If you've bought a property before, you're probably already aware of the mortgage basics: fixed-rate or variable, interest-only or repayment, arrangement fees, product fees, and all the rest.

As a more experienced buyer, you have a number of pluses working in your favour. If you made a profit on your last home, you probably have a larger deposit to put down for your next mortgage, which means a smaller loan-to-value and more competitive deals.

Years of diligent repayments should have improved your credit rating, too, so you're likely to have a wider range of lenders and products to choose from.

If you're still paying an existing mortgage and you're on a variable rate, you can usually switch to an alternative deal with the same lender – if you want to. If, on the other hand, you're on a fixed-rate mortgage or another kind of deal, you'll have to check the terms to find out whether it can move with you to your new home.

This is known as porting a mortgage: effectively, your mortgage moves with you. It can save on time and paperwork, as well as avoiding any applicable fees, but the cost of convenience may be that you miss out on better deals from other providers. It's worth at least taking a quick look at what else is out there before you decide to go this route.

There are one or two options that might not have been appropriate when you were buying your last home, but are now worth consideration. One is offset mortgages – a product designed for people with savings in the bank. With these, you put your savings in an offset account linked to your mortgage, reducing the overall amount of interest – so if you have £50,000 in savings and a £250,000 mortgage, you'll only pay interest on the £200,000 difference.

One advantage of an offset mortgage, especially if you're a higher-rate taxpayer, is that you no longer need to worry about the tax on your savings.They can offer a great way to make your money work harder, albeit with the caveat that their rates tend to be slightly higher than standard mortgages. If you have the savings to make a difference, though, it's well worth running the numbers.

Mortgage rates are currently at historic lows, making it a good time to be taking out a new mortgage. A good mortgage broker such as SPF Private Clients (SPF) has access to a vast range of mortgage products, some of which cannot be achieved by approaching lenders directly. They will be able to tell you how much you can borrow and will be able to find the most competitive rate to suit your requirements.

Further information

Contact SPF Private Clients (SPF) for mortgage advice or view all available properties for sale.

The house-buying process explained