Andy & Jane Gibbon
late 20s, working
want to reduce outgoings
True love: it's all so exciting. You move in together, buy your first home, even think about starting a family. Then the boring stuff kicks in. Can we afford it? How will we manage on one salary? What about the mortgage?
Yeah, what about the mortgage? Five years ago Andy and Jane were on a good deal. First time buyers, fixed rate, sensible repayments. Now things have changed.
For a start, when the fixed rate ran out after three years, they were moved onto their existing lender's standard variable rate. Andy and Jane were just off on holiday when the letter came through - so they didn't take much notice. In fact, their interest rate almost doubled.
And, it's gone up again since then. In the last couple of years their existing lender's rate has followed bank base rate and now their repayments are a significant drain on their monthly budget.
Talking with friends in the pub (sad, but true) Andy and Jane suddenly realise they could be saving several thousand pounds over the lifetime of their loan simply by finding a more competitive lender.
Andy does some homework with the existing lender (checking there are no penalty clauses for getting out early) while Jane goes on to the internet to search out a more competitive rate. She soon discovers Giraffe has a friendly and flexible attitude to remortgaging with products designed specially for this market.
They are offered a range of possible rates designed to reflect their current financial status (rather than their status when they first took out a mortgage) and they are able to think about restructuring their loan. Do they want to save some money on a monthly basis, pay it off a bit early or even take some cash now to spend on a new kitchen?
With a possible family on the horizon, Andy and Jane opt for reducing their monthly outgoings - but that doesn't stop them having a holiday with the extra savings in the meantime.
Please note that the above case study is purely fictitious and not based on true characters.