The cost of borrowing was still high on the agenda in mortgage-related articles this weekend. The Financial Times, Sunday Times and Independent on Sunday all looked at the cost of remortgaging and assessed both interest rates and fees. Reportedly, the average fee for a two-year fixed rate is now £968, up from £514 in June 2006. The average fee for a variable-rate mortgage is now £1,023, compared with £823 six months ago.
The Sunday Times wrote that the mortgage payment shock is set to escalate and that thousands of homeowners who put down a deposit of less than 10% in the past two years face the double whammy of coming off cheap two-year fixed-rate deals at the same time as house price falls wipe out any increase in the value of their properties.
Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph warned borrowers to look beyond a headline-grabbing rate, as there may be a sting in the small print, whilst the Guardian looked at the issue of mortgage fraud.
Finally, the Independent had an article on eco-themed financial products and assessed the competitiveness of ‘green mortgages’. Several lenders, such as the Co-op and Norwich & Peterborough promise eco-incentives, such as planting trees and donating to Climate Care.
