| Ten
Money-Saving Mortgage Tips
Want
to take years off your mortgage? Doesn't everyone? Yet,
surveys show that we're lazy when it comes to getting the
best deal for our mortgage money. Here's 10 ways to reduce
your monthly payments:
Get a better deal - There are loads of great offers on the
market. Check the on the internet to find out who's offering
the best deals this week. You can get a good short-term
deal and then switch again. Remember that the ball is in
your court - your existing lender will be keen to keep your
business and will probably offer you a good deal as well.
Mortgage best buy tables
Pay
off your capital early - If you have an interest-only mortgage,
such as an endowment or ISA mortgage, you could pay off
your loan early by making regular additional repayments
against the interest.
Get a cheaper standard variable rate - Mortgages usually
revert to these rates once a discounted or fixed period
has expired. As with mortgages in general, they can vary
from lender to lender so it is worth shopping around for
the best deal.
Shop around and compare.
Change
your interest calculation - Daily interest calculation has
been established for a while in other parts of the world
but more and more lenders over here are switching to it.
Basically, the advantage of switching to this calculation
is that if you make a repayment it immediately impacts on
the interest accruing on your mortgage.
Remortgage for a smaller loan to value - Chances are your
property has increased in value since you took out your
original loan. Therefore, the percentage of the loan to
the value of your property will have decreased as well.
So it could be well worth investigating whether you can
get a better deal - many lenders offer significantly better
terms for people borrowing less than 75% LTV. Make sure
you have your property valued properly though, and shop
around for a lender that will cover your valuation fee.
Reduce your mortgage term - If you feel you can afford to
pay out extra each month, you can reduce the term of your
mortgage, which will save you on interest.
Don't take out a Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee (MIG) - MIGs
are now usually only charged on loans of 90% to value or
more and there is a campaign to have them scrapped altogether.
A MIG is a one-off payment made to the lender that protects
them if you fail to keep up your repayments and your home
is repossessed. If you can avoid paying for one, do, it
will save you money.
Get cheaper household insurance - One of the easiest ways
to reduce your household outgoings is to shop around for
your buildings and contents insurance. It's all too easy
to buy from your lender as it's convenient to have everything
tied up with the one company. But search the market and
you could save a packet.
House insurance: fast, cheap quotes right here
Check
your mortgage payments are correct - It may seem stupid
but auditors MortgageChek say there's a one in ten chance
you could be paying more than you should. Do the maths.
Ensure you review your mortgage regularly - Perhaps it isn't
the way you'd choose to spend your free time but regular
reviews and possibly remortgaging will ultimately ensure
you pay as little as possible in interest.
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