Dublin woman on successful mortgage swap: ‘And if I can quit work early, happy days’

This has required five hip replacements on her right side.

On top of that, she fell over her dog last summer and had to have a plate and eight needles stuck in her leg.

She fears that if her condition worsens, she will have to quit her job as a clerk at a construction company.

So she came along after a two-year fixed-rate mortgage expired Permanent TSB She promised to get a better interest rate and see if she could speed up payments to pay off the home loan early.

Ms Chubb, who is in her 40s, said: “I want to get rid of the mortgage if anything happens down the line.

“I want to finish and enjoy life. And if I can quit work earlier than originally planned, then happy days.”

After she hit the end of a fixed rate on her TSB Perpetual Mortgage, she had a 3.4 percent floating rate.

Ms Chubb was aware that she could do better, and was also aware that she is likely to go even higher as European interest rates rise.

So she decided now would be a good time to commit to a lower fixed rate.

With the help of broker Moneysherpa.ie, she switched her €110,000 mortgage from Permanent TSB to Avant Money in January.

She received a seven-year fixed rate of 2.01 percent from Avant Money.

This meant big monthly savings on her mortgage.

Ms. Chubb was paying €640 a month with a perpetual TSB. Moving to Leitrim-based Avant Money meant she dropped that to less than €560 a month.

As a result, she was able to reduce her installments for the building society loan by 80 euros due to the move.

But she decided to go further and take the opportunity to pay a month more so she could shorten the term of her mortgage.

After discussing the situation with her mortgage advisor, she found that her new lower interest rate and an increase in her repayments to €900 per month with her new mortgage provider could shorten the life of her mortgage. This has meant she will shorten her mortgage term from 21 years to just 12 years.

“I’m paying more money so I can shorten the mortgage term,” she said.

Moneysherpa.ie’s Mark Coan estimates that switching to a lower interest rate and shortening her mortgage term will save her a total of more than €30,000 over the life of the mortgage.

When asked if she thought she was smart about making such a deal, Ms Chubb joked, “I’m looking for deals, but I’m also good at spending.”

She said Moneysherpa.ie gave her independent advice and helped her put the paperwork together. “Most people don’t realize they can save so much by switching.”