A recent flood of mortgage products into the market offering cashback prove it has moved from the margins of the remortgage market to the centre of it.
What was once a minor incentive is now a common feature across literally thousands of products, and its growing presence should be considered fully, particularly in terms of conveyancing advice, and indeed potentially in the wider context of borrower choice between product transfers (PTs) and remortgages.
Figures from Twenty7tec underline the sheer scale of products that now come with a cashback offering, with 3,787 having this available, split between 2,389 standard residential, 1,276 buy-to-let and 122 are let-to-buy.
The average cashback available across all sits just below £400, although incentives range from £150 at the lower end to as much as £1,500 on some deals. That level of support creates real options for borrowers, particularly when it comes to paying for legal work.
MOVING BEYOND FREE LEGALS
For a long time, lender’s ‘free legals’ became the default choice on remortgages. In most cases, this was not because borrowers preferred them, but because ‘free’ tends to secure the business when compared to ‘not free’.
However, it’s been obvious for many years, that advisers have become far more aware of the drawbacks. Delays, poor communication and additional fees are common complaints. And that’s without even touching on the fact that free legals are on behalf of the lender, not the borrower.
Cashback changes that equation. With an average incentive of around £400, many borrowers now have enough money to fund a paid remortgage conveyancing service without dipping into their own pocket. Rather than accepting a lender-led legal process, advisers can recommend a service, through a distributor like conveybuddy, with clear pricing and defined service levels. The result is greater certainty and fewer surprises later in the process.
WHAT CASHBACK CAN ACTUALLY COVER
When advisers explain cashback in practical terms, it becomes far more meaningful to clients. For example, we offer two all-inclusive remortgage deals for £399 – the first one includes all legal fees and disbursements, with only an additional £30 plus VAT for a TT fee to redeem the existing mortgage. With this offer, advisers can earn a £135 referral fee. Or, alternatively, they can sacrifice £30 of that referral fee, and the client gets the TT fee included. Both options include all disbursements – with no sneaky add-ons like client portal fees.
This gives clients a clear understanding of what they are paying and what they are getting in return. Instead of facing frustrating charges added at the end of the transaction, they see a single figure at the outset and can plan around it. For many borrowers, that transparency matters more than a headline promise of something being free.
ADVISER INCOME AND CONTROL STILL MATTER
And, of course, advisers can earn a referral fee when recommending an all-inclusive remortgage product. Some choose to include the TT fee within the headline price and accept a lower referral fee, but even then, clients are often better off overall once all costs are considered.
Just as important is control. With free legals, advisers have little influence once the case has been submitted. Updates are slow, service levels vary and delays can be hard to resolve; if it’s going to reflect badly on anyone, then the adviser is close to the top of that list.
By contrast, recommending our all-inclusive remortgage allows advisers to work directly with the conveyancer, keep all parties aligned and push cases through when timescales matter. Plus they have access to all our support services to help the case along. All of this makes a real difference to completion outcomes.
THE PRODUCT TRANSFER QUESTION
These issues of course sit against a wider debate around PTs versus remortgages, particularly in the context of adviser income and responsibilities. Product transfers are often described as simpler, but the advice and compliance requirements are largely the same. What has changed is remuneration.
Following LBG’s decision to take away PT proc fee parity – a decision described by one of our adviser users as “biting the hand that feeds them” – no major lender now pays a full PT proc fee. The impact of that may well be sizeable for adviser incomes/profitability.
As a result, advisers may increasingly be questioning whether PTS deliver fair value for the work involved. This is not about steering clients in one direction or another, but about ensuring that the advice model remains sustainable while still delivering good client outcomes.
WHY REMORTGAGES MAY GAIN GROUND
Industry forecasts suggest that any such reassessment will have an impact. IMLA has said in its most recent forecast that, while PTs have grown slightly faster than remortgages in the short term, this may well reverse. It forecasts an 11% rise in remortgages in 2026, compared with growth of just 4% for PTs.
And of course, given that there is no conveyancing advice option/recommendation available for a PT and it also often means little room for ancillary sales, the focus on remortgage business is likely to intensify.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR 2026
As the market moves into 2026, the opportunity is clear. Cashback is widely available on thousands of remortgage products, these incentives are meaningful and remortgages quite frankly pay more proc fee and offer more opportunity to earn additional income.
Advisers can improve outcomes for clients and strengthen their own proposition at the same time via the remortgage route, and the conveyancing advice option it generates. With the right approach, cashback can support better conveyancing, clearer pricing and a smoother remortgage process for everyone involved.
