Work out what moving home will cost you
Moving home means doing two deals at once. The house you sell funds part of the house you buy, so the two sets of numbers belong together. Put in what your home should fetch, what is left on the mortgage and the price of the place you are after. You get the deposit your sale leaves you with, the new loan, the monthly payment, the Stamp Duty and the cash you will need on the day.
This one is for people who already own a home. First-time buyers should use our first-time buyer mortgage calculator instead. If you are staying where you are and want a better rate, try the refinance mortgage calculator, and if you are buying to rent out, the buy-to-let mortgage calculator is the one to open.
Residential mortgage calculator
Every figure is an estimate. The starting rate is only an example, so put in the one you have been quoted if you have it.
Get a formal quote
Happy with the figures? Open the form below and your results are added to the message box for you. Add your details and anything else we should know, send it, and an adviser will come back with lender options and a formal quote.
How the residential mortgage calculator works
Begin with the home you are leaving. Add the price you expect it to sell for and what you still owe on the mortgage, and the gap between the two is your equity. Next comes the cost of the move itself: the estate agent, your solicitor and the removal firm. Whatever is left after those is the deposit for the next place.
After that, type in the price of the home you want. The loan is that price minus your deposit, and the result also shows it as a percentage of the price, which lenders call loan to value. Income goes in too, a partner’s as well if you are buying together, along with any monthly credit payments, so you can compare the loan with what lenders tend to offer.
The final inputs describe the mortgage: the rate, the term, and whether you will repay the capital or pay interest only. Everything updates as you type. If you expect to buy before your own home sells, tick the box for that and the Stamp Duty figure changes with it.
Your equity is your deposit
For most people who move, the sale pays for the deposit. Suppose your home sells for £400,000 and you owe £180,000. That leaves £220,000 of equity, but you will not see all of it again. The agent’s fees, the legal costs and the removals are paid first, and what is left over becomes your deposit.
That is why the sale price carries so much weight. Move it up or down by £10,000 and the deposit moves by the same amount, which pushes the loan the other way. Get two or three agents to value the house before you trust a number, and until it is actually on the market, use the lowest valuation in the calculator.
Lenders set their rates in loan to value bands, with breaks at around 60, 75, 85 and 90 percent. Sitting just under a band can earn a lower rate, so it is worth nudging the purchase price up and down to see where those breaks land.
How much can you borrow?
Lenders usually work from a multiple of income, and four to four and a half times is what you will meet most often. Some go higher for certain borrowers and others offer less where outgoings are heavy. Your monthly credit payments are taken off first, so paying off a loan or a card before you apply can lift the amount you are offered. Our page on how much you can borrow on a UK mortgage explains how those multiples are applied.
Movers tend to worry less about borrowing than first-time buyers do, because a big deposit keeps the loan small compared with income. You will see both figures in the results, which shows whether income or equity is the one holding you back.
Stamp Duty when you move
In England and Northern Ireland, a home you will live in is charged at the standard rates, and each rate applies only to the part of the price that falls inside its band. The first £125,000 is free of tax. Anything between £125,000 and £250,000 is charged at 2 percent. From £250,000 up to £925,000 it is 5 percent, from £925,000 up to £1.5 million it is 10 percent, and the part above £1.5 million is 12 percent. Scotland and Wales have their own taxes, so the figures here cover England and Northern Ireland only.
If you still own your old home when the new purchase completes, the new one counts as an additional property and a 5 percent surcharge is added to the whole price. You can claim it back by selling the old home within three years, but you have to find the money first. Buying before you sell is common, so the results show both figures next to each other.
Worked example: selling at £400,000, buying at £550,000
A couple sell their home for £400,000 and owe £180,000, which leaves £220,000. They set aside £10,000 for selling and moving costs, so the deposit is £210,000. They want a home at £550,000, which makes the loan £340,000, or 61.8 percent of the price. On a joint income of £100,000 that is 3.4 times income, comfortably inside the usual range.
At 5.96 percent over 25 years the payment is £2,182 a month, about 26 percent of gross monthly income. If rates were one point higher it would be £2,394, and two points higher £2,615, which is a useful test of how much room they have. Over the full 25 years they would pay about £314,700 in interest. A 20-year term lifts the payment to £2,428 and a 30-year term lowers it to £2,030, so the gap between the shortest and longest of those terms is about £400 a month.
