Northern Rock overpayments

pstones578 · 20 March 2006 at 8:34AM

I am about to sign on the dotted line for a Northern Rock mortgage. Anyone got one of these and can explain the overpayments procedure I would appreciate it. Specifically wondering if it can be done on-line and also is it true that if your ahead of yourself due to overpayments that you can simply stop paying the mortgage until everything levels out again if you have to?

claz · 20 March 2006 at 10:00AM

the best thing you can do is call northern rock and check some companies have a limit on how much you can over pay

if you have a mortgage advisor they should also be able to tell you

klare_2 · 20 March 2006 at 10:25AM

if its the same one i have then you can pay upto 10 % of your mortgage a year without suffereing any charges / penelties ...
i have to say ive just renewed with them and stuck with the company for a second term because i have experienced such brilliant customer service from them during a very rocky period ... i know that wont be the same for everyone but it has for me :-)

reverie · 20 March 2006 at 10:34PM

My personal experience with Northern Rock has also been very good. V helpful customer service.

I have a flexible mortgage with them, I can pay all but say £1 of it off at anytime before the end of the term and not have any penalty. (Not much money spare for making additional overpayments at the moment though :rolleyes: ) Also, can draw down overpayments or as you say, not pay to the level of the overpayments I have made.

I overpay a bit each month and have drawn money down from the mortgage once. I was disappointed that it is not accessible online (wasn't then anyway - 6 months ago ish) but the call centre were really helpful with arranging overpayments/draw down of money.

All in all, would be better if a bit more techie accessible but still, really happy with them.

Prudent · 21 March 2006 at 7:58PM

I would reflect what reverie said. I also had a flexible mortgage with them and found it great. I always sent any over payment by cheque and got a letter (pretty much by return of post) stating the new total and the reduction in my monthly payment. You can redraw any over payment, but you must it must be a miniumum of £500. I got my balance down to £100 after 18 months (didn't pay off to avoid penalities). The monthly payment was £1 and they still sent me a letter offering me a 'payment' break to help cover the cost of Christmas!

You can get payment breaks after 9 months of regular paymenys. I think two months is allowed in the year, but check your conditions. I am glad I choose that mortgage - it worked well for me.

donstermonster · 21 March 2006 at 9:35PM

i have a 3 year fix @ 4.89 and make overpayments every month, sometimes a few times a month

It is always very simple and Northern Rock really seem to know what they are doing

I have a number to call for overpayments and i just call them answer a few security questions and make any overpayments using my debit card which means all payments apply the following day

They are also excellent (on same number) to tell me exactly how much i owe , even as i have, part repayment an dpart interest only

As long as i do not pay the whole lot off (leave £1 in) within 3.5 years then i do not have a problem with any redemption penalties (but it is a problem i would like to have <grin>0

rkh001 · 28 March 2006 at 3:12PM

We have the Together Mortgage with NR. We have a high interest rate of 6.95% which is supposed to be variable but we have noticed that it remains the same throughout the year!
Well, we have had problems with them. We wanted to have a month's holiday period and when I rang to see how much we needed tp pay them during that month to ensure the following month was free, I got a different figure from every single person I spoke to. It varied from £300 to £800! I wrote a long letter asking them to check the several recorded messages and let us know exactly how much we owed for that month (as we were into the month and some payments had been made and we had been overpaying previous months). No reply from them!!
So, I have to say, that we are not happy with them. Can't move because OH has been unemployed for the last 6 months and therefore his credit rating has been affected.
Also, for those of you who may be interested, if you have a Together Mortgage with an unsecured loan amount, then unless you tell them to allocate your overpayments to the capital, they will allocate it in the same proportion as normal payments to the mortgage and the loan. EACH month you have to tell them in WRITING to allocate the overpayments to the capital - this is what we have been told. Not really satisfactory, as far as I am concerned but mustn't complain as we are stuck with them for a while!
Sorry to have gone on a bit.

rkh001

comping_cat · 8 April 2006 at 9:28PM

I have a 5 year fixed rate with the Northern Rock, and i can make unlimited over payments into it. Everything i overpay will come off my mortgage, and gradually reduce the amount i owe, and the time left on the mortgage. However, if i ever need an advance on my mortgage (for example if i need to buy a new car, or do some home improvements) i can withdraw whatever i have overpaid (if ive overpaid 10K, i can borrow up to 10K with no penalties) If i dont want to borrow anything back, my mortgage will be paid off quicker!!!! Its really good, ive had no problems (mind you, ive only had it a few months) but its nice to know i am on a fixed rate and i can make unlimited overpayments!!!!

Otago · 8 April 2006 at 11:03PM

I too have a together mortgage, and have taken out additional funds against the house. The phoecalls were a nightmare, sometimes waiting 50 mins on hold. I left messages and when people said they would ring back they didnt. When I took out my together mortgage alomst 3 years ago, it was the only company that would let me borrow over 100% of the value and so I am at least glad it helped me get onto the ladder, but i wont be saying with them when my 3 years are up.

Northern Rock overpayments

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free