2007 - Decision time! - Can I have opinions please!

wymondham · 31 December 2006 at 10:01PM

Hi All!
firstly, happy new year to you all!!! :beer:
We will be at the end of our tie in with Abbey shortly and looking to remortgage. Our mortgage is £44k with £24k savings. Seriously looking at OneAccount - i know the rate is higher but keen on their flexibility and 'automatic' overpayments. We also tend to have a few K in our current account which we could utilise better here. As we have such a small amount can anyone see any reason why not??! Interested in your views, especially people who already have a OneAccount and their views on it....

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2 · 31 December 2006 at 10:57PM

Hi Wymondham

happy new year to you too!

in terms of looking for a flexible offsetting mortgage account the One Account rates do seem a little high. Have you looked at whether other lower interest accounts have the same flexibility that you are after. I did a quick search on moneysupermarket and it came up with these offset accounts:

ING Direct Variable 5.3%
Hinckley & Rugby BS Lifetime Tracker Base Tracker 5.2%
Melton Mowbray BS Base Tracker 5.4%
Woolwich Offset Base Tracker 5.5%
Abbey Flexible Plus Base Tracker 5.4%
Universal BS Base Tracker 5.5%

with the abbey one you could possibly find out if there could be less fees as you are a current customer?

wymondham · 1 January 2007 at 9:44AM

thanks for your reply. as it's such a small amount the difference in rates does not make that much difference. i do intend to clear the mortgage very quickly as well (2007 resolution!). Abbey have not been the best with customer service, but my dealings with queries from One, and others who have commented say they are superb.. I do like the current account mortgage idea as it all goes towards paying off the mortgage and keeps it all in one place - I seem different to others on this site and like to keep the number of accounts to a min :rolleyes:

watcherman · 1 January 2007 at 10:04AM

wymondham wrote:

I seem different to others on this site and like to keep the number of accounts to a min :rolleyes:

I am with you on that

I am with FD offset mortgage, customer service is superb, and I am currently paying 5.19%.

cazmanian_minx · 1 January 2007 at 10:57AM

Have you had a look at Intelligent Finance? (if.com) They allow you to offset savings (normal and cash ISA) and current accounts and the rate is reasonable.

Caz

jamesd · 1 January 2007 at 9:04PM

wymondham, it sounds as though the 120 or so a year in extra interest will deliver features that will be appreciated by you more than say those from the 10 a month fees some people pay for premium bank accounts.

More money but since you like the features and at that low mortgage balance it's not that much more money, go for it.

BARGAINHUNTER! · 1 January 2007 at 11:41PM

Im in a similar situation to the op - £46k mortgage required and combined savings of £24K (£10k cash and £14k in an ISA.) I was told by the Oneaccount that I could not put my ISA into the pot and still keep it as an ISA - I would have to cash it in and put the cash in instead. My aim is to pay off the remainder of my mortgage as quickly as possible. The One account rates do seem a bit higher than others, but I agree with the OP - as the sums involved are small it does not make too much difference. Also, there are no set up fees with the One account. I will take a look at IFs offset mortgage though, especially as I might be able to put my ISA in there and retain its ISA status.

wymondham · 1 January 2007 at 11:47PM

many thanks for the replies ... basically just what i wanted to hear!!!!
2007 will be a good year for this - just been waiting to get started, finally ditch Barclays as well (current account)!!

jamesd · 2 January 2007 at 9:51AM

Bargainhunter, just put the ISA money into a high interest ISA. There's nothing magical about mortgage offsetting, it's just interest rates to compare. If the ISA rate is above the mortgage rate, the independent ISA is the better deal, if it's the same there's no difference and if it's lower, the mortgage is a better deal unless you add something to allow for the longer term ISA tax benefit that you can keep after the mortgage. Given your objective of paying off the mortgage fast, it sounds as though keeping the money in the ISA will be a good idea, since you'll be getting that after mortgage tax benefit sooner.

It's tough to beat the lousy One Account mortgage interest rate, though, but that's really best looked on as a price you pay for choosing a mortgage with such a high rate.

It's definitely worth a look at the IF mortgage option, since that's both cheaper - so you can pay off the mortgage faster - and lets you keep the ISA money in an ISA, so it stays tax free even after the mortgage is paid.

Wymondham, you should really consider the ISA issue as well, even though it sounds as though you'll like the One Account convenience.

wymondham · 6 May 2007 at 6:45PM

Just an update!
We moved to the One Account, and our mortgage has now reduced from 44k to 16k! - been very impressed with the way the account runs and would recommend it to others as long they are happy with the rate - for our mortgage amount the rate does not really come into it anymore. It's been a real eye- opener seeing the 'whole' picture as they put it, and hope to be mortgage free next year.....

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2 · 6 May 2007 at 10:11PM

just out of curiosity what is it that you prefer about the OneAccount which makes it worthwhile to pay the higher interest? Is it different to the other offset account in that everything is in a current account? Don't other offset / current account mortgage providers provide similar though?

I'm just curious for when we look for a new mortgage in a few months time as I would like something which is fully flexible for overpayments if possible.

2007 - Decision time! - Can I have opinions please!

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free