Keep your current home and move: let-to-buy mortgages
Thinking of renting out the home you own while buying somewhere else to live? You need a workable plan for both properties. Count Ready can help you explore the mortgage on the home you keep, borrowing for the new home and how the two applications fit together.
We can discuss your plan before you commit to a purchase. A lender decides whether it will lend after its own checks.
What is a let-to-buy mortgage?
Let-to-buy describes a move where you keep your present home to let and buy another home to live in. The existing property needs a mortgage arrangement or lender permission that allows the proposed letting. The new purchase needs a residential mortgage, unless you can buy without one. The lender for each property will assess its part of the plan.
It is a useful question to explore if you want to retain your old home, cannot sell it at the time you need to move, or are moving in with a partner. It also means responsibility for two properties, possible periods without rent and additional purchase costs. It is not a special product that automatically makes both applications affordable.
If you only want to let your present home and are not buying another, our guide to changing a residential mortgage to buy-to-let explains consent to let and longer-term mortgage options in more detail. Our short comparison explains the terminology.
Two properties, two mortgage decisions
The most helpful early check is whether the letting arrangement and your new-home borrowing can both work on the same timetable.
1. The home you keep
Tell your present lender that you plan to move out and let the property. It may consider consent to let, a buy-to-let product or neither. You could also investigate a remortgage with another lender. Its decision depends on the mortgage terms, property, expected rent, equity, intended tenants and current criteria.
Check any early repayment charge, whether the lease or housing scheme restricts letting, and when lender permission must be in place. GOV.UK says you must get your mortgage lender’s permission before renting out a mortgaged property.
2. The home you buy
The new residential lender assesses your income, commitments, credit, deposit and the property you want to purchase. It also needs to understand the mortgage and planned rent on the retained home. Lenders differ in whether and how they offset that mortgage with expected rent; do not assume the rent will be treated as spare income for the new loan.
A decision in principle is only an early indication. Both lenders may ask for further evidence and valuations before making offers. If the two applications depend on one another, the sequence needs to be clear to your adviser and conveyancer.
Can the deposit, rent and timing support the move?
Deposit and equity
You might use savings, sale proceeds from another asset or funds released from the home you keep. Releasing equity is a new lending decision: the lender will test the property value, loan size, expected rent and purpose of the funds. It may not release the amount you hoped for. The new lender will also check the deposit source.
Rental assessment
A buy-to-let lender may use its own rental valuation and stress calculation, which can differ from an agent’s estimate or the monthly mortgage payment. The new residential lender may treat the retained mortgage and rent differently. Ask for both positions to be checked before relying on a proposed purchase budget.
Two-property cash buffer
Plan for mortgage payments, repairs, insurance, management costs and a period without a tenant. The new home also brings purchase, moving and ongoing household costs. A projected rent is not guaranteed cash, and one late tenancy could affect your budget.
Dates that have to align
Note the end of your present deal, any early repayment charge, the likely completion date and when the old home can be let. Ask your adviser and conveyancer to identify anything that must happen before exchange or completion. Mortgage offers and permissions may have conditions or expiry dates.
There is no universal deposit percentage, rental-cover figure or borrowing multiple for let-to-buy. Current lender criteria and both properties’ facts determine the result. Our buy-to-let criteria guide covers rental-property checks; our mortgage affordability calculator is a research aid, not a lending decision.
How Count Ready can help plan a let-to-buy move
Set out the move
Tell us why you are retaining the current home, the expected rent, your intended purchase and your preferred dates.
Assess the links
We discuss the existing lender’s position, possible buy-to-let and residential routes, the available deposit and costs that could change the plan.
Proceed if suitable
With your agreement, we help prepare the chosen mortgage applications and work with the timings supplied by your conveyancer. Each lender decides after its own underwriting and valuation.
Sometimes selling the existing home, delaying the purchase or asking about temporary consent to let may be more appropriate. We should test those alternatives against your plans rather than treat retaining the property as the only successful outcome.
Costs, property tax and landlord duties
Budget for product and advice fees, valuations, legal work, any consent-to-let charge or early repayment charge, as well as the deposit and moving costs. Keeping the old home brings insurance, maintenance, compliance, agent fees and possible void periods. Check the whole plan, not just the difference between two monthly mortgage payments.
