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If you’ve built up equity in your property, you may be able to put it to good use by remortgaging to buy a second home. Whether you’re looking for a holiday home, somewhere for family to live, or an investment property to rent out, it’s possible to release money from your current home to fund it.
At Strive, we specialise in mortgages for second homes and investment properties. We know all the quirks lenders apply — and more importantly, how to structure your application to secure the most competitive deal.
How Does Remortgaging to Buy Another Property Work?
There are a couple of main ways to release equity from your home to buy a second property:
- Remortgage and buy outright
If you have enough equity in your current home, you could release enough equity to buy the new property in cash. This can make you a quicker, more attractive buyer and allows you to line everything up before you find a property. - Remortgage for the deposit
Alternatively, you can remortgage your current home to raise the deposit and then take out a mortgage on the new property for the remaining balance. This is common when purchasing a second residential home or a buy to let.
How Much Can You Remortgage For?
How much equity you can release depends on your property’s value, your current mortgage balance, and the lender’s criteria.
You can either:
- Speak to your existing lender – but you’ll be restricted to their products, criteria and rates.
- Use a whole-of-market broker – like Strive, who can compare every option available and find a lender that fits your goals.
If you’re purchasing the second property with a mortgage, here’s a rough guide to what’s typically needed as a minimum:
- Residential second home: usually a 10–25% deposit
- Buy to let: usually at least a 25% deposit
Both mortgages must be affordable based on your income and existing commitments. You’ll also need to factor in stamp duty — second homes attract an additional 5% surcharge on top of standard rates — along with valuation fees, solicitor costs and any early repayment charges on your current mortgage.
Loan to Value (LTV) Caps When Releasing Equity
When remortgaging to fund a second home, most lenders will cap how much you can borrow against your current property based on its loan-to-value (LTV).
For example, if your home is worth £400,000 and you owe £250,000, and your lender caps the remortgage at 85% LTV, the total borrowing limit would be £340,000. That means you could release up to £90,000 (£340,000 minus your existing £250,000 balance).
If your balance were £300,000 instead, the maximum you could release would drop to £40,000.
It’s also vital the lender knows the purpose of the remortgage — i.e. that you’re using the funds to buy a second home. Some lenders factor this into their affordability calculations and apply different limits depending on whether it’s a residential purchase, a holiday home or an investment property.
Maximum Lender Loan to Value (LTV) for Remortgage to Buy a Second Home
Below are the latest lender limits for releasing equity through a remortgage when buying a second property.
| Maximum LTV | Lenders |
|---|---|
| 95% | Kent Reliance |
| 90% | Bank of Ireland, Bluestone Mortgages, NatWest, Barclays, Cumberland Building Society, Metro Bank |
| 85% | West Brom Building Society, Clydesdale Bank, HSBC, Buckinghamshire Building Society, Suffolk Building Society, Santander, Scottish Building Society, Mansfield Building Society, Bath Building Society, Halifax, Virgin Money, Atom Bank, The Co-operative for Intermediaries |
| 80% | Skipton Building Society, Leek Building Society, Marsden Building Society, Melton Building Society, Market Harborough Building Society, Monmouthshire Building Society |
| 70% | Family Building Society, Darlington Intermediaries |
Affordability for Second Home Mortgages
Affordability rules for second homes can vary significantly between lenders. Some apply aggregate affordability, meaning your income must cover both mortgages combined — for example, a £100,000 income multiplied by 5 gives a total borrowing limit of £500,000 across both properties.
Others use a payment-based approach, assessing each mortgage separately based on the actual monthly repayments rather than a fixed income multiplier. This can make a big difference in how much you can borrow.
Example of How Lender Affordability Can Differ
Let’s take an example of someone earning £100,000 per year who already has a £400,000 mortgage with payments of £1,600 per month and wants to buy a second home. Below shows how affordability can vary by lender: In this example scenario there’s a c£380,000 difference in borrowing between the top 12 lenders on affordability.
| Lender | Estimated Maximum Second Home Loan |
|---|---|
| Accord | £424,962 |
| West Brom Building Society | £422,414 |
| Suffolk Building Society | £400,000 |
| Kent Reliance | £358,055 |
| Gen H | £276,604 – £334,644 |
| Newcastle Building Society | £311,494 |
| Clydesdale | £295,488 |
| Santander | £215,697 – £241,673 |
| Halifax | £225,550 – £231,880 |
| Leeds Building Society | £156,254 |
| Nationwide | £150,000 |
| Barclays | £44,961 |
Aggregate LTV Caps Across Both Properties
While all lenders have limits on how much you can borrow against your current property — for example, capping your remortgage at 85% loan-to-value (LTV) — some go a step further and apply an aggregate LTV cap across both properties.
This means the total borrowing across your existing home and the new property can’t exceed a certain percentage of their combined value.
For example, if your current home is worth £400,000 and the second property is worth £300,000, a lender with an aggregate cap of 85% would only allow total borrowing of £595,000 across both.
Not all lenders apply this rule, but it’s important to know which ones do — as it can impact how much equity you’re able to release and how your overall borrowing is structured.
A whole-of-market broker like Strive can identify lenders that don’t use aggregate caps, giving you greater flexibility when raising funds to buy a second home.
Do All Lenders Allow You to Remortgage for a Second Property?
No, not all lenders are open to this. Some, such as Nationwide, generally don’t allow it, while others are more flexible and even offer favourable affordability assessments or lower equity requirements.
Each lender has its own rules on:
- Maximum loan-to-value (LTV) – some allow up to 90%, others cap at 75%.
- Combined borrowing limits – a few assess your total borrowing across both properties, for example capping the combined LTV at 80%.
- Timing – some lenders require a tied-in purchase (you must have found the second property), while others allow funds to be released before you’ve identified the next property.
When Should You Start the Process?
Another big factor to consider is timing. Some lenders allow you to remortgage before you’ve found a property, giving you the freedom to get the funds into your account and take your time finding the right second home.
Others require you to find the property first before you can apply or complete the remortgage. In these cases, the lender often insists that both transactions — the remortgage and the purchase — complete at the same time.
Being able to access the funds in advance can put you in a stronger position, especially if you want to move quickly or buy as a cash buyer.
| Lenders Requiring Property to Be Lined Up First |
|---|
| Ecology Building Society |
| AIB for Intermediaries |
| Dudley Building Society |
| Principality Building Society |
| Precise Mortgages |
| Metro Bank |
| NatWest |
Outstanding service and clear communication are at the core of what we do. But don’t just take our word for it—read firsthand experiences from our clients and discover why they rate us a 5-star mortgage broker.
Why Work with Strive
At Strive, we make complex situations like these simple. Whether you’re buying a holiday home, a place for family, or a buy to let investment, we’ll structure your remortgage efficiently — ensuring your funds, timing, and affordability all align.
We know which lenders support second home purchases, who offers the best rates, and how to present your application to get it approved quickly.
Speak to a mortgage expert today for the best deal.
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