offset mortgages

Ching_Ching

Hello all,

I really liked the look of Offsets and the simplicity of having everything in one place rather than
Current Account with Bank A,
Mortgage with Bank B
and the endless chasing of the best savings rate at Bank C, then Bank D, then Bank E.....

BUT, the offset mortgage rates really are not the best out there, the lenders all want 5.0% - 5.70% (and more when the BoE rate goes up). YBS seem to be one of the few exceptions at the moment, but even their 4.74% 5 year fixed rate can be beaten, but the offset facility makes it worth looking at.

To me, credit card stoozing is becoming trickier than it used to be with BT fees and limits creeping in.

Perhaps have a look at www.moneysupermarket.com
and compare the offset rates (You probably get a gold plated ATM card with the Virgin One Account?!), then do a similar search on the fixed & discount rates.

I agree with the others on here. A sizeable amount of savings (or an expected windfall) to offset the mortgage balance makes all the difference and the increasing flexibility of other lower rate discount/fixed mortgages
(borrow-back and payment holidays) gives a lot to think about.

Why pay Virgin's 5.70% or Egg's 5.49% when you can fix on Britannia's 4.39% for the next 5 years?

ching_ching

[ Ducking as someone tells me why ....... ]