and is priced on loan to value, the amount borrowed versus the value of the property with larger loans and loan to value ratios of 60% or less attracting better rates, he says.

Index your mortgage repayments: This means increasing mortgage repayments by 1% to 3% annually, suggests Audrey Nolan of Bank of Ireland. "You select the rate. Generally, people do it in line with inflation. Unlike overpaying, it's done on a very gradual basis and can have a real impact on the term and the amount of interest paid.

Your instructions can also be cancelled at any time."

Pay fortnightly: "Interest is calculated daily and if your lender has a facility where you can pay your mortgage fortnightly rather than monthly, you'll clear your mortgage quicker as you're paying sooner, saving on the amount of interest paid over the term of the loan, " Dowling says.

"On a 25-year loan, this will take four years off the term of the loan."

Offset your savings: With a First Active current account mortgage, interest is calculated on what you owe each day. This is the difference between the balance on your loan account (like an ordinary mortgage) and the funds in your facility account (like a current account. ) As long as there are funds in your facility account, you are paying less interest on your mortgage.

Donal Atkins says that this may particularly suit the selfemployed, who pay an annual tax bill. Dowling points out that the original product has been modified and is not as attractive as the one launched.

Review your mortgage: "Be aware of the rates available in the market, " advises Mangan.

"People are not as conscious as they should be of the differences in mortgage rates."

In a competitive marketplace, a difference in rate will make a big difference to borrowers over a typical mortgage term. John Lowe, managing director of Providence Financial Services and author of The Money Doctor Finance Annual 2006, points out that going directly to a lender will only result in being quoted their rates and products. "By going to an authorised adviser who must give at the outset terms of business outlining which of the 13 lenders they represent . . . in my view you should only seek advice from those who have all 13 on board . . . then you can be sure of receiving unbiased advice."

Switching lenders should only be done if repayments are going to be less, Dowling says. Extra costs will be involved but some lenders will cover these.

Finally, if you are trying to get on the property ladder or considering upgrading, look at your house purchase as part of your overall budget rather than in isolation. "Make sure that what you are buying and where you are buying is suitable in the medium to long term so you don't have to sell on too quickly as there are costs involved in moving, " says Joan Henry, head of research at Hamilton Osborne King.