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The
Complete guide to Homebuying Awards 2003
Choosing the
right mortgage isn't easy. There are over 100 lenders out there,
many offering a vast array of deals. There's something for everyone
- from graduates to potential landlords - but selecting one deal
from all of these can prove harder than it sounds.
Most people want a lender who offers value for money. This often
translates as the cheapest deal over the medium to long term. This
is why the Complete guide to Homebuying Lenders of the Year Awards exist. The winners
are the mortgage lenders that provide the best value for money over
three time scales: two years, five years and ten years. The longer
the time period for which the lender offers the best value for money
the better, as this shows consistency and a long-term dedication
to providing a good deal. This is why our overall top lender of
the year is the one to provide the best deal over a decade.
Not all lenders are old enough to qualify for this category. Intelligent
Finance opened its phone lines to mortgage customers in September
2000 so it only qualifies for the two-year category. Over this period,
however, it is the top lender overall, offering a deal £360
cheaper than its nearest rival.
Runner-up Egg is a similar story. Its mortgage was launched in October
1998 making it ineligible for the five and ten year categories.
If these lender maintain their policies of offering low rates, perhaps
in the years to come one of them will be our lender of the year.
Special offer rates, such as fixed, discounted and capped rates
have not been included have not been included in the awards. The
huge variety of terms and conditions on these mortgages make them
impossible to compare in any meaningful way.
The purpose of the awards is to show which lenders offer good value
over the long term and the level of a lender's standard variable
rate is the basis for the value it offers.
The calculations include any loyalty rates offered by the lenders.
These are given by lenders to encourage borrowers to stay with them
after any special offer has ended and usually come in the form of
a discount off the lender's SVR. Loyalty bonuses are not offered
by the majority of lenders, and those that do offer them usually
only do so to customers who have run the same mortgage for five
or more years. However, staying put can be lucrative - borrowers
at Buckinghamshire Building Society, for example, can save £3,850.41
in the first ten years of their mortgage.
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