(After several minutes of faffing with the bank’s labyrinthine telephone triage system, plus a few minutes confirming mortgage account number, mother’s maiden name etc. ad infinitum.)
CALL CENTRE EMPLOYEE: So how can we help you today?
MISS THRIFTY: Well, our two-year fixed rate mortgage deal runs out in the next few months, and we’re hoping to get something else in place. So I’d like to find out about what you have on offer right now.
CCE: Well, when your fixed rate runs out in February you’ll automatically go onto our standard variable rate. That’s 7.09% right now. So you would be paying around £868 a month.
MISS THRIFTY: Yuck.
CCE: Oh, but you don’t have to stay on that rate! We have lots of mortgage products available to existing customers such as yourself.
MISS THRIFTY: Really? Are they fixed rate?
CCE: Hmmm. Well, we have a few fixed rate products.
MISS THRIFTY: That’s reassuring. When I checked your website, all the fixed rate deals were demanding 75% loan-to-value. Our loan-to-value will be 80%.
CCE: Ah… Yeah, we have one product that would be suitable for you.
MISS THRIFTY: Just one? We’re super-reliable, you know. We’ve never missed our payments.
CCE: Well, you could apply for this product. It has a five-year fixed rate of 6.99%.
MISS THRIFTY: So how much would we be paying every month?
CCE: £861.
MISS THRIFTY: Oh! So pretty much the same as the standard variable rate then?
CCE: Plus a £724 arrangement fee.
MISS THRIFTY: Hmmm. I think we’ll have to have a shop around.
CCE: Sure. See ya!
Ack. I’m not looking forward to our remortgage mission. Any advice would be gratefully received!
UPDATE: This post was selected for the 78th Carnival of Money Stories, hosted by Funny About Money.
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We went through London and Country Mortgage Brokers both times and they were great. I found them through MSE. They do a whole market search and are free, so its worth trying them.
laura @ movetoportugals last blog post..Escaping the Rat Race
Hi there-hope you find a better deal-in the Daily Mail today, it says lenders will be putting up their rates very soon
Definitely speak to an independent broker, as they very often have exclusive deals that you can’t get direct from the lender. And in my opinion, variable rate offers are worth looking into. Although they don’t feel as ‘safe’ as the fixed rate deals, so many lenders are increasing their margins on fixed rate deals that you might find it hard to secure a good deal on the fixed rate products. That said, Brittania BS has a fixed rate deal for 2 years at 5.54% (max LTV 80%), but it does have a hefty admin fee of £999; First Direct has a 2 year fixed for 5.79% (max LTV 80%) with better admin fee of £598. I was just looking into this myself this morning – moneyfacts website has a pretty reliable best-buys table for more info. Good luck!
FruGals last blog post..Do you give your friends financial advice?
@Laura @Sharon rose @FruGal: Thanks for all your great advice. I’ve now contacted L & C, plus firstdirect, so wish me luck! Miss T.
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