Fixed rate expiry leads

Fixed rate expiry leads are the most predictable leads in mortgages, because you already have them: a client whose fix ends on a date set the day they completed. The only question is whether you know that date as well as their lender does.

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Fixed rate expiry leads in the Theo Opportunities screen, with clients whose fixed rates have ended or are ending

Quick answer

A fixed rate expiry lead is a client in your own book whose fixed rate is nearing its end, identified early enough to act before the lender’s retention team does. It is not a bought enquiry: the client already knows you and the date is already set.

Around six months before expiry is the window that usually decides who advises the case. That is when most lenders let a new product be reserved and retention activity begins.

Working window6 months

First note12 months out

CostAlready yours

Decisive window

6 months

Before expiry

First contact

12 months

Short and factual

If missed

SVR

Higher payments

Checked

Daily

Every client

What happens, and when

12 monthsOne short, factual note.
6 monthsThe decisive window opens.
3 monthsLate, but recoverable.
ExpiryThe standard variable rate.

Fixed rate expiry leads in lead management: a client with a fix ending in three months, scored 63 out of 100 — Example screen from a live adviser ecosystem, client details hidden.

Fix ends in 3 months: act now

Fixed rate expiry leads arrive in lead management when a client raises their hand, with the end date, loan to value and score already attached.

Bring to the call

Their positionNot just the market.
Net figuresAfter any charge.
HonestyAbout the lender’s offer.

Every expiry, tracked

See it with a sample book.

Why six months

Each factor alone argues for acting early. Together they decide the case.
Factor	What it does to the timing
Lender product windows	Most lenders let a new deal be reserved months before the current one ends. Windows vary, so confirm each one.
Retention team activity	The lender knows the date with certainty and contacts the client around it.
Early repayment charges	A charge may still apply at six months and fall away before expiry, so the arithmetic can change.
Application lead times	Valuation, legals and offer take time. Starting at three months risks a spell on the standard variable rate.

What makes the call worth taking

Knowing the date gets you into the conversation. What you bring decides whether you win it.

TimingSix months out, before the lender writes.
Their position“You crossed into the 75% band in March” beats “rates have moved”.
Net of the chargeA saving quoted before the charge damages trust.
An honest readSometimes the product transfer wins. Say so.

Every figure is indicative until checked with the client: eligibility, affordability and lender criteria decide what is available.

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What a fixed rate expiry lead is

Every other lead in mortgages is uncertain. This one is arithmetic: the day a client completes on a two year fix, the month of their next decision is known. What happens at the end of a deal is explained plainly by MoneyHelper.

Yet it is the lead most often lost, for a reason that has nothing to do with effort. The lender holds the mortgage, so the lender holds the date, and its retention systems are built around it. An adviser working from memory and a spreadsheet is competing with a database. See independent broker growth for the wider version of this problem.

The fixed rate expiry timeline

Twelve months out, one short factual contact means the client is not surprised later; pushing a remortgage this early reads as commission seeking. Six months out is the decisive window, when whoever is in the conversation generally advises the case.

Three months out is late but recoverable: the client has usually had a retention offer, and the conversation is about comparing it. At expiry the rate reverts to the standard variable rate, usually a large jump in payment, and a client who reaches it without hearing from you has already answered the retention question. That is why fixed rate expiry leads are worked from six months, not three.

How fixed rate expiry leads surface in Theo

Clients inside six months appear under Acting now with the months remaining, alongside any other signal that applies to the same client, such as rate beaten or band reached, so one call covers everything. Clients already past expiry and on a standard variable rate are grouped first. See mortgage opportunity detection for how urgency is graded.

How the dates are worked out

Fixed rate expiry leads are only as reliable as the dates behind them. End dates come from what the client records in their own connected app. Where a date is missing, Theo says so rather than estimating one. Months to expiry are calculated on one consistent calendar month basis, because mixing methods causes errors at exactly the boundaries where a charge tier changes. Any saving shown is net of the applicable early repayment charge. Lender windows vary and change; confirm each lender’s current rules.

Common questions

How far in advance should I contact a client about a fixed rate ending?

Around six months is the working window. Most lenders allow a new product to be secured some months before the current deal ends, retention activity typically begins around then, and a remortgage to a new lender needs time for valuation and legals. Twelve months out is worth a short factual note; three months out is usually a response to something the lender has already sent.

How do I find out which of my clients have fixes ending?

For a small book, from your own records. For anything larger it needs monitoring rather than memory, because the dates are spread across every month of the year and the ones you miss are invisible. In Theo the end date comes from the client’s own connected record and the book is checked daily.

What happens if a client reaches expiry without acting?

Their mortgage reverts to the lender’s standard variable rate, which is typically a substantial increase in monthly payment, and the most avoidable cost in the whole relationship.

How do I compete with the lender’s retention offer?

By arriving first, and by bringing what the offer does not contain: a comparison with the open market, whether their loan to value band has changed, and the saving stated net of any early repayment charge. Sometimes the honest conclusion is that the retention offer is better, and saying so is worth more over a decade.

Are fixed rate expiry leads better than purchased leads?

They are different rather than strictly better, but they have three structural advantages: the client already knows you, the timing is certain, and the lead costs nothing extra because the relationship already exists. The limit is that you can only have as many as your book contains.

Does an early repayment charge stop a client acting early?

Not necessarily. A charge may apply at six months and reduce or fall away before expiry, so the arithmetic can change during the window. What matters is that any saving quoted is net of the charge that actually applies on the day.

Next in this cluster

Mortgage client retentionWhy clients leave at fix end, and how to stop it.

ERC-aware savingsWhether a saving survives the early repayment charge.

Opportunity detectionThe eight signals, and why suppression matters.

Written by Jason Foord, CeMAP-qualified mortgage adviser and founder of Theo. Updated 22 October 2026.

Published by Theo App Ltd. Theo is software for regulated mortgage professionals. Theo App Ltd is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, does not give mortgage advice and does not recommend products to consumers. Opportunity figures shown in Theo are indicative, depend on eligibility, affordability and lender criteria, and must be checked with the client before advice is given. Advisers remain responsible for the advice they give and for their own regulatory obligations.