Buying while you still own your old home
Additional-property transaction tax may apply to the new purchase, even if it will be your main residence. The rules differ between England and Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. A later sale of the former home may allow a refund in some circumstances; it is not automatic. Ask your conveyancer to calculate the amount and check any time limit for your specific transaction. For England or Northern Ireland, start with HMRC’s higher-rate SDLT guidance and our SDLT calculator.
Renting out the old home
Rental income can create tax reporting and payment obligations; the treatment of finance costs needs current, case-specific advice. Ask an accountant about the income and any future sale. Tell your insurer that the property will be let, check the lease and comply with the landlord rules where the home is located. GOV.UK’s landlord guidance is a starting point, and our landlord insurance page covers questions to raise about protection.
What information should you prepare?
You can begin with estimates and dates. Your adviser can explain which documents the relevant lenders need and how to provide them securely after the initial conversation.
Your present home
- Current lender, approximate mortgage balance and deal end date.
- Approximate value, expected monthly rent and intended type of tenancy.
- Any known early repayment charge, lease restriction or prior consent to let.
- Whether you hope to release equity for the new-home deposit.
Your new purchase
- Expected purchase price, location and intended completion date.
- Deposit available from savings or other sources, before any equity release.
- Broad income, household commitments and any credit issue.
- Whether another applicant is involved and if their circumstances differ.
Do not send bank statements, identity documents or account numbers in an initial callback message.
If you are self-employed, the self-employed mortgage guide explains how income evidence may be assessed. If credit problems affect either application, see the existing buy-to-let with bad credit page and tell us about the issue early.
Check the adviser, scope and fees
Who you are dealing with
Count Ready Limited says it is an appointed representative of Connect IFA Limited. You can check the Financial Services Register and read about the business. The regulatory treatment of the rental-property mortgage depends on the facts; the new residential mortgage is a separate application.
What advice may cost
Count Ready’s initial evaluation has no fee. Its Terms of Business explain later administration and advice fees, when they are payable and how the business may be paid by lenders. Confirm the charges for both parts of your case before chargeable work begins. Read customer reviews in their original context.
Count Ready is a broker, not a lender. Advice cannot guarantee lender permission, a loan offer, a particular rate or a completion date. Your conveyancer and tax adviser should confirm legal and tax consequences.
Let-to-buy mortgage FAQs
Do I need to change my current mortgage before letting my home?
You need your current lender’s permission for the proposed letting. It may offer consent to let or a buy-to-let route, or you may need to discuss a remortgage with another lender. Check the written terms before tenants move in. Our switching guide covers this decision in detail.
Can I use equity in my existing home for the new deposit?
Potentially, if a lender agrees to additional borrowing and the amount released is acceptable to the new-home lender as a deposit source. The old property’s value, remaining loan, expected rent, affordability, costs and current criteria all matter. Do not commit to a purchase on an assumed release amount.
Will rent from the old home count towards my new mortgage?
The new lender will consider the old mortgage and proposed rent under its own rules. Some may offset all or part of the mortgage commitment if their evidence and rental tests are met; others may calculate it differently. Ask an adviser to check a current lender’s treatment for your case.
Can I apply for the new mortgage before the old home is let?
Possibly. Lenders may accept a proposed tenancy and rental valuation, but the evidence and conditions vary. Tell both lenders and your conveyancer when you expect to move and let the property so the applications can be coordinated.
What if my current mortgage has an early repayment charge?
Find out the amount and when it ends. Compare the total cost of consent to let, a current-lender option and a remortgage where suitable. A cheaper advertised rate may not save money once an early repayment charge and other costs are included.
Will I pay extra stamp duty when I buy the new home?
Keeping your old home at the end of the new purchase can bring additional-property tax. The rules and rates depend on where the purchase is and the facts of the transaction. A later sale may support a refund in some cases. Ask your conveyancer to calculate the current position before exchange.
What if the property is empty or a tenant leaves?
You remain responsible for the mortgage and other costs. Budget for periods without rent, repairs and insurance. A lender’s rental assessment is not a guarantee that rent will arrive each month.
Could I sell the former home later?
Yes, subject to the tenancy, mortgage and legal arrangements. A sale can involve an early repayment charge or tax consequences. If the new purchase attracted additional-property tax, ask a conveyancer whether a refund is possible and what deadline applies.
Tell Count Ready about both homes
A short description of your current mortgage, the rent you expect, your new-home budget and your timing is enough to start. We can identify the lender terms, documents and costs to check before you decide whether let-to-buy is right for you.
Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.