Mortgages · Second Charge
Raising funds without disturbing your main mortgage.
A second charge mortgage is a separate loan secured against your home, sitting alongside — not replacing — your existing mortgage. It's usually considered as an alternative to remortgaging, particularly when your current deal has attractive terms you don't want to lose or an early repayment charge that makes remortgaging expensive.
Second charge vs. remortgaging vs. a further advance
If you need to raise money against your home, there are usually three routes to compare: remortgaging (replacing your existing mortgage entirely, potentially onto a worse rate), a further advance from your existing lender (extra borrowing added to your current mortgage, if they'll offer it) or a second charge loan from a different lender, secured behind your existing mortgage.
A second charge is often worth considering when your current mortgage rate is significantly better than what you’d be offered on a full remortgage or when an early repayment charge would make remortgaging expensive. It’s regulated under the same rules as residential mortgages, but priced and underwritten by specialist lenders — see also Specialist Finance for other complex borrowing situations.
Who this is for
- On a good existing rate you don't want to lose
- Facing an early repayment charge on your current mortgage
- Self-employed or with income that's changed since your first mortgage
- Raising funds for home improvements or other purposes
- Already compared this against a straightforward remortgage
- Wanting to keep borrowing separate from your main mortgage
How it works
Compare against remortgaging
We'll always check whether a remortgage or further advance would actually work out cheaper first.
Tell us what you need
Amount required, purpose and your current mortgage and property details.
Lender matching
Second charge lending is regulated in the same way as your main mortgage, but assessed by different specialist lenders.
Application to completion
Your adviser manages the case through to funds being released.
Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or other loans secured upon it.