Tonight:
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This will save us £150 a month on loan
Rashid Razaq6 Nov 2008
Chartered accountant Neil Springett welcomed today's rate cut which will leave him around £150 a month better off.
He and his wife Andrea took out a £340,000 tracker mortgage on their home in Wanstead in May. The rate on the loan, from the Abbey, has already fallen from 5.34 per cent to 3.34 per cent.
Mr Springett, 32, said: "It's spare cash. We didn't overstretch ourselves so there was a bit of scope for rates to go up. It will probably go towards a holiday but it won't be spend, spend, spend."
Colin Smith, 42, a company director from Kensington, also welcomed the move. He said: "It's good news if the cut is passed on in full. I have a standard variable rate mortgage and the last rate cut has only just been passed on. It needs to be quicker to have an effect on the economy."
Opera singer Susan Young, from Oxfordshire, said: "My husband texted me within minutes. He's ecstatic. We have a tracker mortgage so the bank will have to pass the cut on. We'll save the money and I think most people will do the same. I can't see it's going to affect consumer spending or confidence."
But April Bouaoudia, 41, housewife from Kensington, was more cautious, saying: "We have a mortgage, but I'm not sure it will have that much impact on us. I don't have faith in Gordon Brown's handling of the economy. We need a new leader like Obama to inspire us."
David Dore, 68, a retired civil servant from Richmond, was also not impressed. He said: "I think it could have a disastrous effect on the economy. I don't have a mortgage, but I do have savings. Such a big cut seems like a stab in the dark and doesn't restore faith in the government's handling of the economy."
Tom Phelan, 48, director of banner and hoardings company Colorset, said the cut would be of no help to small businesses. He said his business, based near London Bridge, lost a major contract in the summer and has been "appallingly" treated by his bank. He said: "They immediately put us in the 'special situations' department. We were assigned a different manager who told us our bank charges would go up 'dramatically' and there would also be a management fee."
Reader views (2)
It will not help long term.This rate cut will send the wrong message to some borrower who will end up deeper in the red. This is just a time bomb ready to explose.
- Sylvain, EALING, 07/11/2008 12:45
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Chartered Accountant? Hmmm. Last time I looked, a 1.5% interest rate reduction on a £340000 mortgage would save £5100 per year, or £425 a month (excluding adjustments for repayments).
- Cjp, Hitchin, Herts, 07/11/2008 09:45
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