Benefits of paying off mortgage quickly outlined

Date:Monday 5th January 2009
Author: Max Freedman

People in debt have been advised to clear their mortgages as quickly as possible by writers in national newspapers.

Both Jessica Brown in the Sunday Times and Nessa MacErlean in the Observer urged readers to pay mortgages as fast as they could.

Ms MacErlean spoke to Garry Spencer of Wilbury, a financial advice company based in Worthing.

He suggested that interest-only mortgage holders who are financially comfortable could take on a repayment deal, while those who are experiencing difficulty could make the opposite switch.

However, the latter option is not always permitted by lenders.

In the Times, Ms Brown urged mortgage holders to try to pay off some of their loan this year.

She suggested that people on variable rate deals keep their monthly repayments at the same level as they were before the interest rate was cut.

However, she did note that overpayment penalty charges may apply and advised borrowers to look into this.