At the end of February Santander launched two-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.49% that was only available for seven days.
The deal was available at 75% loan to value ratio making it a cheap rate but it came with a £995 product arrangement fee.
It is the fourth time Santander have launched a short-term deal for seven days and was available up to a maximum loan size of £1m for both purchase and remortgage.
Santander launched the deal exclusively through mortgage brokers and not through their branches so unless you have a broker it would have passed you by.
Short-term broker mortgages can provide great value for consumers but they are not always the easiest to find.
Why do banks offer short-term deals?
Banks have these short-term deals at low rates for the same reason any business holds sales because they want to get rid of their product.
Banks' product is money and they target a certain amount of lending by a particular date so when it looks like they are not going to achieve it they hold a sale.
Two-year fixes at 75% loan to value will sell very quickly for Santander, or Abbey for Intermediaries as its broker-brand is known, and get rid of the product they want to.
The deals are offered to brokers because they will call their clients and make them aware of a quick-fire lender sale rather than waiting for customers to stumble upon a branch.
Seven days is also too short to launch any real marketing campaign and sometimes lenders may make late decisions anyway, such is the nature of sales.
How can I benefit?
The best way to benefit from these exclusive broker deals is to build a relationship with an independent mortgage adviser.
Lenders will tell them about a seven day deal and they can contact you and get something arranged very quickly.
You will not find them by walking into branches for the reasons outlined but only through a qualified, expert broker.
As bank lending becomes increasingly erratic lenders are struggling to plan the sale of their money in a proper way meaning there will be more and more mortgage sales.
The best buy tables will not give you any indication of these hidden special rates either and you will need to move fast even if you do find out on your own.
What shall I do?
Seven-day sales of cheap mortgage rates are not the only way brokers can get a better deal than branches.
Mortgages for borrowers with poor credit histories are easier to get through specialist lenders who only deal through brokers such as Precise Mortgages or Paragon Mortgages.
Home loans for the self-employed have also become much more difficult to attain on the high street meaning a selection of small players can help out.
Lenders such as Kensington Mortgages or Saffron Building Society will not be known to most consumers but they can provide useful deals via brokers.
More than half of all mortgages are arranged by brokers and the vast majority that are not are straightforward with no snags.
If there is anything unique or unusual about your case then a broker's advice may be necessary to access certain deals.
Going direct to a branch will also only give you the option of one lender's range of mortgage products whereas a broker can scour the entire market.
There are many benefits to broker mortgages from lower rates in seven day mortgage sales or specialist deals.
Mortgages are more difficult to get hold of these days but brokers can provide an expert perspective and solid advice through a tricky market.
