Pay less for the first few years of your mortgage

If you want the lowest possible APR for a short time, at least then a discount mortgage is for you. Lenders offer a fixed discount on their normal interest rate for a period of two or three years, resulting in an APR that's up to 1% lower than other mortgages.

When it comes to the lowest interest rates, the discount mortgage is king: while variable rate mortgages offer rates of around 4.5%, we have companies in our data bank offering a discount mortgage with an APR of just 1.79%.

Of course, nothing good lasts forever and a typical discount mortgage has a discount period of two or three years, after which you revert to the usual variable rate charged by the lender. However while you're in the discount period you'll pay considerably less interest than you would with any other kind of mortgage.