Borrowers 'should look beyond initial rate'

Borrowers searching for a mortgage should look beyond the initial rate, according to the Council of Mortgage lenders CML.

Sue Anderson, head of member and external relations at the CML, said that people should put in the time and effort to assess each mortgage option available to them to make sure they end up with the best deal.

"Borrowers clearly need to get a clear picture of the overall benefits and limitations of the mortgage that they might enter into. They need to look at all its features and not just the initial rate," she said.

Ms Anderson's comments follow a research report from HSBC which highlighted that total fees can range from between £1,500 to £7,590 on a typical £150,000 mortgage.

It also found that the cost of early redemption charges on a mortgage can vary by as much as £6,090.

Latest data from the Bank of England shows that the number of new mortgage approvals decreased to 47,643 in June 2010, compared to 49,461 the previous month.

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2010-08-09 08:26:26 © Moneyextra.com