Mortgage Article

Mortgage lenders use headline interest rates to attract ( home insurance quotes ) borrowers. But behind the scenes they're introducing a whole raft of add on charges. This article explains.

Mortgages. Watch out for add-on charges.

Every year more and more homeowners are re-mortgaging their homes

Mortgages. Higher Lending Charges are outrageous.: Higher Lending Charges are often charged if your mortgage is 90% or more of your property's value. We think the charge is a form of profiteering by the lenders and should be abolished. This article explains why.
Mortgages. First time buyers let down by the governments Homebuy scheme.: At this stage, the Governments Homebuy mortgage scheme for firsttime buyers seems a waste of time. This article explains why.
Mortgaging for funds: A new study has found that pensioners are concerned that they will have to sell their homes or take in lodgers to make ends meet.
ReMortgaging is it still worthwhile: Rate Tart is the name coined by the mortgage industry for borrowers who switch mortgage lenders chasing lower interest rates. Call them Rate Tarts if must, but they'll be the richer for it!
Buy to let – a change for the better: Do you own a buy-to-let property? There are some proposed new rules regarding tenancy agreements. Find out more. Buy to let – a change for the better
New rules for buy to let landlords: New regulations concerning larger properties in multiple occupation may make a buy to let mortgage a viable proposition. The end result of this should improve the standard of such properties.

Life Insurance News

to benefit from mouth wateringly low interest rates. But beware, the lenders are hiking up their other add-on charges to bolster their profits.

Behind those irresistible headline offers - for example, 4.3% for a two year fixed deal - some of the big mortgage lenders have been busy with the small ( car insurance quotes ) print! Many have introduced a whole range of add-on charges and if you don't watch out, these can wipe out your savings.

The soaring charges are the lenders response to the borrowers increasing tendency to switch mortgages to take advantage of successive special offers. The industry are schizophrenic about switchers, on the one hand calling them "rate tarts" and then welcoming their business on the other! And re-mortgaging has certainly become big business. Last year, more than 1.1 million homeowners re-mortgaged for a total of £117 billion.

In fact, some lenders are now charging around £1,000 to switch to ( best mortgages ) another mortgage product - even when it's supplied by themselves!

The sort of charges we're referring to are early redemption fees, valuation fees, exit fees, even telephone calls and photocopying! One well-known lender has even issued a ( insurance ) list of 23 charges ranging from £35 for a telephone call to £26 for a letter and £20 for a replacement mortgage statement.

But the biggest concerns centre on exist fees. These are the fees which are charged when you decide to re-mortgage. Some lenders like the Royal Bank of Scotland ( secured loans ) and the National Westminster Bank, have increased them by 125% - from £100 to £225. Here are a few more examples:-

Mortgage Lender	Exit Fees
Fee in 2004	Fee in 2006
Abbey	£179	£225
Alliance and Leicester	£195	£250
Barclays/Woolwich	£195	£275
Bristol & West	£175	£195
Halifax	£100	£175
Lloyds/TSB/Cheltenham & Gloucester	£180	£225
Nationwide	£0	£90
Northern Rock	£195	£250

Click here for page 2

Statutory Wealth Warning:
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up your repayments on a mortgage or any debt secured on it.