Article by Adele
According to the FCA the answer might be yes. You might be able to get a cheaper mortgage.
In their latest “Switching in the Mortgage Market” update (2/8/22) they estimate that 370,000 mortgage customers could save up to £1,200 a year by switching across to a two-year fixed rate cheaper mortgage deal. That’s £100 a month. With inflation running at over 9% that would represent a significant saving for most people. A further 360,000 people could also save between £500 and £1,000 a year.
So it might be worth checking if you can get a cheaper mortgage rates.
Still, that only represents a small percentage of the overall 10 million mortgage borrowers in the UK.
Of those borrowers, almost three quarters are on fixed rate deals. The majority of these will run out in the next two years. With interest rates on the rise that means that payments could be on the increase for a significant number of people. So, again it might be worth checking your cheaper mortgage options now rather than later.
The FCA report also focussed on the upcoming changes which will come into force with the introduction of the Consumer Duty. This will place more requirements on lenders to make sure that customers can switch products easily. It will also mean that the ned to consider if products are appropriate for customer’s needs. This should make lenders more proactive in looking a best rates and deals.
At the same time as checking out your mortgage rate options it might also be worthwhile looking at your protection arrangements as well. Its often the cases that protection products are bundled together with mortgage packages and it’s a good idea to look at these separately, which we can do as Independent Financial Advisers of course.
