This term is used to describe the process whereby an existing owner/borrower switches from one Lender to another with the details of the ownership of the property remaining the same and only the Mortgage Lender and possibly the amount of loan outstanding changing.

This phrase is used to describe the process whereby an existing owner who owns property subject to a mortgage transfers the ownership, subject to the existing mortgage. For example, if a single person owns a property subject to an existing mortgage and then marries and wishes to transfer the property into the joint names of both spouses, the single owner applies with the spouse to the Lender for permission to deal with the Transfer. Sometimes, a Transfer of Equity is combined with remortgage arrangements so that, at the same time the property is changed from one name to two names, the Mortgage Lender also changes.

It is common for the fresh Mortgage Lender to dispense with the need for fresh preliminary searches such as the Local and Drainage Searches which would normally be made at the time of a purchase. Instead, the Lender will normally accept indemnity insurance which can be provided at a modest cost, well below the cost of the full searches, thus keeping the overall costs of the remortgage transaction as low as possible.