Magnificent Mortgage Deals

After a week of depressing news about house price falls and the property market, finally, there is some good news for homeowners.
Over the last couple of days, several mortgage lenders come out with some new market-leading deals aimed particularly at existing borrowers.
First off, there’s an attractive new kid on the block when it comes to fee-free deals. Yorkshire Bank has announced it is waiving its arrangement fees for new customers who are looking to remortgage in August. It has a range of deals available as part of the offer, including a two-year fixed rate at 6.49% for those with equity of 25% or more, rising to 6.89% for those with less than 25%.
Not the best rates on the market but with the fee-free offering these deals can work out cheaper over a two-year period. (Read Free Yourself From Mortgage Fees for tips on how to accurately compare fee-free deals with other deals.)
If you want a lower rate, but don’t want to pay a huge upfront fee, there is further good news. Nationwide has cut its rates by up to 0.2% this week. Remortgagors can now get a two-year fixed rate with a fee of just £599 – those with 25% equity pay 5.98%, 10% pay 6.38% and 5% pay 6.68%. This deal is available direct or through our award-winning Motley Fool Mortgage Service.
But are there better deals around for remortgagors? As is always the case with financial products, it depends on your circumstances and your preferences.
Below is a list of some of my favourite remortgage deals. You will be able to find lower rates elsewhere – I have gone for a combination of the best rate, loan to value and fees. If you do know of any better deals, please don’t keep them to yourself – post them in the comments box below, or on our mortgages discussion board.
How much of your home do you own?
Woolwich has a great lifetime tracker for those with 40% equity in their property. The rate is 5.69% and the deal comes with a £995 arrangement fee.
Britannia Building Society, meanwhile, has a couple of attractive fixed rate deals for those with a 25% deposit. Its two year fix at 5.94% comes with an arrangement fee of £999, or if you want to fix your rate for longer, its five year fix at 5.89% has the same fee.
Another good option is Market Harborough Building Society’s two year fix, which has a slightly high rate of 5.99% with a lower fee of £749. To qualify, you need at least 20% equity in your property.
If you only have a deposit of 15%, Barnsley Building Society offers a two year discount at 5.99% with a reasonable £750 fee.
Deals for borrowers with small deposits
Of course, you may not have a large amount of equity in your property. Unfortunately, this means you will have to pay a higher rate – but there are still some good deals to be found.
HSBC steals a march on its competitors in this sector with some market-leading rates up to 90% loan to value (so you only need a 10% deposit).
Its two year discount of 5.49% comes with a £999 arrangement fee and its lifetime tracker at 5.79% has a reasonable fee of £599 – or you can take the lifetime rate at 5.99% with no arrangement fees.
Fixed rate deals at this loan to value are less competitive but Skipton Building Society offers a two year fixed rate at 6.19% with an arrangement fee of £1,098.
High fee (good for large loans)
If you have a particularly large mortgage your payrate is all important and it can make sense to swallow a high fee to secure a low rate. Broker John Charcol has an exclusive mortgage designed for such borrowers. It’s a two year tracker at just 4.99% but comes with an eye-watering 2.75% fee. It is also only available up to 65% loan to value.
If you fancy a fixed rate mortgage deal, Halifax is offering a 4.99% fixed rate on mortgages between £500,000 and £7.5m… but it comes with a steep 2.5% fee. Ouch!
Low fee (good for smaller loans)
If you have a small loan the fee can sometimes make a significant different to the overall cost, particularly on two year deals. So it can make sense to sacrifice a lower rate for a small fee.
For those with 25% equity, Nationwide has a two year tracker at 5.98% with a fee of just £599. It has the same deal on a three year tracker at 5.74%.
Market Harborough’s lifetime discount at 5.95% is available up to 80% loan to value and comes with a tiny fee of £195.
Finally if you want to fix and benefit from a low rate check out First Direct’s three year fixed rate at 5.95%. Available up to 80% loan to value it comes with an arrangement fee of £598.
Which deal is right for you?
The right deal for you will always depend on your individual needs and circumstances, so don’t jump into a decision.
Read up on mortgages here at The Fool, chat to other Fools on our mortgage discussion board and check out our best buy mortgage tables. You can also speak to one of our fee-free mortgage brokers for whole-of-market mortgage advice.