Ditch the SVR!

Its seems that every time I turn on the TV, there is someone telling me to check I have the best deal on my car insurance / energy tariff / bank account etc etc. Finding a better deal can always save you a bob or two, but the best financial switch anyone can make is the switch from a higher to a lower-rate mortgage.

The process involves quite a bit of form filling, (if you use an Independent Mortgage Broker they will do this for you), and you will have to answer all sorts of questions about your income and outgoings, but in terms of time spent vs money saved, it’s about as good as it gets!

Never has there been a better time to act. Mortgage Lenders appear to have entered a rate war, launching amazing new deals offering record-low rates and cut-price fees. Competition is so fierce that the cost of a typical £200,000 home loan over a five-year period has fallen by £1,700 in the past month or so.

Despite the tempting rates on offer, according to research about 40% of mortgage holders are sitting on their lenders “standard variable rate (SVR). This is the rate set by their own lender, which is the rate everyone pays once their fixed or tracker rate finishes. At an average of 4.48%, (some lenders are charging more than 6%), these rates are generally far higher than the best deals on offer.

Compare your SVR to a two-year fixed rate which you can now pick up for as little as 1.2% or even a 10-year fixed which you are on offer for less than 3%.

Here’s the maths: If a borrower had a £200,000, 10-year mortgage on an SVR of 4.48% and remortgaged to a ten year fixed rate at 3%, they would save £247 a month in interest, or £2,960 a year for 10 years, assuming the variable rate remains the same. That’s a staggering £29,600 over 10 years!!

I can’t think of a reason why now wouldn’t be the time to act, it’s time to speak to your lender or an Independent Mortgage Broker!