A flexible mortgage is a secured loan, which can be paid back in differing amounts while providing access to the housing equity (within pre-agreed limits).

There are five key features with a flexible mortgage: the ability to pay the mortgage off early through overpayments or lump sum payments, the ability to borrow money back by withdrawing lump sums, making underpayments, and having payment holidays. A flexible mortgage gives you more control than with a traditional type of mortgage, and the overpayment feature can significantly save money on your mortgage, for example:

Example 1: £140,000 mortgage, interest rate 6%, mortgage term 25 years.

Monthly mortgage payment was £902 and increased by £50 to £952 – the overall cost saved would be £16,193 and the adjusted mortgage term would be 22.2 years.

Example 2: £100,000 mortgage, interest rate 7%, mortgage term 30 years.

Monthly mortgage payment was £665 and increased by £50 to £715 – the overall cost saved would be £31,193 and the adjusted mortgage term would be 24.2 years

Lump sum payments can also make a significant difference to your mortgage. For example, £150,000 mortgage, interest rate 7%, mortgage term 25 years – if you made a £10,000 lump sum payment after 5 years of having the mortgage, the interest saved would be £26,576.81 and the time saved would be 2 years and 10 months. If you made the £10,000 lump sum payment after 1 year of having the mortgage, the interest saved would be £36,949.05 and the time saved would be 3 years and 8 months (all figures are approximate).

Two additional reasons for making overpayments on your debt with a flexible mortgage are:

Save interest – the interest charged on your mortgage is normally higher than the average savings account. Consequently, it is better to pay off your mortgage with an interest rate of 6.9%, than putting your money into a savings account with an interest rate of 4.3%.

Reduce the capital debt – all the extra payments reduce the capital debt rather than just paying the interest on your flexible mortgage; in the beginning, up to 95% of your monthly mortgage payments goes on paying the interest and only a small amount of your monthly payment is paid on the capital debt.

A flexible mortgage can be tailored to a borrower’s lifestyle and needs as there are different types of flexible mortgages in the market place. Some flexible mortgages can be quite restrictive with no underpayment facility and limited access to overpayments, whereas another type of flexible mortgage can give enormous scope for borrowers’ to deposit and withdraw sums of any amount at any time.

A flexible mortgage has a higher interest rate than a conventional mortgage, but the key selling point for a flexible mortgage is the longer-term savings on interest that can be made by making overpayments and lump sum payments to get ahead in the repayment schedule, thus paying off the mortgage early. In a recent survey of borrowers’ who had a flexible mortgage: 32% had used the overpayment facility, and 90% who had overpaid would do so again. 51% who had not made overpayments were planning to do so in the future. 69% of borrowers’ who had made overpayments had been doing so for more than six months, and 87% intended to continue overpaying until the mortgage was paid off. Most overpayers looked upon overpayments as a long-term plan for clearing their mortgage debt and saving money in the long run.

Although the flexible mortgage is a fairly new type of mortgage on the market, it is becoming an increasingly popular choice for borrowers’, and lenders predict that the flexible mortgage will become more accommodating for borrowers’.



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An offset mortgage allows your savings to work much harder for you than if they were just sitting in an ordinary savings account.

An offset mortgage means borrowers only pay interest on their net loan amount – minus any savings they have in the same or linked account. Monthly mortgage repayments are calculated on the full debt, before offsetting is taken into account, so borrowers overpay their debt each month. Consequently, their mortgage debt is reduced much faster than with a conventional mortgage. Two examples are:

- A borrower with a £100,000 mortgage paying offset tracker loan rate of 5.24% would save more than £39,000 interest over the life of the mortgage by offsetting £20,000 of savings. The borrower would also pay off the mortgage five years early, based on a 25-year mortgage.

- A borrower with a £150,000 mortgage would save more than £60,000 interest over the life of the mortgage by offsetting £25,000 of savings. If the borrower continues to make mortgage repayments based on the full loan, he would pay off the mortgage five years and three months early, based on a 25-year mortgage.

Savings and income can be drawn on as needed, or built up to cut future repayments, and borrowers do not pay tax on the interest earnt from their savings when it is offset against a mortgage.

According to one mortgage lender, one in four households would benefit from an offset mortgage. The Council of Mortgage Lenders said the number of offset borrowers jumped 50% last year to 170,000, which was worth £29.3bn, and represented 7% of new lending. However, many households looking for a new mortgage do not realise they would be better off with an offset mortgage.

An offset mortgage tends to be the best option for borrowers with savings worth at least 8% – 10% of their mortgage if they are a higher rate taxpayer, for example, a higher rate taxpayer would need at least £10,000 in savings to offset against a £100,000 mortgage. A basic rate taxpayer would need at least £20,000 in savings to offset against a £100,000 mortgage. To match the savings made by offsetting, a higher-rate taxpayer would approximately need to earn 12% in a deposit account or 9% for a basic-rate taxpayer. An offset mortgage can also be suitable for people who are paid large bonuses or large amounts of commission on an irregular basis.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said there are 250 offset products available. Three examples are:

- A cash Isa that can be set against the mortgage for tax-free savings

- Up to six current accounts can be used to offset against the mortgage – this allows family members to add their finances to the accounts, so it can be offset against the mortgage.

- Family offsets, which enable parents to help their children get on the property ladder. Parents can use their savings to be offset against the mortgage, which will bring down their children’s monthly repayments, and they still have access to their savings if they need it.

Offset loans are flexible. Without penalty, borrowers can pay off capital, make underpayments, and take payment holidays. Because an offset mortgage is flexible, the loans have a higher rate than traditional deals. However, the rates on an offset mortgage have fallen in recent years due to increased competition and many borrowers believe it is worth paying a premium rate because of the benefits gained with an offset mortgage.

An offset mortgage has grown in popularity for borrowers because offsetting is a great way to reduce the term of the mortgage, thus saving thousands of pounds on mortgage repayments, and still allowing access to savings for emergencies.



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