The Cheshire, one of the first permanent Societies, was founded in 1870 in Macclesfield. Today the Society is the product of 13 mergers, which began in 1969 when the Cheshire merged with the Northwich Building Society. This was followed by a series of smaller mergers through the 1970’s and 80’s. Today it has a branch network that extends throughout the North West of England and includes 52 building society branches and 13 property service branches.
The Cheshire now has over 800 people in staff, and ranks 11th in size out of a total of 63 UK building societies. It is a successful, independent, regionally based society with a deep commitment to mutuality. To The Cheshire, the customer comes first and it is dedicated at simultaneously sustain its independence whilst ensuring growth and profitability. It believes strongly that mutuality works for the greater benefit of all its members.
As a mutual building society, the Cheshire is owned by its members and determined to stay that way. Because it has no external shareholders its members are central to everything. And because there are no dividends to pay, they share the fruits of success with members, so instead of focusing on maximizing profits, the Cheshire aims to maximize customers’ rates.
The Cheshire offers theses main mortgages:
Fixed
Tracker
Discount
Cash back mortgage
Standard Ownership
Fixed mortgages: are set at an agreed rate for a set interval. The product you choose determines how long the period is. The Cheshire has a number of fixed rate products you can choose from 3, 5, 15, 20 or 25 year fixed rate mortgages. After the fixed period is over the interest rate reverts to the Chershire’s standard variable rate.
The Cheshire have a 3 year stepped rate called the FirstStart’ mortgage. It is set at a low interest rate for the first 3 years, then it reverts to the standard variable rate for the remaining mortgage term.
Tracker mortgage: the rate is set at the Bank of England base rate for the first year, then the rate will be set at an amount above the Bank of England base rate for the next 4 years.
Discount mortgages: this is a mortgage set at a discount of the Cheshire’s standard variable rate. The product you choose will determine how long the discount is. The range is from 2 to 3 years. They then go back to the society’s standard variable rate.
Cash back mortgage: this is set at the standard variable rate, and you can get up to 6% of your mortgage as a one off’ cash lump sum, up to £30,000.
Shared Ownership: this is a 3 year fixed rate mortgage which will then relapse to the standard variable rate after this period.
The Cheshire provides mortgages tailored to existing borrowers’ needs as well:
Home Mover Mortgages
Buy to Let Products
Re-mortgages
Home Mover: for people who might want to move to a bigger house or a smaller one, or just want somewhere different. You can choose from Fixed, Discount, Tracker, Cash back or Shared Ownership mortgages.
Buy to Let: the Cheshire can assist you start a portfolio of properties. Choose from Fixed, Tracker or Discount mortgages.
Re-mortgages: if you already have a mortgage with another building society or bank, switching your mortgage to the Cheshire may enable you to save money on your monthly repayments. You can select Fixed, Discount, Tracker, Cash back or Shared Ownership mortgages.