Attractive mortgages can end up costing you in the end if you are not on the ball, writes David Lawrenson.

That good discount or attractive fixed rate mortgage may not be all it's cracked up to be. So here's how to ensure that you are the winner in the end - not the mortgage lender!

First, a short anecdote...

About two years ago my computer's hard disk crashed and I lost a fair bit of stuff. Most of my work was backed up onto disk, but there was one file I forgot to back up.

It was the one containing all my mortgage details, and, crucially, the dates when my mortgage deals would come out of their special rates and onto the lender's dreaded 'standard variable rate.'