Woolwich 0.19% above BR

Crazy_Saver

Hi everyone.

I have finally sold my dud endowment and am now ready to remortgage to full repayment.

Current status:

Loan £77k
Currently with Woolwich on a part interest only and part repayment.

Woolwich will accept a no fee overpayment of £10k (from endowment sale) which brings our mortgage down to £67k and transfer the loan to a full repayment with no fees at all and will also let me keep my existing lifetime tracker deal of 0.19% above BR which means we will have a rate of 5.94%.

This seems like a pretty good deal to me. Am I correct in thinking this?

Also, could someone give me an idea of the monthly repayments on this deal as I can't get the info from my local branch until I see the advisor on Tuesday.

Thanks in advance

Crazy Saver

HelpWhereIcan

if you are happy with your current deal - which, if you are happy with a variable rate you should be - there is no need for you to remortgage.

A remortgage will normally incurr valuation, arrangement or legal fees (or any combination of them), but the least you will pay is the £275 Woolwich fee to close your mortgage.

You are unlikely to find a deal on the market that will save you any money over the long term and very few that will save you money in the next 2-3 years.

Assuming you are happy with the Woolwich, you are better off staying with them and asking them to switch your loan to repayment.

Use a mortgage calculator such as http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk/calculators/mortgagerepayment.aspx to enter the term you need to get the payment you will have.

Crazy_Saver

HelpWhereIcan wrote: »

if you are happy with your current deal - which, if you are happy with a variable rate you should be - there is no need for you to remortgage.

Thanks for that HelpWhereICan.

I have read a few posts where people seem unhappy with the Woolwich but I have to be honest and say that so far we haven't had any major problems and I do find that now they have merged with Barclays I can speak to a "real" person when I call in at my local Barclays Branch.

I am also inclined to stick with a variable deal as I have a feeling that rates may be about to go down in the not so distant future. Am I being naive by thinking this?

Regards

Crazy Saver

HelpWhereIcan

Crazy_Saver wrote: »

Thanks for that HelpWhereICan.

I have read a few posts where people seem unhappy with the Woolwich but I have to be honest and say that so far we haven't had any major problems and I do find that now they have merged with Barclays I can speak to a "real" person when I call in at my local Barclays Branch.

Your personal experience and requirements are all that matter

Crazy_Saver wrote: »

I am also inclined to stick with a variable deal as I have a feeling that rates may be about to go down in the not so distant future. Am I being naive by thinking this?

There is an expectation that interest rates will fall next year (one analyst I saw predicted 3 x 0.25% drops in the next 12 months), but the main strength on the deal you are on is the fact that it is a deal for however long you have a mortgage for and avoids you having to re-mortgage every now and then to get onto a competitive deal. You have no ties so can always switch to a better deal if one comes along and can always switch to a fixed if things get tough. You can also overpay whenever you wish by however much you wish.

No-one can predict the money markets and as long as you know the risks you are taking (i.e interest rates could rise taking your payment with it) there is nothing wrong with having a variable mortgage.