Always Review Your Interest Rate

A

alandolan

Registered User
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Hello,

Just some advice in regards to interest rates for existing mortgage borrowers.

The first piece of advice would be to always be aware of what interest rate you are paying on your mortgage. If you are unsure contact your lender to find out.

Expiry of Fixed or Tracker Rates
When a fixed rate or a discount tracker rate expires, alot of lenders will automatically put you on their variable interest rate, which in alot of cases is one of their higher interest rates. The lenders will write to you informing about the expiry of the fixed or tracker rate and the interest rate switch, but it can be easy to forget to do anything on it.

The result is that you pay the higher interest rate until you do something about it, so make sure to do something about it.

When fixed or tracker rates expire, examine what interest rate options are available to you with your lender, and choose the interest rate most suitable for your situation.

LTV Rates
Alot of the lenders offer different interest rates depending on the Loan to Value ratio of your mortgage (mortgage v's value of the property).

Review the interest rates on offer from your lender, and if you feel that you can avail of one of these LTV rates from your lender, contact your lender directly and discuss these options with them. Find out exactly what value do they require on your house to qualify for these rates.

If you qualify, your next step is to get a valuation carried out on your house (cost = c-€127) by a valuer who is on the lenders panel of valuers, a drive by valuation may do.

Forward this valuation to the mortgage lender, and provided they are happy with the valuation, you should be eligible for the LTV rates.


I hope this information is of assistance,

Alan Dolan
[broken link removed]
 
I called my lender a few weeks ago to ask what rate i was on. Without asking they said that I could get a lower rate from them as my LTV should be less the 50%. All i had to do was get an estate agent to do a "Drive-by" valuation. A one line letter stating the value of the house was all that was needed and i went on to a rate .35% lower than my current one.
 
A friend of mine asked me to call her bank about her recent move from a fixed rate to a variable rate of 5.89%.

I made the call and asked why it was so high compared to the online rates advertised. I was put straight through to someone that could advise me on a better rate and agreed a rate of 5.1% tracker without need for a valuation. Letters are on the way to my friend.

Make the call!!!
 
It's up to you rmelly :D
Alan didn't hide his interest or indicate you should ask him, just that you should be prepared to chase the best deal.
 
Hello rmelly,

In regards to contacting your lender, definitely feel free to contact your lender directly yourself. They get customer calls all the time in regards to interest rate requests, so definitely contact them.

Ring the customer service number that is on your mortgage documentation, and ask to speak to someone about your mortgage. Explain why you are ringing and they will let you know what you need to do, or put you through to someone who can advise same. Take a note of who you speak to, then you can go back to them, or address things directly to them.

Before you call, it is useful to have some pieces of information:
1. Mortgage Reference Number (you can find this on your mortgage statement)
2. Know what interest rate you are currently paying (lender customer service can tell you this)
3. Know what other rates your lender offers (bank website will outline these)
4. Value of your house (have a look at www.daft.ie or www.myhome.ie for similar properties in the same area to give you an idea of a value)


I hope this information is of assistance, and if you need anything further please let me know,

Alan Dolan
[broken link removed]
 
sorry, joking aside, I'm curious to know if there has there been any suggestion (or consideration on banks part) with the credit crunch affecting margins and falling house values, that borrowers with 'marginal' LTVs (e.g. on 78% or 79%) could be subjected to a re-valuation by the bank to increase the LTV, and move them to a different LTV band?
 
Hi rmelly,

I am not aware of any lenders intentions to examine this.

I think it would be a very unpopular move on the banks part, to be seen to profit out of peoples falling house prices.

Any profits that the banks could potentially make, would be totally outweighed by the negative publicity and customer outrage created by such a policy.

Alan Dolan
[broken link removed]
 
Do LTV mortgage rates operate like a tracker rate. say LTV rate is 4.90% does it mean future rates will be 0.90% over ECB rate.
 
Most LTV products are tracker rates, yes. Most will state something along the lines of ".5 above ECB, for LTV's < 50%. "
 
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