Mortgages come in a number of different flavours, depending on how interest is charged and how you repay the loan. Remember though: all mortgages are secured on your home. If you do not keep up the payments, your home may be repossessed.

Our mortgage products fall into two types - the standard mortgage range and special mortgage products.

Standard range

Most people’s mortgage needs are covered by our standard range of mortgages. You can choose from a variety of products which offer one or a combination of the following types of interest rates. Please refer to New customers for details of our current product range.

Variable rates

With a variable rate mortgage, the interest rate may change whenever our lending rates are altered. During the lifetime of a mortgage there may be several interest rate movements - both upwards and downwards. There are various types of variable rate mortgage and at any one time, we may offer one or more of the following variable rate products:

Standard variable rate - this is our basic mortgage rate against which most of our other products are set.

Discounted variable rate - a discount from our standard variable rate is available for a period of time, giving you the benefit of initial lower monthly payments. At the end of the discount period, interest is charged at our standard variable rate.

Tracker rate - an interest rate which is linked to another variable rate and tracks its movements. It is usually linked to the Bank of England Base Rate (BoEBR) and will change on the 1st of the month following any change in the BoEBR.

Fixed rates

With a fixed rate mortgage, the interest rate is fixed at a certain level for a specific period. During this time the rate will not change - even if variable rates go up or down. This gives you budget certainty. From the end of the fixed rate period, interest is charged at our standard variable rate.

Interest rates

You can choose from a variety of mortgage products which offer one or a combination of the above types of interest rates. Please refer to the Residential Mortgage Rate Guide (PDF document) for details of the current products available. 

Where a mortgage product has an initial rate period (for example a fixed or discounted rate) and the mortgage starts after the 1st day of the month, the initial rate period will end on the last day of the relevant month. For example, a two year fixed rate that starts on 3 February 2012, will end on 28 February 2014.

Special mortgage products

As well as our standard mortgages, as described above, we can also offer special products for people needing something different. These are people whose circumstances mean they are looking for a specific type of mortgage.

These include:

  • Shared ownership: helping people get a foot on the property ladder.
  • Buy to let: investing in property.
  • Bespoke: for people who do not fit in the standard boxes.

Our special mortgage products are only available through our panel of mortgage intermediaries.

Note: Buy to let mortgages are not covered by the Financial Services Authority.