Nice one, Richard! (Virgin One)

Member Name: Caroline R

Product:	Virgin One
Date:	11/10/00 (1510 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pay off mortage quickly, great customer service

Disadvantages: Not for spendthrifts

The has to be the future of mortgages. My husband and I (Sorry to sound like the Queen) are fairly normal(?) people with average salaries - and we have a very real chance of paying off the mortgage within ten years.

The Virgin One account works as a bank account into which you have to pay all your salary. If, for example, you wanted to borrow 70,000 pounds, it would be a bit like having a 70,000 pounds overdraft. As you earn or otherwise acquire money, you put it into the account and it immediately goes towards paying off your mortgage, until your balance gets up to zero. You can overpay as much as you like without penalty, and if there are times when you're a bit hard up, you have the security of knowing that you can take the money out again in an emergency - as long as it's all paid back at the end of 25 years.

This is not the only advantage to this mortgage lender, however. Their customer service is completely and utterly brilliant. The account is conducted by phone, post and internet - I usually use the phone and every time I have called, it has been answered straight away by a real live person who actually knows what they're talking about. No queues, no musak, no 'bear with me while I ask someone else'.

The only potential disadvantage is that if you're the spendthrift type, you could be tempted to dip into the account too often. You do have to be a bit of a saver to make this work. For a tightwad like me, though, it's a great way of zapping your mortgage off quickly and becoming free from the millstone while everyone else is still struggling into middle age.

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