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Current mortgage rates
McLannahan - 23/1/09 at 05:40 PM

Has anyone moved their mortgage (or bought out and moved) to a much cheaper rate now the rates have dropped?

Was just reading a post on the BBC website and noted a post from a woman who's saved £700 a month on her tracker mortgage.

I'm fixed (about 5%) until September and wondered if I should buy out - move and then save. Obviously rates will go back up but if I could save considerably each month I could be quids in?

Thanks all

Michael

Humbug - 23/1/09 at 05:44 PM

It depends how much they charge you to quit your current deal and get a new one (early redemption charge + application charge, arrangement fee, etc.).

[Edited on 23.01.2009 by Humbug]

daniel mason - 23/1/09 at 05:44 PM

i spoke to my mortgage advisor last week and he said now is a good time to borrow money with interet rates so low. mine is fixed at 5.34% until may but i am gonna wait till then and then fix it for as long as i can! a work mate of mine got offered 3.5% fixed a couple of weeks ago but who knows what interest rates will go to when this recession really hits home.

asl - 23/1/09 at 05:47 PM

Depends on the loan to value you are looking for and the early redemption figure. I was fixed with Northern Rock until last december and then went to the standard variable. As my original LTV was around 82% 2 years ago the loss in house value is dipping towards 90%. To get a good traker or fixed rate you need 60% LTV. C&G had the best rates in dec but I know Nationwide have just bought out a good fixed rate

Wadders - 23/1/09 at 05:49 PM

Our tracker has just dropped to 1.9%
I remember when rates topped 15%

BenB - 23/1/09 at 05:54 PM

Main problem is as said. If you want a good rate you need a serious load of wedge (ie LTV around 70%).

Of interest to me though is a Natwest fixed rate 10 year mortgage. Okay so the rate if 5. something % but its fixed for 10 years.

Good for those who rememeber the 15% days.....

mcerd1 - 23/1/09 at 05:57 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Wadders
Our tracker has just dropped to 1.9%
I remember when rates topped 15%

mine's at 3% I think (nationwide standard varible for the moment), but even at that I'm paying £60/m less tha I was (and I wasn't paying much before)


my fixed deal ended at exactly the same time as the rates dropped
but the best bit is the fixed rate was so low that it was at least 0.5% lower than base for the whole time up to that
so I'm a lucky sod

I would have saved even more if I had changed it strait onto a tracker but most of the good tracker deals stopped being offered about same time my deal finished


and no I don't remember 15%

[Edited on 23/1/09 by mcerd1]

McLannahan - 23/1/09 at 05:58 PM

Thanks guys. Not sure on my redemption charges yet but may enquire next week.

I do have some meagre savings but with falling house values ( we only bought in August of last year) I'm sure the LTV woudn't be that attractive to them.

mark chandler - 23/1/09 at 06:11 PM

I struck gold, transfered my mortgage 9 months ago to Woolwich, 0.17% above base rate variable, I have never paid any less for my mortgage now, down from !1,200 a month to less than £500 now.

Get shopping, I bet they do not offer that product anymore!

Regards Mark

McLannahan - 23/1/09 at 06:20 PM

I pay a similar sum now Mark - £1340 ish at 5 ish %. If we could make a saving we could even overpay to dent the debt?

JoelP - 23/1/09 at 06:20 PM

i got very lucky when i remortgaged 2 years ago. I told my broker i wanted a fixed rate and he advised me not to, not because he thought rates would fall, but because he thought they were unreasonably high because everyone expected the base rate to keep rising. Lucky call!

On the downside, i wont be able to remortgage when the discount runs out because the LTV has risen too high!

blakep82 - 23/1/09 at 07:10 PM

she may well have saved £700 on a tracker mortgage, but she's have a pretty high outstanding balance too.

its depends how much you'll be charged as an ERC, how much the arrangement fee (if any) will be, and what your new rate will be

its possible, but i reckon you will struggle to make it worth your while changing now rather than wait til september. as a guess, knowing nothing about your circumstances, i reckon you'll be lucky to just about break even

blakep82 - 23/1/09 at 07:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
On the downside, i wont be able to remortgage when the discount runs out because the LTV has risen too high!


not necessarily. i know a certain bank (or two) will just use the value from last time they valued your house. if you got an 90% LTV rate, you should be allowed one next time if you stick with your current lender. you don't HAVE to change every 2 years, there will be other rates for you.


guess what i've been doing my whole working day...

[Edited on 23/1/09 by blakep82]

iank - 23/1/09 at 07:18 PM

quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
I struck gold, transfered my mortgage 9 months ago to Woolwich, 0.17% above base rate variable, I have never paid any less for my mortgage now, down from !1,200 a month to less than £500 now.

Get shopping, I bet they do not offer that product anymore!

Regards Mark


If you can afford to (and they let you overpay) you could keep at £1200 and knock years off the term.
£700 a month off the principle will save shed loads of interest over the years.

fesycresy - 23/1/09 at 08:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by iank

If you can afford to (and they let you overpay) you could keep at £1200 and knock years off the term.
£700 a month off the principle will save shed loads of interest over the years.


I've been overpaying mine for years.

I'm still paying their requested amount, but every few months I go in and pay a lump off.

I wasn't a home owner when it was 15% but it was bad enough at 10%.

McLannahan - 23/1/09 at 09:52 PM

Thanks everyone - some useful advice and help there!

I think I'll sell some kidneys, few limbs and hang on till my fixed deal runs out!

Thanks all again

craig1410 - 23/1/09 at 09:59 PM

I've been really lucky - I re-mortgaged to a 2 year BoE base rate tracker with Alliance and Leicester back in September 2007. The rate is 0.21% BELOW base rate for 2 years then 0.99% above base rate for the remaining 23 years or so. I nearly went for a fixed 5.79% deal at the time and as sooo relieved that I didn't...

So my current rate is 1.29% (was 5.54% when I took it out) and is likely to fall to 0.79% in the next few months if the pundits are right (for a change...) I'm taking this opportunity to really hammer down the debts (car loan, credit cards etc) and if possible start overpaying the mortgage to try to weather the inevitable storm in a few years time when rates bounce back up.

Fortunately my tracker is tied to the BoE base rate after the initial 2 years so it only goes up to base + 0.99% which is better than I could get for a new mortgage based on my LTV situation.

Cheers,
Craig.

JUD - 23/1/09 at 11:40 PM

^^^ditto that^^^

Not sure what deals A&L have now though.