A very flexible move

After trying out an endowment to repay her mortgage first time round, Saralynn Bowden has opted for the flexibility of a personal equity plan this time, writes Clare Arthur.

Ms Bowden is currently buying a cottage in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire. She has not invested in a PEP before, but once mortgage brokers London & Country had explained the differences between an endowment, a PEP and a repayment mortgage, Ms Bowden decided that a PEP would suit her needs the best.

She says: "I'm 35, and there's a chance that I'll be moving again at some stage. The PEP is very portable, and you can vary the amount you invest very easily."

Her cottage is costing pounds 103,000, and she has taken out a pounds 77,000 loan with the Portman Building Society, which is fixed at 4.65 per cent for two years.

On top of this she is paying pounds 100 a month into a Perpetual Growth PEP. This is a fund which has continually appeared near the top of the past performance league tables.