News
Borrowers clueless about mortgage rates
More than 5m mortgage borrowers are in the dark about the interest rate they are being charged for their mortgage.
According to impartial.co.uk, 25% of fixed rate borrowers are unaware of the rate they are paying.
Karen Barrett, marketing director of impartial.co.uk, said:
“With the effects of the credit crunch increasing and homeowners tightening their purse strings, it has never been more important for mortgage holders to know exactly what rate of interest they are paying.
“Without knowing their monthly outgoings, homeowners are unable to monitor their finances and make crucial decisions in the pressured economic climate.”
The impartial.co.uk report found that nearly half of the 2.4m people planning to remortgage in the next six months are gloomy about their prospects.
Jonathan Cornell, managing director of mortgage brokerage Hamptons International, said that people should be more cheerful about the prospect of remortgaging, as he pointed out: “Some fixed rates are even cheaper this year than they were last year.”
Impartial’s inaugural Mortgage Waste report, which will be issued quarterly, revealed that the average current level of mortgage debt on a property is £87,167, rising to an average of £98,859 for those holding a fixed-rate mortgage.