Cost of switching mortgage

gnf_ireland

Hi,
I am wondering if anyone has recently switching mortgages from one bank to another, and if so what the rough costs of doing so were?

I imagine there are fees associated with the actual paperwork itself, as well as the professional service fees of the solicitor involved? Are there any other fees I should be aware of?

I am just trying to calculate if it is worth pursuing a move of mortgage and what the benefits would be versus the actual cost of the process

thanks in advance

Eldarion

The biggest factor would be whether you're on a fixed, variable or tracker rate. I can't imagine you'd be moving with a tracker so if it's fixed you're definitely going to get stung by penalties, if it's variable you won't.

I haven't done it personally but I do believe it's been made increasingly easier for people to transfer mortgages between institutions to encourage competition. Outside of the penalties if you're fixed I wouldn't think there would be many other big fees involved.

gnf_ireland

Sorry, I should have clarified, I am on a variable rate mortgage

I am just wondering about legal fees in particular. It was not something I had really considered as material,until I saw KBC were offering "€1000 towards your legal fees offer ends 31st December 2014"

rasgav

Unless you're already in the process, there's absolutely no chance you'll get all the documentation finalised in the next couple of weeks. I am also considering switching and I think there's a good chance that KBC will extend their offer in the new year. They've already extended it once and they are trying to open up the switcher market.

I'd also love to hear about the experiences of some recent switchers.

gnf_ireland

Agree re the ability to close it out in the next few weeks. I also believe they will extend the offer into the new year as well.

Do you have any idea how much it would cost to move a mortgage in terms of solicitors fees ?

gnf_ireland

Just in case anyone is wondering about this, the legal costs associated with switching a mortgage is the same as an original mortgage. So all in all you would be talking about ~1,000 legal fees + VAT and ~400/500 euro in outlays.

You would also need a valuation done on the property, and this costs ~127 euro

Some banks offer 1,000 euro towards this cost - so KBC, P-TSB for example and BOI offer 1% the value of the mortgage

Villa05

Would it be worth ones while going back to the solicitor used when purchasing to maybe get a discount. How much of the work is duplication of work done when purchasing.
Forgive my ignorance. I have no clue on such matters

gnf_ireland

hi Villa05

I am sure there is a level of duplication but depends how long since the purchase and of course if circumstances have changed.

In my personal case, I would not ring my previous solicitor if he was the last person on earth who could do this. Beyond useless is what I would call him

But on the positive, the new guy can only be better !