The Aussies Have Got it Right (First Active)

Member Name: juliemaker

Product:	First Active
Date:	31/10/01 (364 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pay your Mortgage Off A Lot Quicker

Disadvantages: Need to be disaplined with money

Having tried endowment and repayment mortgages and receiving annual statements that seem to suggest you owe more than when you started even after paying thousands of pounds, we decided to try the so called Australian mortgage.

We were at the time with the Woolwich in our second year of a capped rate offer.
Despite wishing to transfer to a Woolwich flexible mortgage they insisted we pay £3600 as we were tied into a capped rate deal.

Nothing would make them budge and so we decided to look elsewhere for a company that didn't treat us as numbers.

We found one, First Active (now Brittanic Money).

We duly paid the Woolwich their £3600 which incidentally will be the last money they ever see of ours as the Flexible loan offered by our new bankers meant that over the term of our mortgage we would be saving ten times that amount.

The account we have with them is an 'all in one' account. My husband's salary and all of my income goes into the account each month and all of our monthly bills are paid out of it.

The clever bit is that while your money sits in the account waiting to pay the bills (all on direct debit) your mortgage interest is being calculated daily on the outstanding balance of your account.

In effect you are earning interest on your current account at mortgage interest rates....... unbeatable!!!

By leaving this to accumulate and by leaving an extra £50 in the account over and above the monthly mortgage payment we have reduced our mortgage term already by 6 years.

We intend increasing the 'overpayment' every year with our rise in salary and should have what was a 23 year mortgage paid off in 13 years.

BrittanicMoney give net access to your account and I have to say have delivered a first class service...

Brittanic Money plc,
Sir William Atkins House,
Ashley Avenue,
Epsom,
Surrey. KT18 5AS

Tele: 01372 73
7 737
Fax: 01372 737 777

WEB ADDRESS: www.britannicmoney.com

Woolwich eat your heart out!!

Woolwich - for all their faults do offer a simpler account in that although there is only one account they split the account into mortgage / savings / current which does make the monthly acconuting a bit easier. Having said that Brittanic Money do not tie you to their product the way that the Woolwich do... you are free to leave at any time without a penny in penalties.

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