Comparing Mortgage Products - Share a Mortgages 7 Top Tips!
1. Mortgage Product Fees
When comparing mortgage products, a suspiciously low fixed rate in an advert may often reflect a high product fee, which, when considered along with the rate and total repayments, may not make the rate so attractive. So as not to draw attention, product fees may also be printed in subtler ink shades than the fixed rate was and in much smaller typefaces than anything other than the legal disclaimer!
2. End date
Many adverts do not make plain whether a fix lasts for a period or stops at a set date.You need to be clear about end dates, regarding when you are set to come off your fixed rate and onto the lender's Standard Variable Rate, if you have taken out a fixed rate mortgage. Misapprehending this can lose you money, depending on the prevailing external financial conditions.
3. When are product fees payable?
Adverts are often unclear about when a product fee is payable. The lender might expect a fee to be paid on application or completion, or even part on application and the rest on completion. Given the total expense involved in buying a house, it pays to be as prepared as possible where having funds to pay required fees is concerned.
4. Maximum LTV
If it is not clear, It is always worth finding out if there is any maximum loan to value cap which a lender has decided on for a particular mortgage product. It simply saves potentially wasted time evaluating a product which does not suit.
5. Early Repayment Charge details
Early repayment charges can run into the tens of thousands of pounds and invariably apply during the fixed part of an initial fix mortgage product. To misread or misunderstand any ERC terms could be financially disastrous. The average charge for the ERC is a percentage of the loan and should play a factor when comparing mortgage products.
6. Free valuation included?
As getting a valuation would normally cost perhaps £300, it is worth clarifying whether this is included as part of a mortgage deal. If you have decided to get a Homebuyer Report, a valuation is included in this, so you may not regard this incentive to be worthwhile when you are evaluating different products.
7. Any other incentives involved and what are the mortgage product terms?
Often, a mortgage product will offer incentives such as free legal fees or cashback. It worth clarifying whether there are any of these and what their terms are and if there are any caveats.
