Website: Yorkshire Building Society
Phone: 0845 1200 805
As a mutual society, the Yorkshire mortgage offering is a consistent performer, especially the standard variable product. There are excellent first time buyer deals on offer, especially if you want reduced fees. Not a good call for bad credit buyers, though, and early redemption charges can be astronomical.
The Yorkshire is a mutual society, so it doesn't have to put money in shareholders' pockets. That should mean a better deal for you- and their policy is to put that benefit into offering a consistently low variable rate. If a plain-vanilla variable mortgage is what you want, then the Yorkshire Building Society mortgage is a good place to start. Also, for first-timers, their guide (click "Your Mortgage Needs" is the most informative by far.
The products are competitive on account of being simple. Unlike some other providers' products, their offset mortgage has few strings attached (for example, no big initial deposit and no need to pay salary credits directly into the account). There's a wide range of fixed rate mortgages on offer, and some include "Fee Assist", where a contribution of your legal and administrative fees (usually £250) will be refunded on completion. All mortgages are flexible, so you can pay more or less each month if you wish; and interest is always charged daily, avoiding "stepping" fees.
For first time buyers there are some special deals, including a remarkable no-deposit, no-fees mortgage with a reduced tracker rate on top. That's a lot of cash back in your pocket. The only caveat: watch out for high early-redemption penalties- your Yorkshire Building Society mortgage can carry up to a whopping 3% penalty for early redemption. Fees are also suspiciously unclear on the site.
