Moving Home Mortgages | Edinburgh & UK-Wide

Moving home in Edinburgh

When you move home you can either take your existing mortgage with you — known as porting — or repay it and take a new one. Porting keeps your current rate and avoids early repayment charges, but you still have to pass a fresh affordability assessment and the lender must be happy with the new property. In Scotland the timing is tighter than in England, because concluding missives commits you legally, so the mortgage and the two dates of entry have to line up. Prime Mortgages handles both sides of the move.

Port your rate or move lender — we compare both

Buying before selling: bridging and let-to-buy options

One adviser managing sale and purchase timings

Should you port your mortgage?

Porting means keeping your existing interest rate and applying it to the new property. It is genuinely valuable if you are locked into a rate below what is currently available, and it avoids an early repayment charge.

It is not automatic. Your lender re-runs affordability against current criteria, and if you need to borrow more, the additional amount is taken at today's rates as a second sub-account — which can leave you with two end dates on one mortgage.

Port in full — same balance, same rate, new property
Port and borrow more — existing balance keeps its rate, the top-up is at a current rate
Port down — you borrow less; some lenders refund part of the early repayment charge
Break and remortgage — pay the charge and start fresh, which sometimes still wins

Buying before you sell

Edinburgh's market often moves faster than a chain allows, and buyers who can move quickly win closing dates. There are three realistic ways to buy before your sale settles.

Bridging finance — short-term borrowing secured against one or both properties, repaid when your sale settles. Fast, flexible and expensive, so it needs a firm exit
Let-to-buy — remortgage your current home onto a buy-to-let, release the equity as your deposit, and keep the old property as a rental
Two dates of entry — negotiating a later settlement on the purchase and an earlier one on the sale, which costs nothing but depends on both parties agreeing

Some bridging loans are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Where a loan is unregulated there is no recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The Additional Dwelling Supplement trap

If you complete on your new home before selling the old one, you own two properties on the day of settlement and the Additional Dwelling Supplement is charged on the full purchase price — currently 8% in Scotland, which on a £400,000 house is £32,000.

It is reclaimable if you sell your previous main residence within 36 months, but you have to fund it up front. This single point catches out more Edinburgh movers than anything else, and it is a reason to plan the finance early rather than assume the dates will work out.

Note. ADS is a tax matter. Your solicitor will confirm what is payable and handle any reclaim — we will make sure the funding plan accounts for it.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I take my mortgage with me when I move house?

Usually yes — most mortgages are portable. You keep your existing rate on the existing balance and avoid the early repayment charge, but the lender re-checks affordability and must be happy with the new property. If your income or credit position has changed since you first borrowed, porting is not guaranteed.

Do I pay the Additional Dwelling Supplement if I am just moving house?

Only if you own both properties at the same time. If your purchase settles before your sale you pay ADS on the whole purchase price — currently 8% in Scotland — and reclaim it once you sell your previous main residence, provided that happens within 36 months.

What happens if I find a house before mine sells?

You have three practical options: bridging finance secured against your existing property, a let-to-buy remortgage that turns your current home into a rental and releases the deposit, or negotiating dates of entry so the sale settles first. We will price all three so you can see the real cost of moving quickly.

How do dates of entry work in Scotland?

The date of entry is agreed in the missives and is when funds transfer and you get the keys. Buyers and sellers usually try to align a sale and a purchase on the same date, which is possible but leaves no margin — most solicitors will advise building in a small gap if you can.

Is it better to port or start a new mortgage?

It depends entirely on the rate you are sitting on. If your current rate is below today's market, porting usually wins. If it is at or above market, paying the early repayment charge and remortgaging can be cheaper over the deal period. We calculate both figures rather than guessing.