In so many ways, comparing financial products online is easy. Not so with mortgages. When we compare mortgages, it may seem simple to glance down over the interest rates for the best one. Most mortgage comparison tables also show such things as the early redemption charge amount and period.
However, there always other costs to bear in mind. One of the big ones is the arrangement fee. Some providers are now charging a whopping flat fee of £1,500 just to arrange your mortgage. Mark Harris of Savills Private Finance recently pointed out that Portman, Northern Rock and Bristol & West charge 1.5% of the loan amount as a fee, which means a charge of £2,250 on a £150,000 mortgage. Harris also points out that this sort of charging structure isn’t transparent, as it effectively turns seemingly best-buy mortgage rates of 4.48-4.59% into less competitive 5.23-5.34%….
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