The remortgage has an initial rate of 4.95 per cent – 1.45 per cent off its standard variable rate until 29 February 2008 – and a maximum LTV of 80 per cent. It includes no compulsory insurance, valuation fee, CHAPS fee, higher lending charge and legal costs, or £250 cashback, meaning the borrower’s first mortgage outgoing is on the day of completion.
Borrowers can pay up to 50 per cent of the original loan amount during the term without penalty and an ERC of 4 per cent is payable if the advance is reduced by more than a half during the fixed period.
Interest is charged on a daily basis and there is a £495 completion fee on the product, which can be added to the mortgage account.
Paul Winter, sales and marketing director at the Ipswich, said: “Up-front costs are often an obstacle for those looking to remortgage property, so we have tried to make this product as low-cost as possible. Not only do borrowers get the advantage of no up-front fees and nothing to pay until completion, but also a low rate of 4.95 per cent. In the run-up to launching this product we talked to brokers and believe that it is exactly what the remortgage market wants.”
Ian Crampton, sales director at Ferndown Ltd, said: “The only real benefit is the non-payment of the CHAPS fee which would only save around £35 to a remortgage customer. The flexibility is attractive, however products offered by lenders such as Stroud & Swindon have flexibility with a rate of nearly half a per cent lower than Ipswich’s.”
