I'm in the middle of switching and was finding it a bit complicated to compare mortgage products.
It's not that hard to compare rates but some companies are offering reduced introductory rates for a couple of years. Others will give you money to sign up so to calculate the exact savings. So to get exact numbers was a bit hard for me. I'm sure that's the point of all the different offers.
But this spreadsheet is great
Edit: Ah I can't put in a link as I don't have enough posts.
Google for
Adjustable Rate Mortgage ARM Calculator vertex
and you should get it.
It allows you to enter two rates. At the top you'd put in your introductory rate.
In the Rate Adjustments area you can put in the rate as it will be after the introductory rate expires.
Rate remains fixed for - put in the time that your introductory will last for.
Months between adjustments - put in a huge number, more than the number of months that the mortgage will last for. I put in 1000.
Expected adjustment - put in the difference between your introductory rate and your rate at the end of the introductory rate.
As well as showing you how much you'll have to pay a month, this will show you the total interest payable over the lifetime of the mortgage. So if a company is offering you €2000 to sign up with them but their interest over the total term is €20K more you can do the maths yourself.
I know you can change providers obviously in a few years but this is just a handy tool to help out choosing a product.
I know, nobody knows what the rate will be in 2 or 3 or whatever years but it's still a handy tool to make a comparison between the different products.
It's not that hard to compare rates but some companies are offering reduced introductory rates for a couple of years. Others will give you money to sign up so to calculate the exact savings. So to get exact numbers was a bit hard for me. I'm sure that's the point of all the different offers.
But this spreadsheet is great
Edit: Ah I can't put in a link as I don't have enough posts.
Google for
Adjustable Rate Mortgage ARM Calculator vertex
and you should get it.
It allows you to enter two rates. At the top you'd put in your introductory rate.
In the Rate Adjustments area you can put in the rate as it will be after the introductory rate expires.
Rate remains fixed for - put in the time that your introductory will last for.
Months between adjustments - put in a huge number, more than the number of months that the mortgage will last for. I put in 1000.
Expected adjustment - put in the difference between your introductory rate and your rate at the end of the introductory rate.
As well as showing you how much you'll have to pay a month, this will show you the total interest payable over the lifetime of the mortgage. So if a company is offering you €2000 to sign up with them but their interest over the total term is €20K more you can do the maths yourself.
I know you can change providers obviously in a few years but this is just a handy tool to help out choosing a product.
I know, nobody knows what the rate will be in 2 or 3 or whatever years but it's still a handy tool to make a comparison between the different products.