@Advicepls Your break fee should be zero at the moment – but it is volatile because wholesale interest rates are volatile, so confirm it with Ulster Bank (and please post it here when you receive it, including the date of the letter).
- Current lender - Ulster Bank
- Outstanding mortgage balance (how much you still owe) - 458k
- Approximate value of your property - 750k - UB account says we have 73% equity but thats not taking into account house price rise and we totally upgraded the house
- The date you started your fixed-rate mortgage (month and year) December 2018
- How many years you fixed for 5 years
- Your current mortgage interest rate 2.6%
- Your current monthly repayment (excluding any overpayments) 2163
- Your property's BER (Building Energy Rating) – check it here or estimate it if necessary C ish
- Are you due to get extra cashback from your current lender in the future, e.g., "1% after 5 years", or "2% cashback monthly"? If so, how much and when? Nope
Note: you may receive two separate letters from Ulster Bank a few days apart, and their structure and wording can lead to confusion. Look for the line that says: "To break out of this fixed rate early, you would have to pay a fee of €X". That amount is your break fee. Ignore all other references to break fees.
- Switching immediately to Permanent TSB's 5-year fixed rate (2.55% with €9,160 initial cashback and 2% monthly cashback) will save you about €6,700 over the next 4 years
- Note that Permanent TSB discriminate between new and existing customers, i.e., their best rates are not available to existing customers
- For example, if you were an existing Permanent TSB customer, the best rate you would be able to switch to today is 2.95%
- So if you switch to them now, you will not be eligible to switch to one of their low rates in the future and you will end up on a higher interest rate. When that happens, you may want to switch again to another lender, which will incur costs (and it might be impossible to switch if your financial situation has deteriorated).
- Switching immediately to Avant Money's 4-year fixed rate (1.95% with no cashback) will save you about €6,180 over the next 4 years
- Switching immediately to AIB's 4-year fixed rate (2.2% with €2,000 cashback) will save you about €3,880 over the next 4 years
- Switching immediately to Ulster Bank's 5-year fixed rate (2.2% with no cashback) will save you about €3,320 over the next 4 years. And it is very simple and quick to do (no bank statements, salary cert or solicitor, etc., needed).
- Note that if you decide to do this, your mortgage will soon move onto Permanent TSB's books, and they discriminate between new and existing customers, i.e., their best rates are not available to existing customers
- The same warnings as above regarding higher Permanent TSB rates in the future apply
- Switching immediately to Avant Money's 5-year fixed rate (2.15% with no cashback) will save you about €2,720 over the next 4 years
- Switching immediately to Avant Money's 7-year fixed rate (2.25% with no cashback) will save you about €980 over the next 4 years – but with the longer security of 7 years on a fixed rate
- Switching immediately to Haven's 5-year fixed rate (2.55% with €5,000 cashback) will save you about €760 over the next 4 years
- Switching immediately to Haven's 7-year fixed rate (2.65% with €5,000 cashback) will leave you worse off by about €980 over the next 4 years – but with the even-longer security of 7 years on a fixed rate
- Switching immediately to Avant Money's 10-year fixed rate (2.4% with no cashback) will leave you worse off by about €1,640 over the next 4 years – but with the even-longer security of 10 years on a fixed rate
- Switching immediately to Finance Ireland's 10- or 15-year fixed rate (2.4% with no cashback) will leave you worse off by about €1,640 over the next 4 years – but with the even-longer security of 10 or 15 years on a fixed rate
- This product has a benefit in relation to moving home in the future that is explained below
- Switching immediately to Ulster Bank's 7- 10-year fixed rate (2.8% with no cashback) will leave you worse off by about €7,160 over the next 4 years – but with the even-longer security of 7 or 10 years on a fixed rate. And it is very simple and quick to do (no bank statements, salary cert or solicitor, etc., needed).
- The same warnings as above regarding higher Permanent TSB rates in the future apply
These savings estimates use for comparison the scenario of switching to the 2.2% rate with Ulster Bank when the current fixed rate ends. And that's assuming that Ulster Bank (or Permanent TSB, if they have taken over your mortgage by then) are even offering a 2.2% rate in April 2024 – it could be higher (or lower). The estimates also account for any fees (solicitors' fees, valuation fee) that you have to pay and any cashback offered by the above lenders.
It may seem like it is not worth switching to another lender but bear in mind that your mortgage will soon be owned by Permanent TSB, whose rates are much higher than Ulster Bank's. So if you don't switch now, you might find that you really want to switch in a few years' time, at which point rates might be higher (and it might be impossible to switch if your financial situation has deteriorated).
All of Avant's rates, and Finance Ireland's 10-year and longer fixed rates, allow you to avoid any potential break fee if you move home in the future (as long as you take out a new mortgage with them, and subject to certain conditions). And in the case of Finance Ireland you can "take your mortgage with you" – meaning that you get to keep the same interest rate when you move (again, subject to certain conditions).
The estimates also assume that you get your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) below 60% so that you are eligible for the listed rates. Your LTV is currently 458k/750k = 61.1%. A slightly higher property valuation (€764k) and/or a few more monthly mortgage payments and/or a small overpayment will get you below 60%. But that is not a reason to delay the switch – i.e., you can start the switch immediately.
If you want savings estimates for longer-term fixed rates, let me know.
Bear in mind that interest rates could rise between now and the time that you complete any switch.