Mortgages. Offset mortgage could save you thousands

A recent survey has shown that people with offset mortgages can slice years off their repayment term.

Home Mortgage Loans: More people are paying off their mortgages early. How do they do it? This article explains some ways.
Mortgage Research Good News for House Buyers: Coments on the direction of interest rates and the mortgage market.
Foreign Currency Mortgages. What are they and what are the risks?: Foreign currency mortgages could save you a lot of money but the risks are high. This article explains.
Loans. Mortgages. Credit cards. Interest rate rises around the corner.: The financial institutions are expecting interest rates to rise. When and what's expected?
Mortgages. Watch out for add-on charges.: Mortgage lenders use headline interest rates to attract borrowers. But behind the scenes they're introducing a whole raft of add on charges. This article explains.
New rules for buy to let landlords: New regulations concerning larger properties in multiple occupation may make a buy to let mortgage a viable proposition. The end result of this should improve the standard of such properties.

A recent study carried out by Abbey clearly demonstrates the real selling point of the offset mortgage. It actually gives you the opportunity to pay your mortgage off early, thus saving you thousands of pounds. The study showed that by saving just £3 a day, a mortgage of £180,000 at 4.99% could be cut short by three and a half years, with a saving of almost £22,000.

So in basic terms, if you make a sandwich every morning rather than buying lunch at the local shop, then you could save £22,000!

At first, the offset mortgage was considered to be suitable only for those with large savings. Of course, having savings helps immeasurably as it means you pay a lot less in interest. But all you really need is a willingness to save and to put in a little extra effort to overpay as and when you can.

The offset mortgage works by linking to a savings account and with many, but not all lenders, a current account. The interest is calculated daily so if you get paid a salary of £1500 for month for example, then as far as the interest calculation is concerned, the amount will be less for as long as that extra is sitting in the account.

Did you Know?
Whilst 60% of home buyers carry out research on the Internet for their mortgage quotations, only a small fraction of them actually arrange their mortgage online. That's because with something as big and important as a mortgage, they like to discuss it with an expert. So use the Internet to become more “mortgage savvy” and then get a mortgage consultant to phone you back to ensure you make the right decision.

Today's Tip
If you get a life insurance quote from your bank or even direct from a Life Insurance Company, you'll probably find it's very expensive. The cheapest quotes are normally available through an online life insurance broker. These specialist brokers search the market for you - so you're almost certain to get a much cheaper quotation.

Did you know?
That the cost of car insurance cover can vary by as much as 50%. So it can really pay to shop around. And where can you find the cheapest prices? On the Internet of course!

Did you Know?
A life insurance adviser must work for a firm that is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for what is called “insurance mediation”. Then, if you have a problem with the advice you were given, the firm has to undertake a formal review of your case. And if you are unhappy with their reply and you have lost out financially, you then have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman.