Switching mortgage from AIB to KBC

pasquale83

Folks,

need your advice here.

Would like to switch mortgage from AIB to KBC. I have been already with KBC and at the time I switched to AIB due to lower rates and this is the reason I am switching back to KBC now.

The only problem is that I found out today that I cannot redeem the mortgage for 3 years or I will have to give them back the 3k they are offering towards legal fees.

I am undecisive on what to do. Let's make a list of pros and cons

pros
- 0.3% lower variable interest rate (from 3.3% to 3.0%)
- 3k towards legal fees (will earn about 2k from the operation)
- shorter term (from 32 to 30 years)

cons
- cannot switch/redeem mortgage for 3 years --> FALSE as per mortgage advisor update
- don't really like the bank: cannot check the mortgage balance online and the monthly repayment is not updated each time I lodge some cash into the mortgage account as it happens with AIB
- they're options for overpayments are not really clear to me. I feel much more in control with AIB

What would you do in my case?

Thank you for your help!


EDIT: just got an update from the mortgage advisor. There is NO claw back period on the mortgage.

Samuel T. Cogley

Shorter term is no advantage, do you get the fee amount regardless? I'd check that and it's not just fees paid up to 3K. Other than that lower interest is lower interest. I'm not sure why you'd look at the outstanding figure anymore than strictly necessary tbh :pac:

pasquale83

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Shorter term is no advantage, do you get the fee amount regardless? I'd check that and it's not just fees paid up to 3K. Other than that lower interest is lower interest. I'm not sure why you'd look at the outstanding figure anymore than strictly necessary tbh :pac:

Yes, it is 3k cash
dint' get the below statement

I'm not sure why you'd look at the outstanding figure anymore than strictly necessary tbh

Samuel T. Cogley

You mention you can't keep an eye on the figure as a con, I'm not sure why you'd want to do that more than once a year when the statement comes out. However you're you and I'm me, but that wouldn't be on my list of cons.

pasquale83

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

You mention you can't keep an eye on the figure as a con, I'm not sure why you'd want to do that more than once a year when the statement comes out. However you're you and I'm me, but that wouldn't be on my list of cons.

OK I got you now
Yes, I'm a bit over controlling my mortgage balance

Anyway, the KBC mortgage advisor messaged me back saying there is no claw back period. I think I was the only one to request this info

bee06

Did you mean the interest rate would got from 3.3% to 3.0%? I wouldn't see a shorter term as a pro either.

pasquale83

bee06 wrote: »

Did you mean the interest rate would got from 3.3% to 3.0%? I wouldn't see a shorter term as a pro either.

yes, correct.

the shorter term is automatic. in the sense that the max term I one can borrow when switching is 30 years.

Samuel T. Cogley

Sounds good to me, just switch again when a better deal arises. Fair play to you for shopping around! Although aren't Ulsterbank doing a 2.9% fixed? Just an FYI.

Cyrus

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Sounds good to me, just switch again when a better deal arises. Fair play to you for shopping around! Although aren't Ulsterbank doing a 2.9% fixed? Just an FYI.

2.6 actually

Marymidlands

It's definitely a con for me not seeing the reducing balance on mortgage.
Reduced years may not seem much now but when you get older it will matter. I had a mortgage with both Kbc and Aib up until Jan this year. Found Kbc horrendous to deal with. Still haven't released life cover and never return my calls. My solicitor agreed that they were one of worst banks he'd ever dealt with.
Aib are much better to deal with and even though I should possibly move as I've a reasonably good LTV I don't as they've reduced repayments twice in last year. I've put the savings into reducing term of mortgage.
I suspect the change back to Kbc will be harder than the reverse was. Fair play for shopping around and keep us informed how it goes.

pasquale83

Cyrus wrote: »

2.6 actually

checked this, but it is only for customers borrowing 300k+ and with few other conditions. here more details: http://digital.ulsterbank.ie/personal/mortgages/mortgage-rates.html

pasquale83

Marymidlands wrote: »

It's definitely a con for me not seeing the reducing balance on mortgage.
Reduced years may not seem much now but when you get older it will matter. I had a mortgage with both Kbc and Aib up until Jan this year. Found Kbc horrendous to deal with. Still haven't released life cover and never return my calls. My solicitor agreed that they were one of worst banks he'd ever dealt with.
Aib are much better to deal with and even though I should possibly move as I've a reasonably good LTV I don't as they've reduced repayments twice in last year. I've put the savings into reducing term of mortgage.
I suspect the change back to Kbc will be harder than the reverse was. Fair play for shopping around and keep us informed how it goes.

what I don't understand is their options for making over payments. they don't readjust the monthly repayment or shorten the term accordingly, but they tell you that if you keep doing the over payments the term will actually shorten.