Cumberland offers help to homeowners fearing mortgage hikes
The Cumberland Building Society has thrown a potential lifeline to homeowners facing a sharp increase in mortgage payments.
The lender has reduced the interest rates on its fixed rate mortgages by up to 0.50% with rates now starting from as low as 4.26% for a two-year fixed rate and 3.93% for a five-year fixed rate.
This is welcome news for the large number of homeowners nationally who’s current mortgage deal is due to end.
Most of these loans were taken out before the Bank of England began to raise interest rates from a record low in December 2021, which means most borrowers are seeing a big jump in monthly payments when their deal ends.
Jack Green, mortgage hub manager at the Cumberland Building Society, said: “We’ve come across remortgage customers whose payments have increased by hundreds of pounds or in some case more than £1,000 a month.
“We want to support our customers to keep their monthly payments as low as possible. Our new fixed-rate products could help them achieve this.”
He recommends that homeowners on fixed-rate deals should plan ahead. He added: “Remember, you have options. You don’t have to stay with your existing lender. Find out when your deal ends and speak to an adviser in plenty of time or shop around. Don’t leave it to the last minute or you could end up on your lender’s standard variable rate, which means you’ll be paying more than you need to.”
Having earned the Platinum Trusted Service Award from customer service platform Feefo four years running and being a nationally commended remortgage provider at the independent and impartial Moneyfacts Awards, the Cumberland is an attractive option for those looking to remortgage.
The two and five-year fixes at 4.26 and 3.93 per cent respectively are available for both home purchase and remortgages up to 60 per cent of the value of the property. The Cumberland will lend up to 90% on remortgage cases and 95 per cent on home purchases of the property valuation but borrowers with a smaller equity stake pay slightly higher rates, which have also just been reduced.
There is an arrangement fee of £999 for these headline rates, but no fee options are also available. The arrangement fee does not apply to existing Cumberland mortgage customers coming to the end of their existing deal, which is in line with the society’s pledge to offer its best terms to existing customers.
As a bonus, the Cumberland provides a free valuation and will normally cover borrowers’ standard legal fees on remortgage loans up to £750,000 for new customers.
For information on all the Cumberland’s mortgages, including discounted variable-rate deals and a handy mortgage calculator, click here.