On 11/04/2013 08:39 AM, scott wrote:
>> Because, you know, when the principle is drastically more money than you
>> will ever own, and the term is the rest of your entire working life,
>> compound interest is pretty steep...
>
> Don't worry about it, you can swap to another product as soon as any
> offer period is over - and usually it's a good idea to do so as the bank
> will revert you to some ridiculous rate by default. I found 2 year
> fixed/tracker (as the base rate won't likely change any time soon) to be
> a good compromise.

Interestingly, all the products I've looked at give you something like 
5% fixed rate for a few years, and then it reverts to 3.2% or something. 
So once the initial fixed period wears off, you're drastically *better* 
off... Doesn't make any sense to me, but hey.

> Also I'm sure you're aware they try to take advantage of people intent
> on the lowest interest rate or lowest initial fee by offering various
> combinations of fee/interest rate. Just set up an Excel sheet with it
> all in (including any offers like cashback) and see which leaves you
> best off after a few years (not after 30 years!).

Heh, yeah, because comprehending financial documents is actually 
possible. :-P

>> On the one hand, I don't want to slow things down any more than they
>> already are. On the other hand, I want to find the best deal.
>
> Use the internet (comparison websites are a good place to start, then
> move on to the banks themselves), websites are open 24/7 and once you've
> found the one you want I've found most banks have phonelines open quite
> late in the evening to answer any questions or set things up.

According to channel 4, the deal you get from your estate agent is 
always the worst one. And yet, everywhere I've looked or asked has 
either offered a far worse rate, or at best the same rate as I've 
already got.

It seems the only way to lower the interest rate is to have a bigger 
deposit. Now if I could just magic tens of thousands of pounds out of 
thin air...

(My mum is seriously suggesting that I should take out a credit card and 
put the shortfall on that, just to get the cheaper interest rate on the 
mortgage. Because, you know, *that* won't be expensive at all...)

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