming out of a three year deal arranged in 2005, if left on a lender's SVR, often around 7% today, could experience a really large increase in their monthly payments.

Although typical rates are above the rates of 2005/06, a customer can still make significant savings by remortgaging rather than sticking with their current lender's SVR or other benefit products the lender may be prepared to offer.

Below is an example of the cost savings that a customer could potentially make by switching from a lender's SVR, based on a £100,000 capital and interest repayment mortgage over 25 years.

A £100,000 standard variable rate at 7.00% would typically require monthly repayments of £715 on a capital & interest repayment basis assuming a 25-year term at outset. By switching to a fee free re-mortgage deal of circa 5.99% over five years the savings potentially amount to £64 per month, £768 over 12 months and £3,840 over 60 months. These amounts can certainly focus a customer's mind and in most cases, when presented, will make them realise that it is worth doing something about it rather than languishing on their lender's SVR.

Remortgage products often have packages incorporating free valuation and legal fees although most do have arrangement fees. However these may not offer the biggest savings as products with both arrangement and legal costs can provide better value when comparing the total costs of borrowing over the period of the mortgage. Clearly by using an independent mortgage broker they can demonstrate to the customer that remortgaging, particularly where costs are incurred, will benefit the client over the period of the mortgage's special rate. Borrowers also need to be mindful that as house prices have come off from peak levels they will in most cases not have the same loan to value from when they set up their last mortgage or purchased the property. This may mean that some clients borrowing requirements can be difficult to source where the borrowing represents a high loan to value. Time invested with an independent mortgage broker discussing the finer details of a potential remortgage will, for most, be time well spent.

You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you remortgage.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

A fee of up to 1% of the mortgage amount may be charged depending on individual circumstances. A typical fee is £95.