Tracker mortgages are still king, says John Charcol

Date:Thursday 10th September 2009
Author: Max Freedman

John Charcol has advised mortgage borrowers that tracker and discount deals are still the most attractive, but people should try to keep some flexibility.

Ray Boulger, a representative of the mortgage broker, made his comments following news that the monetary policy committee had decided to leave the base rate at 0.5 per cent for another month.

He noted that it is going to be difficult to know when the most profitable time to switch to a fixed-rate mortgage will be, so it is important to be on a deal that allows you to switch without incurring huge fees.

"This means buying a tracker or discount with no, or low, early repayment charges or one which offers a droplock option," he explained.

Mr Boulger pointed out that HSBC, Woolwich, Abbey and Nationwide all offer products that allow this sort of switch without having to pay a high charge.

The monetary policy committee will vote again on the base rate and quantitative easing on October 8th.