The website is now warning homeowners and first-time buyers to be careful as these inflated fees are to stay put for as long as the uncertainty in the housing market remains.
While lenders typically charge between one and two per cent of your total loan, some fees can be as high as 3.25 per cent of the loan.
MoneyExpert.com calculations show that for the current average mortgage of £152,300, a three per cent fee would be a hefty £4,569. But on a £343,000 mortgage – the average cost of a detached house in the UK – the same charge would require the applicant to fork out £10,290.
When it comes to capped upfront fees, borrowers unfortunately have no respite, with the cost of these increasing by around 63 per cent. Last November the average application fee was £509 but this has since grown to a typical £834.
“Mortgage application fees are nothing new," reflected Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com, "However lenders often won’t publicise a change to their fee structures, meaning some homeowners could be unaware of this huge shift to uncapped charges.
“Anyone who is unsure about how application fees can affect them should firstly work out how much they can afford and secondly enquire about whether the fees can be tagged onto the overall loan. In many cases there are ways to make ends meet but some buyers will be caught out.”
