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One Account

does anyone have experience of these ? Are they any good ?

When i use their calculator it says i have take my 18 year mortgage down to a 5 year !!

sounds great in theory.
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Comments

  • wymondham
    wymondham Posts: 6,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Mortgage-free Glee!
    Yes I had one. Worked well for me. Others will point out cheaper products. This type of mortgage works well if you have spare cash each month and are disciplined. If money passes through your fingers easily forget it...

    The calculator will show the quick repayment as it assumes all spare cash each month is a mortgage payment (you don't actually pay any mortgage payments though..)
  • saxtoda
    saxtoda Posts: 10 Forumite
    i dont get it - if these are so good (for those who can manage their money well) why isn't everyone taking them out ?
  • thaylock
    thaylock Posts: 234 Forumite
    saxtoda wrote: »
    i dont get it - if these are so good (for those who can manage their money well) why isn't everyone taking them out ?

    Simple,

    As stated in a previous reply this type of accounts works very well for people with savings who can offset the interest due on the mortgage against their savings. I had a One Account mortgage years ago & it worked really well for me. Each individual needs to do their sums & work out which mortgage products suits them best, it also helps that people understand how an offset mortgage like the one offered by the One Account works.
  • HappyMJ
    HappyMJ Posts: 21,115 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Few people understand them. What's my mortgage payment? Well the answer technically is zero. There is no monthly payment due. As long as you keep the balance below the credit limit there is no need to make a monthly payment but you are required to credit your salary to the account. The scary thing is going to the bank withdrawing some cash and your balance read "You are overdrawn by £60,000" eeeekkk. That's what made me pay it off quickly.
    :footie:
    :p Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S) :p Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money. :p
  • thaylock
    thaylock Posts: 234 Forumite
    6am wrote: »

    Well, you obvously didn't do enough research on this type of account & how it works. This account works very well for people who have lots of savings, i.e. if your mortgage is £60,000 & your savings is £60,000 then you pay zero interest, in which case even if in the unlikely event the interest rates shot up to something stupid like 50% you still pay zero interest (you only pay interest on the difference between your mortgage & your savings). This type of account isn't for everybody but does suit some people - do your own research.
  • saxtoda
    saxtoda Posts: 10 Forumite
    question is.... is it any better than overpaying your normal capital & interest mortgage each month anyway ? especially when you consider that i could jump on to the base rate at 2.5% in august.
  • casper_g
    casper_g Posts: 1,110 Forumite
    saxtoda wrote: »
    question is.... is it any better than overpaying your normal capital & interest mortgage each month anyway ? especially when you consider that i could jump on to the base rate at 2.5% in august.

    It's more flexible than overpaying a normal mortgage. You can offset sums against the mortgage that you wouldn't be willing to hand over as overpayments -- for example, you might be saving up for a new kitchen or something, or if you're self-employed you might have money in your account to pay your tax bill at the end of the year.

    Also, you can save up money in the offset account and then later use it to make mortgage payments. For example, say you are in a position to make large overpayments this year, but you know that next year your family's income will fall (e.g. maternity leave, one of you retiring etc). If you make overpayments you will still have to find money for payments next year. If you instead put the extra money in the offset account you can still access it and use it to make payments on the mortgage!
  • devildog
    devildog Posts: 1,222 Forumite
    Have been with them for few years now and love it.
    I don't believe their interest rate is the lowest but it really hasn't been an issue.

    I thought that re overpaying on a normal capital and interest payment you were limited to overpaying upto a certain amount and once you have paid it the money is gone(unless you remortgage)
    If you are ok with budgeting, with a One Account that money is always available to you(up to mortgage limit) so if you needed to buy a car/get repairs done to house etc you can 'loan' yourself the money.
    I can honestly say I have had no issues with the bank or the product and wish that I had done it several years sooner then I actually did.
  • 6am
    6am Posts: 194 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 12 July 2011 at 1:22PM
    thaylock wrote: »
    Well, you obvously didn't do enough research on this type of account & how it works.
    Assumption is the mother of all !!!!-ups. I have Barclays offset mortgage which is almost completely offset. Before that I had One Account. I was lucky to switch from One Account before they started to shaft everybody by not passing interest rate reduction. Had I not switched I would have paid thousands more in interest. For that reason I would not trust One Account. And you are obviously wrong about me not doing enough research.
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