Stamp Duty on £550,000 at the standard rates is £17,500. That sum comes on top of the deposit, and because the sale proceeds have already gone into the deposit, it has to come from savings. If they buy before they sell, the surcharge adds a further £27,500, which takes the bill to £45,000 until the old house is sold and the extra is reclaimed.
Typical residential mortgage rates, as at October 2026
Rates have risen over the past few weeks. Moneyfacts put the average two-year fixed rate at 5.96 percent and the average five-year fixed at 5.99 percent on 15 October, and the five-year average touched 6 percent on 5 October for the first time in three years. Lenders price their fixed rates off swap rates, which have climbed, and Bank Rate stood at 3.75 percent after the Bank of England’s 17 September decision, so lower borrowing costs are not expected soon.
An average covers every loan to value level, so it hides a wide spread. Borrowers with a large deposit can look for rates well below it, while those at 90 or 95 percent should expect to pay more. Arrangement fees range from nothing to a couple of thousand pounds, and a low rate with a high fee can cost more over the fixed period than a higher rate with none. The calculator starts at 5.96 percent, the current two-year average, so type over it with the rate you have been quoted.
What else moving costs
The calculator covers the mortgage, the Stamp Duty and your selling costs. Other costs sit outside it. You may pay a valuation fee, a survey and a solicitor’s charges on both sides of the move. If you leave your current mortgage before its fixed period ends, an early repayment charge can apply, and it is often a large one. The alternative is to port the mortgage, which means taking the existing deal to the new home, though you will need the lender’s approval and may borrow the extra on a second deal. Our page on what happens when a fixed rate ends covers the choices at that point.
Where the calculator stops and a mortgage broker starts
A calculator works from the figures you type in. It cannot tell you how a lender will treat a bonus, a second job or a self-employed income, whether your property suits a particular lender, or which of the lenders on the market will give you the best terms for your circumstances. Those answers decide how much you can really borrow.
UK Mortgage Broker searches the whole market for the lenders likely to say yes, explains the real cost of each deal and manages the application through to completion. Our residential mortgages page shows how we handle a move. If you plan to keep your current home as a rental, our let to buy mortgage page explains how that works.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I work out how much I can borrow when moving house?
Start with your income, since most lenders offer four to four and a half times it.
Then check your deposit, because the loan is the price you pay less the deposit. The calculator shows both and tells you which one is setting the limit.
Can I use the money from my sale as a deposit?
Yes.
Most movers do. The deposit is your sale price less your mortgage balance and the costs of selling. Because the sale has to complete first, or on the same day, your timetable matters as much as the figures.
Do I pay Stamp Duty when I move home?
Yes, on the home you buy.
The standard rates apply in England and Northern Ireland, and a 5 percent surcharge is added if you still own your old home when the purchase completes. The surcharge can be reclaimed if you sell the old home within three years.
What happens if I buy before I sell?
You pay the Stamp Duty surcharge up front, and you may need a lender to agree to carry two mortgages for a short while.
Some people use a bridging loan to cover the gap. Talk to an adviser early, because the order of events affects the whole plan.
Can I take my current mortgage with me?
Many mortgages can be ported, which means moving the existing deal to your new home.
The lender has to approve the new property and your circumstances again, and if you borrow more than you owe now, the extra is usually on a new rate.
What term should I choose?
A longer term lowers the monthly payment and costs more in interest overall.
A shorter term does the reverse. In the example above, 20 years costs about £400 a month more than 30 years but saves roughly £148,000 in interest. Try different terms in the calculator and choose the shortest one that feels comfortable.
What is loan to value, and why does it matter?
It is the loan expressed as a share of the property price.
A £340,000 loan on a £550,000 home is 61.8 percent. Lenders price their rates in bands, so a lower loan to value usually brings a lower rate.
Final Thoughts
The calculator gives you a realistic budget before you list your home or start viewing. An adviser can then check the figures against lenders and tell you what to sort out before you apply.
UK Mortgage Broker is a whole-of-market broker helping clients throughout the UK and globally to secure funding on UK property. We are directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Call us on +44 1628 969 500 or email info@uk-mortgagebroker.co.uk to speak to an adviser.
Related Pages
- Residential Mortgages – How we arrange a mortgage for a home move, from the first conversation to completion.
- First Time Buyer Mortgage Calculator – Work out what you can borrow and the cash you need on your first home.
- Refinance Mortgage Calculator – Compare your current deal with a new one and see the monthly saving.
- Let to Buy Mortgages – Keep your old home as a rental when you move.
- UK Mortgage Rates – Where residential rates sit today.