Do you want to reduce your mortgage payments? Are you looking for several ways out of your current monthly payments? Here are several ideas you may like to discuss with your financial advisor.
Change your type of mortgage - until round a year ago, it used to be said that if you were on the standard variable rate offered by your lender then consider swapping to a fixed, discounted or tracker mortgage. But currently, with interest rates at such a low level, this is not always the case. The standard variable rate could be lower than the other rates offered without having to move and get a tie in. It is still worth while looking round at what your lender has on offer, but do not always think the fixed offers are the best.
Change your bank - not always cheap by the time that you consider the completion / exit fees and the initial fees of setting up a new mortgage, but if you have a large mortgage there might be a saving to be made by swapping not just to a new type of mortgage, but to a new building society who is offering better interest rates and mortgage products. Do take into account all associated exit and set-up fees.
Extend your mortgage - only really for those that are in desperate need of sorting out their finances, but if you really cannot manage your present monthly repayments then it might be worth talking with a financial advisor and your building society round extending the term of the mortgage. This reduces the monthly repayment element of the loan and spreads out the load. But, the interest element is going to reduce much more slowly and in the long term it is not going to save you any money. Merely really a last ditch resort, which is better than losing your house!
Pay off several of the mortgage - not all banks will go for this one, but if you have several thousand to spare sitting in a savings account it might work out better, assuming the savings are earning a lower interest rate than you are being charged on your mortgage, if you were to use some or all of that money to pay off a few of your load. But, several lenders will apply penalty charges and you may be leaving yourself with absolutely no savings, which is not a good idea on a rainy day.
Move to an offset mortgage - following on from paying off some of the loan, some building societies will allow you to move your mortgage to an offset mortgage. With this you basically have a huge overdraft on a existing or savings account. The overdraft is the mortgage and as you make payments into the account the mortgage reduces, so you are charged less interest. If you need to take a little extra out one month, as for instance to refit your kitchen, then the cash is ready and available for that. It is a marvelous idea for those who get a load of their earnings through bonuses or seasonal payments but if you are on a regular wage, the slightly higher interest charges might end up costing you more than you can save.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://article2008.com/images/feed-icon.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://article2008.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites