As they say, 'the proof is in the pudding!' Yum!
There is a good chance you will have read elsewhere on this site that we get you the best deal available from the whole of the market.
You have probably read that we have some 80 lenders available and just over 4,000 deals to choose from.
We also shop around, using 10 insurers, to get you great value on your mortgage related insurances.
All impressive I am sure, but what does it mean in reality?
Well ........... judge for yourself.
Lets put Mortgage Solutions to the test. We sent out a real mystery shopper to compare what's on offer!
It cost us lunch.
PLACE: BRADFORD CITY CENTRE DATE: OCTOBER 2010 WEATHER: SUNSHINE (In Bradford?)
The Senario
Today, we have a real couple acting as mystery shoppers. They have independently chosen a High Street Bank in Bradford to get the best deal they have available. This happens every day. The mystery shoppers know about mortgages as they have bought three houses in the last 10 years.
They need somewhere bigger as the children aged 8 and 6 need more space. Sounds familiar.
He earns £32,000pa plus bonus and is 43 years old. She earns £9,000pa and is the same age.
They have a clean credit history. They have no financial commitments.
They want a repayment mortgage to end at age 65 (22 year term) but with the ability to overpay the mortgage at any time without penalty to utilise the bonus.
They have sold their existing house and have a deposit available of £115,000 to put down on a larger home.
They have seen a house at £250,000 that they want to buy.
The Bank
With such a big deposit the Bank has a choice of deals available all on a variable rate, however they have
only 1 product that offers the unlimited ability to overpay the mortgage at any time without penalty.
They have told them they can have £135,000 over 22 years on a capital & interest basis (repayment).
The deal available is a lifetime base rate tracker at 3.15 above base rate giving a pay rate of 3.69%.
The deal has an arrangement fee of £1495.
The mortgage payment is £747.45pm. (APR 3.9%)
Should the clients stay with this lender and should interest rates never change, they would pay back a total of £199,132. This means that the total charge for credit would be £64,132.
The figures in this section will vary following interest rate changes and if they do not keep the mortgage for 22 years.
Only use the figures quoted to compare the cost with another repayment mortgage.
The Bank quoted insurances, all from 1 provider that they are tied to.
Home insurance £59.16pm
Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance £55.04pm
Life & Critical Illness Cover £112.92pm
Total Mortgage & Insurance Payment from Bank = £974.57pm
Mortgage Solutions
To play fair, we matched the criteria that the bank had put before them, otherwise what's the point?
Firstly, our search came back with 134 deals available to them all with unlimited overpayments.
Our best deal is a lifetime tracker at 2.39 above base rate giving a pay rate of 2.89%.
The product has a smaller £999 arrangement fee.
The mortgage payment is £691.63pm. (APR 3.1%)
Should the clients stay with this lender and should interest rates never change, they would pay back a total of £184,479. This means that the total charge for credit would be £49,479.
The figures in this section will vary following interest rate changes and if they do not keep the mortgage for 22 years.
Only use the figures quoted to compare the cost with another repayment mortgage.
We quoted insurances from our panel of 10 providers.
Home Insurance £46.70pm
Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance £39.20pm
Life & Critical Illness Cover £94.80pm
Total Mortgage & Insurance Payment from Mortgage Solutions = £872.43pm
That's a saving of £102.14pm.
Over 22 years that is just under £27,000.
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