Re-Mortgage your Home or Get a Secured Loan?

By Russell Marsh in Mortgages on May 8th, 2008

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by Russell Marsh

Application fees on the best buy fixed-rate mortgage deals have nearly doubled in the past year, according to current analysis.

In the last year alone, the fees on the five most competitive two-year fixed deals have moved from an average of 999 up to 1,478. And for three-year deals the average level of fees has moved from just 578 to 1,132 now.

Last October the Bank of England base rate was 5.75% and the average rate amongst the best 3 year fixed rate mortgages was 5.84%. This has gone down to 5.65% which is expensive comparatively speaking. Two year deals were at 5.68% and they have only gone down to 5.57% in the same time period.

The recent, very high profile, problems in the banking and mortgage industry have meant that lots of people are jumping the gun a little and opting for the lowest interest rate deal they can possibly find. They should also consider the fees associated with these lower rate loans as when added together over a two or three year deal these are working out to be much more expensive.

The large increase in application fees means that they now form a much more significant portion of the cost of the loan and really need to be considered just as importantly as the actual interest rate, especially in a relatively short term mortgage deal.

Lenders in the current financial climate are taking a much tougher line but there will still be lots of very good deals available, unfortunately largely for people with lots of equity in their home and a strong credit rating.

All brokers and intermediaries should reconsider their strategy in helping clients wishing to raise capital in the light of the recent credit crisis and changes to the Consumer Credit Act. The changes in the market and to the Consumer Credit Act mean that a secured loan could be a much better option for many clients.

The major impact of the changes to the Consumer Credit Act is the fact that every secured loan for residential purposes is now under the umbrella of the Consumer Credit Act and therefore there’s a compulsory cooling off period which takes pressure of the individual and also there is a ceiling on early repayment charges of two months interest (depending on when in the month they tell the lender). When you also take into account that there are no valuation, conveyancing, booking and application fees it doesn’t take a genius to work out that these secured loans are probably more advantageous to the client.

If your mortgage deal has some time to run and you’re tied in but you want to raise some capital or consolidate some other debts then looking at a secured loan could be a better option than a re-mortgage.You now have the added protection of the Consumer Credit Act, a lack of upfront fees to enjoy and of course much smaller early repayment charges and you’ve no need to contend with the ERPs on your current mortgage deal.

About the Author:

Go to Secured Loans in the UK market. Cheapest Loans By Far is taking the UK market by storm. Need a mortgage? then go to Debt Consolidation Mortgages for the best mortgage deal available in the UK.