Spotlight On: Santander's mortgage range

The deal

Santander has cut rates on its tracker loans and introduced some new fixed rate mortgages.

The good points

Interest rates have been cut by up to 0.3 per cent. The upfront fee is just £99 on a two year first-time buyer's 90 per cent LTV deal, while most Santander mortgages charge fees at ten times that, at £995.

The bad points

Low fee means high rates. The first time buyer's deal is 5.79 per cent. A similar two year deal offered to those with 40 per cent deposit is just 3.19 per cent.

Conclusion

Santander is currently offering 15 different mortgage deals. While that might improve the chance of finding one that suits your affordability, or amount of deposit you can raise, it stresses the importance of totting up all charges.

A high interest rate deal may actually work out cheaper than a low rate one, once you've factored in the charges. Getting expert help working out all the factors may be more important than ever, especially when you should be looking at other lenders' offers, too.