Barclays Bank mortgages are provided through Barclay’s subsidiary, Woolwich, a United Kingdom mortgage brand. The acquisition of Woolwich PLC by Barclays took place in August 2000. The Woolwich brand was kept after its purchase by Barclays and it is headquartered out of south-east London.
Barclays, Mortgages and the Woolwich
The Woolwich has been in existence since 1847. In its heyday it was one of the largest member owned financial institutions in the United Kingdom. Woolwich was demutualized in 1997 to become a bank thus forming Woolwich PLC.
Woolwich’s parent company, Barclays PLC, was originally founded in 1690 by John Freameand Thomas Gould who traded as Goldsmith bankers. Then in 1736 James Barclay became a partner and this began the association of the Barclays name.
Today, Barclays PLC is the 25th largest company in the world. Barclays Bank has over $3 trillion dollars in assets. It employees over 140,000 employees and is found in over 50 countries. In the United Kingdom, Barclays is the second largest bank. It is lead by its Chairman, Marcus Agius.
Barclays Mortgage Products
As the mortgage arm of the Barclays financial conglomerate, Woolwich has a variety of mortgage services. Barclays offers fixed rate mortgages, tracker mortgages, offset mortgages, first-time home buyer mortgages and buy to let mortgages.
Woolwich’s fixed rate mortgages can be for a period of anywhere between 2 and 10 years. Their fixed rate mortgages allow you to overpay up to a certain percentage without being hit with an early repayment fee while you are in the fixed rate period. Woolwich’s fixed rate mortgages also have the portable mortgage feature which allows you to transfer your old mortgage to your new home with having to repay or take out a new mortgage loan.
Barclays also arrange Woolwich tracker mortgages, which have a variable rate that coincides with the change in Barclays Bank Base Rate. Tracker mortgage payments fluctuate based on this rate. If the rate goes down the payment is decreased and if the rate goes up then the payment is increased. This range of Barclays mortgage does not have an application fee and also includes the Barclays portable mortgage feature.
The Barclays offset mortgage allows customers to lower the amount of interest being charged. Customers can use savings and current accounts to lower their interest charged against the balance of the mortgage. An offset mortgage allows customers the choice of the use of the savings by reduction of mortgage term or mortgage payment.
The first time home buyer mortgages offer low lending charges. The mortgage payments are fixed during the rate period.
Another Barclays mortgage is the Buy to Let Mortgage. This type of mortgage is designed for individuals who want to invest in real estate. With a buy to let mortgage you can borrow in your name or as a group. You are not restricted with respect to tenancy of the property. You can choose to repay with interest only or a capital repayment basis. This type of loan also has the portable mortgage feature which allows a customer to transfer the mortgage to another buy to let property. The primary borrower must earn a specified minimum income and the property must generate enough rent to pay for the annual mortgage interest payments.