Home improvements 'helping boost remortgage rates'

Mortgage broker John Charcol has said that a desire to carry out home improvements has contributed to the increase in remortgaging seen across the country in recent years.

This group, along with those looking to consolidate debts and other aspirational borrowers, have helped bring down the average life of a mortgage to just three and a half years, the broker noted.

But despite such desires the most important thing for borrowers to consider is that the mortgage remains affordable, John Charcol added.

"[Remortgaging] has become very popular in the last few years. The average life of a mortgage now is only three and a half years. And the reason it is so low is that a lot of people do remortgage frequently," noted Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol.

"The key in each situation is to look at the total cost over the deal period […] it might be that if one lender is giving you free valuation and free legals, but he's charging a slightly higher rate on the mortgage, it could still be better value because of the freebies," added Mr Boulger.

Remortgaging rose month-on-month in November to reach £11.1 billion, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

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