The mortgage, with a current rate of 4.69 per cent, has no arrangement fees or redemption penalties. Woolwich is aiming to encourage new and existing customers that they do not need to get into the cycle of remortgaging every two to three years in order to obtain the best deal.
The mortgage has a loan-to-value (LTV) of 75 per cent. For clients needing to borrow more, there is a rate of 0.49 per cent above Base Rate for LTVs of 90 per cent and 0.69 per cent above Base Rate for an LTV of 95 per cent.
Andy Gray, head of mortgages for Woolwich, said: “What we are now finding is that there are an increasing number of people who are tired of switching mortgage products every few years. This points to people not wanting to pay redemption penalties in lieu of headline grabbing low rates and are more interested in having a simple, competitive rate for the term of their mortgage – this is what our lifetime tracker does. Like all of our new products, it will always track the Base Rate rather than revert to a standard variable rate (SVR).”
Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, was very positive about the product and said it was a good deal for mortgage borrowers. He commented: “Without a doubt this is the market leading lifetime tracker mortgage. It is cutting edge and exceptional value. Even if a customer wants to borrow above 75 per cent LTV, it is still competitive. The only slight downside is if a customer wants to actively use the flexible features, as any money borrowed back will be charged at Woolwich’s standard variable rate. If that part of the deal got too large, then it would not be very competitive.”
