Rip-off fees

An interesting article on The Motley Fool about the HSBC's Rate Matcher Mortgage. Simply horrifying fees are being levied:

"The maximum loan available under Rate Matcher is £250,000** and the minimum rate HSBC will match is 4.79%. If you were to borrow this amount at that rate, the booking fee will set you back a staggering £7,699... nd it's not just borrowers wanting the best rate who will be asked to hand over a small fortune. Just last week, a mortgage loan of £145,000 with a rate matched at 5.24% would trigger a fee of only £599. But now, the fee has been stepped up to a whopping £3,199. That's over five times more than its original level."

Read the rest of the article and you will see why the housing market is in free-fall and will continue to be so for quite a while yet.