Jasper
|
| posted on 26/2/11 at 11:41 AM |
|
|
Time to renew my mortgage .....
So I've been on a 3 year fixed mortgage at 5.83% (fixed just before the interest rates went right down, grrrrr..) which is coming to an end in
June.
So, I want to stay with Santander as I'm self employed and if I switch providers I've got to go through all the grief of prooving income
etc.
They just offered me the following rates:
Fixed 2 year - 4.24% - no fees
Fixed 3 year - 4.69% - £125 fee
Fixed 4 year - 4.99% - £125 fee
Fixed 5 year - 5.49% - £125 fee
Tracker 2 year 2.74% over base = 3.24% at the moment - £125 fee
Lifetime Tracker (get out whenever you want) 3.29 over base = 3.79% - (£925 fee)
So what are peoples thoughts on rates at the moment, there's talk of them going up so the fixed rate still sounds appealing, even though I got
stuffed last time.
If I went fixed I would keep the payments the same as now and reduce the term a bit.
[Edited on 26/2/11 by Jasper]
If you're not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room.
|
|
|
|
|
Guinness
|
| posted on 26/2/11 at 11:55 AM |
|
|
What happens to the rate in June?
My fixed rate term came to an end a few years back, and dropped down to BOE base +1%. So I've just stayed with their default setting for the
last few years.
|
|
|
bob
|
| posted on 26/2/11 at 11:57 AM |
|
|
2 year tracker looks ok
|
|
|
snapper
|
| posted on 26/2/11 at 12:19 PM |
|
|
It's going up soooon
The banks have factored in the rates they expect to see for fixed rate and trackers are also higher than they were.
The rates certainly went going down, I would fix not track and do it over a long period, that way you can plan long term and not get hit again in 2
years.
I did well out of the last rates, 0.85% over base then had to take 2.9 above base this added £200 a month on a small ish mortgage, on a big mortgage
the upward rate pressure could break you
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
|
|
|
Moorron
|
| posted on 26/2/11 at 01:16 PM |
|
|
Ive just done this on my house.
As i was out of work i had to stay with my current provider to allow me to get a mortgage, i wasnt prepaired to fall down onto the stardard variable
rate due to the uncertainty of it.
Like you i fixed last time for 5 years, which hurt as the rates came right down but its the price i paid for knowing what my outgoings would be and
peace of mind.
So i went back into a 5 year fixed at 5.49% costing me £5 extra a month. Painfull part was its not needed until end of march and i went in to see what
they could do, took 1 week to decide and when i went in to sign it all it had gone up by 0.25%! GRRRR
Ive got a job now, but i have had 2x 5 year fixed so far and didnt want to gamble this time either.
Alot of people seem to think that as soon as the BOE rates start to climb they will jump onto a fixed 'AT THE RATES THEY ARE ON NOW!' but
infact what will happen is the fixed rates will rise (like mine did) before it happens as the banks will take full advantage of the panic and slight
foresight they have over the markets and such.
I know of a few people who have really enjoyed the extra money which came from a variable rate, but have told me that they wouldnt be able to afford a
2% increase in rate (so they cant get a fixed now). Dont end up like this.
Sorry about my spelling, im an engineer and only work in numbers.
|
|
|
Moorron
|
| posted on 26/2/11 at 01:30 PM |
|
|
ps, i would go for the 5 year fixed, with the difference in money i would over pay it each month too.
If you are happy with the current outgoings that the old one created then do it, however if you are struggling (like everyone else) then use the
difference to pay for your gas bill and the like.
The less debt you have, the less interest you pay and the more toys you can buy for no extra expense.
Sorry about my spelling, im an engineer and only work in numbers.
|
|
|
zilspeed
|
| posted on 26/2/11 at 01:41 PM |
|
|
We actually did a fixed rate some years ago.
We went for a 10 year deal.
That maybe wouldn't suit a lot of people, but it did suit us.
Certainty was everything and much as I sometimes look at where interest rates have gone since we fixed and think of what we might have saved, I go
with the certainty that it gives us. I was happy the day I signed the deal and have to remember that.
I think that's part of the psychology of whether or not such a thing is for you.
|
|
|
Jasper
|
| posted on 26/2/11 at 02:06 PM |
|
|
Cheers for the input guys, I certainly can't afford to pay more than I'm paying already, so I think the 5 year might be the way to go, at
least I know exactly where I'll be then.
If you're not living life on the edge you're taking up too much room.
|
|
|
nick205
|
| posted on 26/2/11 at 04:30 PM |
|
|
5 yr fixed for me.
We fixed @ 6% in 2007convinced rates would hold or rise. When they tumbled in 2009 we paid the early exit penalty an took another 5 yr fixed @ 4.9%.
Even with the penalty charge added to the new mortgage we kept the monthly payment fixed, but took 2.5 years off the term. The rates dipped lower
still and I was annoyed I hadn't held for longer. Now, I'm more than happy with the rate and security until 2014. If not for the fact we
don't plan to be here much longer than that I would have been highly tempted to fix at a slightly higher rate for 10 yrs.
A mate has been living it up on the cash surplus from his currently low rate tracker mortgage and just didn't get the idea of using the surplus
to overpay and cash in even more on the low rate. I expect him to have problems in the next couple of years 
|
|
|
