With so many banks offering so many different types of fixed rate remortgage, what do you look for, who will give you the best service. Here is a list of five things that you need to look out for when applying for a fixed rate remortgage.
All lenders offer special deals to entice you into signing up for their mortgages and one of the best to look out for is a free valuation. With house prices seemingly to be in free fall these days, with many reports of house prices losing a few thousand each month, is it any wonder people are not sure how much their home is worth. With a free valuation if you do not have the equity to access the deal on offer, you can walk away for free. Some lender charge over five hundred pounds just to do a drive by valuation.
Another one to look out for which is similar to free valuation is, free legal fees, normally if the lender is paying for the valuation chances are they will either pay a solicitors standard remortgage cost for you or offer a cash back towards the cost. This is normally around two hundred and fifty pounds. So if you know a solicitor who does conveyancing work, take the cash back and split the money.
Many lenders will tease you in with very low rates that make your monthly payments so low you just have to go for it. But be aware the lender managed to get the rate so low as you paid a big arrangement fee up front. This was then added to the mortgage balance which lowers the rate down, which enabled you to get a lower monthly payment. Some times you are better off taking a higher rate with a lower arrangement fee, but it will depend on the size of your mortgage
How long you fix your rate for is really down to you and which way you think rates are heading. You may not want the headache of remortgaging every couple of years. In which case a long term fixed rate would be ideal.
All lenders will want to tie you in to them for a certain period, to stop you walking away if you find a better deal they put in place and early redemption penalty. These penalties are normally a percentage of the mortgage balance. So before you sign into a new fixed rate remortgage deal make sure you do not tie your self in for longer than you need to.
Following these five simple steps will go a long way to helping you find the fixed rate deal that you need and may save you some money along the way.