The product has a Base Rate plus 0.44 per cent up to 90 per cent loan-to-value (LTV). It is only available to new borrowers or existing borrowers moving home.
Additional benefits include no completion fee, free valuation of up to £335, and no higher lending charges (HLCs). Free in-house legal services for remortgages are also available.
There is also the option of a three-year fee-free tracker for those clients only wanting to put down a 5 per cent deposit. This is currently set at 5.54 per cent.
Commenting on the launch, Jeff Kirk, corporate relationship manager at Leeds Building Society, said: “Many clients like tracker mortgages and these products will prove attractive to both first-time buyers and remortgage customers who are looking to benefit from a mortgage without any set up costs.”
However, Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, said the product failed to live up to the Woolwich’s tracker mortgage, launched at the end of April.
He said: “It is difficult to get excited about the product after the launch from Woolwich a few weeks ago. There are other deals offering LTVs up to 90 per cent, which are both cheaper and better value for a three-year deal. The Woolwich deal will not be around forever, but for lenders wishing to compete in the intermediary market, this is the benchmark. It is hard to see it doing very well in this sector.”
Boulger added that Leeds’ tapered early repayment charges (ERCs), set at 4 per cent, 3 per cent and 2 per cent of the amount redeemed, are also not attractive in comparison to Woolwich, which does not levy the ERC charges.
