Mortgage deals to put a spring in your step

Ahead of this year's spring house hunting season several lenders have come up with eye-catching mortgage deals. But the Nationwide Building Society has stolen some of their thunder by announcing that from May 1, it will apply Cat standards to all new mortgage products.

This means they will have daily interest calculations, flexible features and no hidden charges. In addition, it will become the first major mortgage lender automatically to move all existing borrowers from annual to daily interest. More than a million Nationwide borrowers will ben efit from daily interest calculations without the bother of having to make special appointments or filling in lengthy forms.

The society's Cat marked flexible home loan is priced at 6.49%, around 1% lower than the typical standard variable mortgage rates of most other major high street lenders. And the Newcastle Building Society is wooing buyers who prefer the stability of constant mortgage repayments, with a fixed rate of 5.99% until March 31 2011. It is available through the society's 53 branches or on 08456-606-4488.

In a separate move, the society has teamed up with London & Country to launch a three-year fixed rate mortgage priced at 5.25% until July 31 2004. But the deal comes with a long string attached, starting with a completion fee of £350 and redemption penalties of up to 5%.

Elsewhere, the independent mortgage adviser Charcol is offering mortgages fixed at 1.05% below current base rates at 4.7% until March 31, 2003. Thereafter the mortgage repayment rate is pegged at 0.6 % above prevailing base rates for a further 15 months. Borrowers taking out a £100,000 mortgage at 4.7% save around £234 a month until March 2003, compared with the typical standard variable rate of 7.5%. For details: www.charcolonline.co.uk

The Derbyshire Building Society is offering a mortgage fixed at 5.49% until July 31, 2004 and another one stretching to July 31, 2006 fixed at 5.59%, provided borrowers have a downpayment of at least 10% of the value of the house. Contact 08456-004-005.

There is nothing more frustrating than losing the home of your dreams at the the eleventh hour through gazumping, under-valuation or title problems - to say nothing of the financial loss. Now Britannia Building Society is offering its borrowers free insurance cover which protects borrowers against financial loss.

For non-Britannia borrowers interested in this type of cover, 1st Quote, the insurance broker, offers a broadly similar policy for a premium of £69. For quotes, 0208-590-8412 or www.1stquote.co.uk