Spotlight On: First Direct's 5-year fixed rate mortgage
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The online bank owned by HSBC yesterday launched a five-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 2.99 per cent.
Good points
Fixing at 2.99 for the next five years looks attractive, even if mortgage rates stay low for the next five years.
Bad points
The booking fee – it's a whopping £1,999! This from the lender that pioneered the £99 fee last year is quite shocking. Also, the deal is only available if you have at least a 35 per cent deposit, which will rule out new borrowers and many movers or remortgagers.
Conclusion
This is yet another example of a great headline rate maybe hiding an expensive deal. You won't know whether it's a good deal until you've done your sums. Lenders should scrap confusing fees and have a rate that's easy to compare.
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