Posts Tagged ‘Woolwich’

Woolwich announce new low fee fixed rate products up to 75% loan to value

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

The Woolwich announced several new fixed rate products yesterday which herald the return of low fee sensible rate mortgage products to the market at what will surely prove to a pivotal moment in the UK’s turn from recession to recovery.

The rates which include a 2 Year fixed at 3.89% available up to 70% loan to value and at 4.09% up to 75% loan to value have an application fee of just £199 with free valuation and legal work on remortgages or £200 cash back towards legal costs if using your own solicitors. Early repayment charges apply of 3% of loan to be paid until 31/01/2012, and APR for the products is 2.8% On both.

They have also included a 3 year fixed product at a similarly competitive rate.

This is a big departure from the glut of products currently offering headline rates with either £995 or even 2% arrangement fee’s and will surely serve to kickstart the lending industry back into competitive pricing with more than just on paper rate cuts.

The products are also available on new purchases and equally competitive there although the lenders standard valuation and legal fee’s will apply on purchases.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it. We do not usually charge a fee for mortgage advice although you do have the option to pay up to 1.5% of the loan amount. Some buy to let and commercial loans are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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Woolwich respond to criticism with revised rates

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

The Woolwich have responded to criticism around their stepped tracker rate which with a current headline rate of 1.98% is one of the lowest rates available in the market. I commented on the fact that the product was restricted to mortgages between 200K and 500K severely limiting its market when I announced the new rate here a couple of weeks ago, theses restrictions have now been removed and the rate is available for loans between 5K and 1 Million now from today.

They have not chosen to address however the lengthy tie in for five years with a 2% early repayment charge which could make the product very costly in the long term.

Instead they have released a new lifetime tracker at bank base rate +2.29% with a £999 application fee available up to 70% loan to value or at +2.69% with no fee again to 70% loan to value. The new products have early repayment charges of 1% for 2 Years making them much more favourable but crucially both allow you to switch to a later fix without penalty too.

Both products would have a valuation fee of £295 for a purchase at 70% loan to value with a mortgage of 100K and lender Conveyancing fee of £126 giving an APR of 2.9% and 3.3% respectively.

As usual always read the separate Key Facts Illustration prior to making a decision on a mortgage product and to speak to a mortgage advisor call 0845 4594490.

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it. We do not usually charge a fee for mortgage advice although you do have the option to pay up to 1.5% of the loan amount. Some buy to let and commercial loans are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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Woolwich announce their lowest ever flexible mortgage rate

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

The Woolwich have announced a new tracker at 1.48% above base rate for the first year then reverting to 2.49% above base rate for life giving their lowest ever headline mortgage rate of 1.98% currently. The product has a minimum loan of £200,000 and maximum of £500,000 so it is quite restrictive, early repayment charges are 2% until the 31/01/2013 meaning it does tie you into the rate for some time as well.

The product has a £999 arrangement fee, and based on a loan of £200,000 at 60% a valuation fee of £415, lender Conveyancing fee of £126, land registry fee of £280 and completion fee of £35 while APR is 3.0%.

The biggest caveat to this product is that the option to switch to a Woolwich fixed rate without penalty during the early repayment charge period which Woolwich call “drop lock” does NOT apply to this product, so while its headline rate may be very tempting if there are significant rises in interest rates particularly in the second and subsequent years of the mortgage it could become very costly indeed particularly as early repayment charges on a minimum loan of 200K would amount to four thousand pounds as well!

For this reason I would thoroughly recommend speaking to a mortgage advisor or seeking mortgage advice about the suitability of this product if it has your interest, and as usual read the Key Facts Illustration prior to making any decision on a mortgage product.

Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it. There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The amount will depend upon your circumstances but it is typically £200 or up to a maximum of 1.5% of the loan value. Some buy to let and commercial loans are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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