Advisers should show the whole-balance remortgage beside every second charge

Every adviser should be showing clients the cost of a whole-balance remortgage beside a second charge. I don't say that because one is better. A client can only judge the choice if they can see it.

A year ago the comparison was often easy. In September 2025 the Bank of England's quoted 2-year fix at 75% loan to value was 19 basis points above Bank Rate. By September 2026 the difference between the two, which we call the remortgage gap, was 138 basis points.¹

A client on a fixed rate taken out when pricing was lower gives that rate up if they move the whole balance, and may pay an early repayment charge to do it. A second charge leaves the first mortgage alone, at a higher rate on the new money. A further advance from the existing lender may beat both.

Which wins depends on the balance, the rate, the term and the fees. Only a side-by-side comparison shows it.

The fairest objection is time. A proper comparison takes work, some firms work only in second charge without a first-charge panel to quote from, and a client who came in for one product may not want to hear about three.

I think that's a reason to keep the comparison to a page, not to skip it. A firm that can't quote the remortgage itself can still show the client what their current lender charges for a further advance, or refer them for the first-charge figure.

The Consumer Duty asks firms to support consumer understanding. A one-page comparison with the monthly payment and the total cost of each route does that better than any paragraph of explanation.²

Where the money is for debt consolidation, the page needs one more line: a lower monthly payment usually comes with a longer term, a higher total cost and debts newly secured on the home.

Most advisers already work this way. Where they don't, clients are left to guess, and with the gap at 138 basis points a wrong guess costs more than it did a year ago.