Advice re Mortgages please

shopaholicjules

On a day off from work and looking at Mortages, none of which I understand.
I currently have an Interest only Mortage with the Halifax which is in mine and my ex partners name. They will charge £500 to take his name from the Mortgage. My current interest rate is 6.5%.
I rang the Halifax to ask about changing to a repayment mortgage for the remainder of my term which is 12years and 8months.
They have said that on a 5 yearfixed rate repayment my monthly payment would be 220.
2 year fixed rate 218
Flexible repayment 216.92 plus more if I used the cashpot which I wouldn't
Tracker repayment 0.85% 216
Standard tracker repayment 222
he told me about different mortgages
Flexible 5 years 5.35%, 200 arrangement fee, no early repayment charges and can pay up to 10% over each year.
Fixed rate 2 years 5.45%, 200 arrangement fee, 3% til 2007 early repayment fee, 2% til 2008
Fixed rate 5 years, 5.65, no arrangement fee, early repayment 5% til 2007 then going down 1% each year.
Tracker reward product mortgage, 0.95% at 5.45% til 08 then step down to 0.75% til 2010, final two years 0.65%, no arrangement fee but early repayment going from 3 to 1%.
They have totally confused me, I haven't a clue about mortgages, I'm a social worker. If anyone could please give me advice as to what sounds the best and whether I should change to a repayment mortgage and keep my endowment as a savings plan I would be very grateful.
Please would you tell me in very laymans terms.
Thanking you in advance
Julia

regularsaver1

It costs £160 to remove someone from halifax mortgage (where did you get £500 from) - plus legal fees with solicitor.

You have obviously had the non-advised service (if you phone it is non-advised)- if unsure you can re-visit and ask for advice. You should also have been issued with some key facts illustrations (KFI's) of which you can make comparisons.
Or ask yourself a few questions questions:
eg
1. Do I have any plans to move, improve?
2. Would I rather know exactly what my payments will be for a certain amoutn of time? (ie fixed)
3. Am I happy that my rate could go up and down in relation to the Bank of England Rate (currently 4.50%) or the Halifax's Standard variable rate

You can overpay by 10% of the debt per year with any product with early-repayment charges - is this some thing you want to do?
If you want the flexable option that is there too.

I can't tell you what to do with your endowment.
But hope I helped a little bit.

MortgageMamma

Hi There

Hope I don't sound rude in this post but here are some of my thoughts;

1. Why have you committed yourself to staying with halifax when there are plenty of better mortgage deals out there which won't cost you anything upfront to cost? While the halifax is one of the countries biggest lenders it does not mean they are the best. I think it is despicable that they are charging you an arrangement fee to retain the business that YOU have already given them. I don't see them offering YOU any incentives here. Think, what are the benefits of staying with halifax over moving to another lender? If its form filling that bothers you a good advisor will do it for you.

2. Why are you planning your own mortgage if you don't know anything about mortgages? It could be a costly mistake. Would a mortgage broker trying to be a social worker do as good a job as you? Why not find a no fee indepenent mortgage specialist who can look at the whole marketplace for you and recommend the best solution?

If you want an explanation of the common, different types of mortgage you can have I'm happy to help!

Good luck whatever you decide.

Sorry if I sound harsh. I'm a kind of straight to the point person,

L

shopaholicjules

Hi
Straight to the point works for me and in terms I understand.
I only contacted the Halifax initially as they who I am currently with but plan to see what other lenders can offer, it's a minefield of what I do not understand, just by Halifax's products has totally blagged my head. The form filling is no problem once I decide which type of Mortgage and from whom is best.
Is a independant mortgage specialist different to a financial advisor as someone has said to me that they will charge me to use, don't know how true this is.
I think the reason I have had my mortgage with Halifax for so long is that I do not understand all of the different mortgages. In an ideal world I want someone to say here you go, hers the best one for you and not just cos they will make comission from selling it to me.
Def not harsh and appreciated.
Thanks

Ian_W

Gordon Bennett!!!
Sounds like the Nationwide tele ad, "there's the tricker tracker, the railway tracker ... " :rotfl:

As mortgagemamma says, the other question you should ask yourself is why should I stay with the Halifax? If they are offering you the best deal, fine and dandy. Chances are they're not, as the other very funny NW ad says, Halifax's best deals are for "Brand new customers onlee!"

So think about going to see a mortgage broker - and being a Social Worker :eek: might mean you know nothing about mortgages, doesn't mean you can't find out though! You'll find several good and easy to follow articles on the mortgage section of the site. For example, the remortgage guide is HERE and there is link to an article on fixed v variable mortgages HERE.

Whether you stick with Halifax or go elsewhere you will certainly make a more informed decision if you do a little reading up for yourself.

With regard to your endowment, personally I would switch to a repayment mortgage if you can afford to, if not switch part to repayment and decide how much by looking at the sum assured on maturity. If you change all to repayment you may need another post specifically about your endowment to get some informed views as to whether to keep or suurender it. I suspect some good endowments have been surrendered because they've all had a bad press so don't be too hasty to cash it in. BoL.

MortgageMamma

Hiya Jules

Sadly there are some advisors out there that are pure salesmen but they will be weeded out shortly by the fact mortgages are now regulated by the financial service authority, and that means lots of hard work, record keeping and form filling, and most importantly selling by the book!! We have to justify every little thing we do now so you will be in safe hands if you choose and Independent Mortgage Advisor/Specialist. Start by asking them the question "if I asked you to find me a mortgage, right now, would you be able to advise me on any mortgage in the UK at this moment in time?" If they say no, put the phone down!

You have done the right thing checking what your existing lender offers you first, however, halifax are notorious for offering their existing customers second best rates whilst saving the best rates to attract new customers. There are now mortgage companies out there that offer customers the best rate at the time when their existing deal ends, they are well worth checking out in my opinion.

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