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Charges at the start of a mortgage

Mortgage lenders don’t just make their profits from the interest they charge on the money they lend.

They also do very nicely out of a whole raft of related fees.

Most apply a one-off charge when you borrow from them.

This is supposed to cover the admin costs involved in lending to you, but it’s largely another way of lining their pockets.

It might be described as a set-up, booking, reservation, arrangement or administration fee.


The two ways this fee is charged

Most lenders charge a flat fee of anything from a couple of hundred to several thousand pounds.

The average is about £800 – at time of writing – but these charges are creeping up all the time.

In an effort to disguise their greed, some lenders now ask for a percentage of the amount borrowed.

A few mortgages are offered without either type of fee, but they aren’t necessarily the good deal they might seem.

(To find out why, go to The free-free mortgage.)


Is a better to pay a flat fee or a percentage?

Working out which type of fee will be cheapest is a matter of simple maths.

Say, you wanted to borrow £120,000 and were choosing between two mortgages with the same interest rate, terms and conditions, but one came with an initial fee of £799, while the other charged 2 per cent of the loan

The deal with the flat fee would be far better value, as the percentage fee works out at a whopping £2,400.

If, however, you wanted a £250,000 mortgage and were choosing between a flat fee of £2,950 and a 1 per cent charge (£2,500), you would save £450 by paying the percentage fee.

While we’re on the subject of up-front fees, you could save hundreds of pounds by reading Should I add my mortgage fee to my loan?

To find out more about other fees you might face, see Charges during a mortgage and What’s happening to mortgage exit fees?

 

To read more on this subject please see the list below or your mortgage guide or your home buying guide

Read enough? Just want a quote? To get your best mortgage quote quickly and easily we can put you in contact with a recommended mortgage adviser. It's free, completely confidential and there's no obligation at all. Simply fill out the form below

Value of Property £  
(eg 125000)
Borrow How Much? £
(eg 92500)
Your Mortgage Type
 
Bad Credit History?


 

Read On

The Costs of a Mortgage in the UK

The problem

The truth about mortgage fees

General costs of getting a mortgage

Hidden / True costs of home buying and mortgages

Charges at the start of a mortgage

Charges during a mortgage

Arrears Fees / Costs of falling behind payments

Fees for changing your mortgage

Final Payments / Mortgage Exit Fees

Why The Mortgage Lenders are So Greedy

 

Read On / Mortgage Guide

How to Choose your Mortgage

Types of Mortgage

Remortgages

Where to Find Your Mortgage

Getting a Mortgage in Principle

Costs of a UK Mortgage

Your Mortgage TOP TIPS

Calculators

A to Z all UK Mortgage Types

 

Read On

Guide to Buying a Home in the UK

Guide to UK Home and Mortgage Insurance

Life Insurance Guide

Glossary of UK Mortgage Terms

Mortgage News

 


 





Important note about your credit rating

Many websites don't make it clear that filling in their mortgage enquiry form means you might be credit checked.

This can put you at risk.

UK Mortgage lenders may assume an enquiry you have aleady made to another lender means you were turned down - and not that you are in fact carefully shopping around and rejecting the bad deals.

The best way around this significant problem is to ask an independent mortgage adviser to make anonymous enquiries for you.

Without risking your credit score an adviser can find you the best available mortgage deal. They will also know how likely you are to be accepted by the lender if you decide to make a formal application.

If you would like a recommended adviser to check out the best deals for you, anonymously, simply fill in the quick form below.

" Hmm..." You might think; "Won't I be hounded by a salesman hungry for my business? "

This is the most common question we hear from our users.

The answer is no you won't.

Firstly your enquiry is only passed to ONE person on a carefully vetted list of independent advisers.

Secondly, these mortgage advisers are professionals. Even when the market is slow they are busy people. There many people who need to move homes, or get a remortgage and are looking for advice all the time. Regardless of the state of the property market, life goes on.

So the advisers don't have time to hassle people. It just doesn't work like that. No one is gong to be forced into taking out a mortgage unless they really need one.

The advisers are very used to talking with people, perhaps like yourself, who are only "dipping their toes" into the water.

Many people just want an initial quick chat and if they feel comfortable will ask the advisor to contact them again later - often in several weeks or months. As a professional, the adviser will simply diarise this and call back at the appropriate time. There is no obligation at all.

(In the unlikely event that you ever feel at all "hassled" by someone on our list please let us know immediately. We have never heard of this. But if it happened we would definitely want to know).

"Thank you... the form was very quick. After many long phone calls to various lenders - where I'd go over the same details again and again - I was amazed at how easy you made it. You've saved me £1000's...." Peter B, Leeds


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Read more Mortgage Basics (list below)

See contents of Full Mortgages Guide

See contents of Home Buyers Guide

I've read enough for now and want to get a free Quick Mortgage Quote

 

 


Mortgage Basics

What is a mortgage?
A basic summary of the rules
How much can you borrow?
How do you prove your income?
How long are mortgages usually for?

Back to main contents

 

 


 

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