Barclays has extended its range of Woolwich remortgage deals, including its Great Escape package to 85 per cent loan to value (LTV).
The ‘Great Escape’, launched in October 2010. The new 85 per cent LTV rate is 4.69 per cent fixed for two years. The two year fixed rates at 70 and 75 per cent LTV, which were cut by up to 0.15 percentage points last week, remain unchanged at 3.74 per cent and 4.04 per cent respectively.
All ‘Great Escape’ deals come with no application fee, free legal work and valuation and £300 cashback to cover the cost of a borrower’s exit fee for leaving their present lender. For borrowers who want to opt for their own solicitor, the same rates are now available with £375 cashback, to help with legal costs, in place of the free legal work available on the Great Escape deals.
Andy Gray, head of mortgages for Barclays said: “Since we launched ‘Great Escape’ last year remortgaging has increased from a third of mortgage approvals in the market to almost half. Barclays remortgage deals are proving a real hit amongst borrowers who are planning ahead in anticipating a rise in base rate. Customers who have already taken advantage of the Great Escape deals will save £28 million in mortgage payments over the next two years and have been able to switch across from their current lender without being out of pocket on fees.
“It’s widely predicted that base rate will increase this year so it’s important that borrowers take action this summer to secure low mortgage rates while they are still available. Over £28 billion of fixed rate mortgages will mature over the next few months, adding to the one million families already on standard variable rates. Our Great Escape fixed rate mortgages allow customers to lock in their payments at a level below or around the rate they will be paying on SVR, saving them money now and even more in the future as rates rise. By extending ‘Great Escape’ to 85 per cent LTV we are giving even more people the opportunity to benefit from these products.”
