NatWest Flexible Mortgage, Is It Your Flexible Friend Or Foe?
Offset Mortgage centre update: Jan 2008. The brands of the Natwest stable (or more commonly known the RBOS group of brands) have all recently merged and they comprise of Natwest, The One Account, Royal Bank of Scotland and First Active. Each brand specialise in different segments of the mortgage market place and some of their offerings do overlap one another. At the time of update no current offset mortgage rates were available from Natwest but they were available from The One Account for example.
With this in mind and to stop any unnecessary confusion it is recommended that you call our broker hotline to find out what is available from the Natwest group and at what rates and charges. At the same time we can also make a comparison against the Natwest and its partners deals against those of the general mortgage market (including other high street lenders and specialised offset lenders)
There are two NatWest flexible mortgage deals available to home buyers. The first of these is the NatWest flexible mortgage offset deal. Called the Offset Flexible Mortgage, this is available at the bank's variable rate for offset mortgages, currently 5.65 per cent (overall cost for comparison 5.9 per cent APR). The mortgage is available at up to 95 per cent loan to value for a new property and 90 per cent for a remortgage. It is also portable. There is an arrangement fee of £345. The NatWest flexible mortgage offset deal allows borrowers to link one current account and up to three savings accounts to their mortgage account to reduce the interest paid on the mortgage loan balance. All of the accounts remain separate. With the NatWest flexible mortgage offset deal, payment amounts are fixed, so that customers can reduce the outstanding balance on their mortgages quickly. However, borrowers are also able to choose to reduce their payments if the interest rate goes down.
The NatWest flexible mortgage offset deal allows borrowers to take payment holidays, underpay and borrow additional sums on the same account, though the bank warns that interest will still be charged, so the amount owed will be increased. The mortgage is also available as an interest only option. Although this usually means that the capital remains the same, if the interest paid is more than the amount due then the capital will reduce on this too. However underpayments and payment holidays could increase the mortgage term and/or the total amount payable.
Offsetting For Business
The NatWest flexible mortgage offset deal is also available to business users. These must be sole traders or simple partnerships (no more than two people running a business together. Business borrowers can offset their business current or savings accounts against t
heir personal mortgage. To take advantage of the NatWest flexible mortgage offset deal for business, sole traders must have accounts in their name, while partnerships can have accounts in either of the partners' names. All business and personal accounts remain separate.
A final option available to people looking for a NatWest flexible mortgage offset deal is the NatWest One account. This is a current account mortgage which combines borrowers' savings, mortgage and current account to reduce the amount paid on the mortgage. The deal is also available to business customers who can use equity release to inject capital into the business. NatWest promises that if the account is in credit, interest will be paid at 1 per cent AER.
A NatWest flexible mortgage offset deal is suitable for people with a variety of financial needs and circumstances. This could be anyone from someone with a young family to people who are looking forward to retirement. NatWest's own examples suggest that people who have savings will make the most of a NatWest flexible mortgage offset deal*.
However, please note that The Offset Mortgage Centre cannot advise on or arrange mortgages from NatWest.
