Britannia special deal - is it worth it?

scootar

Hi everyone, I got a letter from Britannia today. I am currently on a 2 year fixed of 5.49% that expires in October. I was a first time buyer and the mortgage was for £144,000 on a house price of 179k (LTV = 81%?). Obviously this was right before prices crashed so the LTV is now going to be bad if I have to remortgage elsewhere and thus I've been worrying.

Basically Britannia have, out of the blue, offered me a 5 year fixed rate of 4.49% with no fees, charges etc, and they will allow me out of my current deal and start it now. There's also a 10 year fix which I think was 5.69%. Given my likely ltv I guess I am stuck with Britannia? These seem like very good deals - does anyone have any thoughts? And would you go for 5 or 10 year deal?

I have a good, stable job, haven't missed any payments etc. Also, can you try to negotiate a deal down with a lender?

Cheers, Scott

bigheadxx

What is their SVR?

SVR rates are historically low at the moment so going onto a lenders SVR could reduce your payments. However it is possible (and in my opinion highly likely) that interest rates will rise in the future so it depends on your risk/benefit ratio.

Cannon_Fodder

seems pretty good.

5 vs 10 year decision is tricky...

its "possible" that another 18 months of crash will occur, then 2 or 3 years stagnant, with you being around 100% LTV, so in 5 years it could be a painful re-mortgage...

its equally "possible", the crash will ease by year-end, have only a 18 month stagnation, then be +5% or so for a year or two, keeping you under 90% LTV, so able to re-mortgage...

I'd say go for 10, personally.

Forever_Red

bigheadxx wrote: »

What is their SVR?

SVR rates are historically low at the moment so going onto a lenders SVR could reduce your payments. However it is possible (and in my opinion highly likely) that interest rates will rise in the future so it depends on your risk/benefit ratio.

Currently 4.49%

scootar

Hi, thanks for the speedy responses. The SVR is 4.49 - not great, which made these deals seem good. All thoughts greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Scott

scootar

Sorry, I meant to put: 4.69% for the 10 year and 4.49% for the 5 year. The former is from memory and it might be slightly higher (it was definitely under 5%)

S

LilacPixie

Well are you planning on moving at anytime in the next 10 years or is this your forever home?? If you think a move may be on the cards in 5-6 years the 5 year fix sounds decent .

scootar

I think we'd be likely to move. However, I am pretty sure you can move and transfer the mortgage, or something like that, without a penalty (portable)?

kieran1979

Scootar...

It's almost a no-brainer to me.

You must be pretty much getting towards 100% LTV as it is, and the chance to fix at under 5% for 10 years with NO FEES!!! - I'd rip my lenders arm off for a deal like that to be honest!

(It almost sounds to good to be true IMHO, so are you certain that's what they're offering you?)

Gorgeous_George

In your position, I'd take the 10 year fix.

My Britannia lifetime tracker is BR +0.74% (currently 1.24%) and I would want a better deal to switch. Somewhere near 3% - 3.5% for 10 years. (I can dream!).

GG

uzubairu

scootar wrote: »

Sorry, I meant to put: 4.69% for the 10 year and 4.49% for the 5 year. The former is from memory and it might be slightly higher (it was definitely under 5%)

S

Go for it!