We’ve swapped high rents for a low mortgage
A ROCK-BOTTOM two-year fixed rate loan from Halifax was the best deal for firsttime buyers Amanda Pinkney and Paul Peck, who have just moved into a brand new twobedroom flat on Crest Nicholson’s Mitchams Park development in Cambridge.
They paid £395,000 for a large two-bedroom apartment on the city centre site of the old Cambridge City Football Club ground. As a nod to its roots, the development has a planted ‘players’ tunnel’ to link its two pitch-shaped communal gardens.
Having paid expensive rents for high maintenance homes in the past, the couple hope to save plenty of money over the next two years through low mortgage repayments and reduced household bills. Amanda, a 29year-old scientist, says: ‘The flat is sustainably built with water saving taps, underfloor heating and smart energy systems.’
Business consultant Paul, 31, also saves money by being able to walk to the station for his 50minute commute to London.
If the couple use savings to reduce their mortgage balance in 2018 they should qualify for an even better remortgage rate. Halifax borrowers with 5 per cent equity can get twoyear fixes from 3.94 per cent today. Borrowers who can stretch to 10 per cent equity get similar Halifax fixes from just 2.94 per cent.