Mortgage time

[stroppyjohnny]

Talk to me about mortgages. Our fixed rate tie-in ends on the 31st of March (at 5.99%) so I'm obviously looking around now. I've always had fixed rate for safety, but there are a lot of currently very cheap tracker mortgages floating around. Cheap for how long though? I'm expecting rates to rise sooner rather than later, but my crystal bks are not telling me how much it'll rise too!
The best deal seems to be a Barclays/Woolwich fixed at 2.8% for two years so I was thinking of knocking the mortgage length down by a few years, keeping the monthly payments similar to what we're paying now. Or is it worth taking a gamble on a tracker in case they go down further?
The more I think about it, the less I fancy trackers actually. Probably stick with a fixed, but then for how long? I'm not planning on divorcing Mrs Stroppy anytime soon so I won't need to get out early, but there's always the worry that I get a fixed term for 2 years, then in 2 years time the rates have doubled! So I get fixed for 5 years now, and pay double the interest rate for a long time. That's what I did previously. D'oh.
Is it worth maybe knocking a lot of years off the mortgage - currently 23 - and getting a cheap fixed for a couple of years so the borrowed amount gets slashed, or fixing it for longer and playing it safe.
Sorry I waffled a bit, I'm thinking as I type about this. Any advice would be nice if possible, I have just this forum very recently but looking through the various sections there are a lot of heads on here wiser than mine (not a huge achievement mind) so I thought I'd ask.


Edited to add, no need for small print disclaimers etc this isn't a formal discussion, I'm not going to take anyone to court if things don't work out..

Edited by stroppyjohnny on Thursday 18th February 11:39

[scotal]

SJ you have mail.

[bigmanteebs]

scotal said:

SJ you have mail.

Scotal, I'm in the same boat. Can you PM me your details please.

[fizz876]

Hi Scotal- I'm in the process of getting a new mortgage and am very unsure should I go fixed or not.. any guidance would be grateful

[scotal]

bigmanteebs said:

scotal said:

SJ you have mail.

Scotal, I'm in the same boat. Can you PM me your details please.

PM on its way.

[scotal]

fizz876 said:

Hi Scotal- I'm in the process of getting a new mortgage and am very unsure should I go fixed or not.. any guidance would be grateful

Can't pm you chum, you dont permit them.

[fizz876]

scotal said:

fizz876 said:

Hi Scotal- I'm in the process of getting a new mortgage and am very unsure should I go fixed or not.. any guidance would be grateful

Can't pm you chum, you dont permit them.

Whoops! Sorry.... I have now enabled PM's. Thanks Scotal

[splodge s4]

stroppyjohnny said:

Blah, blah...Or is it worth taking a gamble on a tracker in case they go down further?

Its as low as it will go. So the real question is do you milk the low trackers whilst they are there or play safe & fix. Its down to attitude to risk really. For me I prefer fix as then I don't have to worry if rates rise, if they go down & I could have been £100 better off then oh well, I can still afford my mortgage. If however they go up 4 or 5% (so to average levels!)then it could be a different story. Remember rates have been in double figures

A lot of people are coming off fix rates & staying on the lenders variable rate for a bit. Your not tied in so at anytime you can remortgage if you want.

Nationwide trackers actually allow you to switch to a Nationwide fix rate at anytime during the term, could be seen as the best of both world but they may not be offering the best tracker.

If you qualify for the Barclays 2.8% fix then you must have plenty of equity in the property so you can do what you like. Very important though to check what your existing lender will offer you before you do anything with anyone else.

If often makes sense to focus on your own little word rather then try & guess what's happening with rates as no one knows, were in unchartered territory here with BoE at 0.5%. Is your income pretty fixed for the next few years or are you due promotion/big rises etc? Thinking of moving in the next few years etc? Often your personnel circumstances will determine the best mortgage rather than looking at the lowest rate on the table.

[W66OCH]

stroppyjohnny said:

Or is it worth taking a gamble on a tracker in case they go down further?

Edited by stroppyjohnny on Thursday 18th February 11:39

what planet are you on?

[stroppyjohnny]

W66OCH said:

stroppyjohnny said:

Or is it worth taking a gamble on a tracker in case they go down further?

Edited by stroppyjohnny on Thursday 18th February 11:39

what planet are you on?

Planet stupid head clearly!

I meant in case they don't go up too much

I'll hide now

lol

[W66OCH]

stroppyjohnny said:

W66OCH said:

stroppyjohnny said:

Or is it worth taking a gamble on a tracker in case they go down further?

Edited by stroppyjohnny on Thursday 18th February 11:39

what planet are you on?

Planet stupid head clearly!

I meant in case they don't go up too much

I'll hide now

lol

Only teasing mate

Took out a tracker myself about 6 months ago, so hoping rates dont go into orbit otherwise I'll have to jump ship to something else. Some of the guys on here seem pretty knowledgeable and should be able to find you a good deal

[Zippee]

scotal said:

fizz876 said:

Hi Scotal- I'm in the process of getting a new mortgage and am very unsure should I go fixed or not.. any guidance would be grateful

Can't pm you chum, you dont permit them.

Hi Scotal, Any chance of some advice here as well - our fixed deal with Nationwide ends in a couple of months and we'll also be looking to move, current equity of around 60k and looking to borrow between 190 & 240k.

[TomBoo]

Zippee said:

Any chance of some advice here as well - our fixed deal with Nationwide ends in a couple of months and we'll also be looking to move, current equity of around 60k and looking to borrow between 190 & 240k.

As others have said, it doesnt always pay to be too hasty to jump ship.
It may be that coming off your existing deal going onto the lenders "revert to deal" may be more beneficial for you than moving.

This is because any deal that was done back when SVRs were in the order of 5% should revert to BBR + a very small margin.

For example, I have existing Nationwide clients, having come off long term fixed/or tracker deals have reverted to BBR + 2%.
That's 2.5% variable!
With no fees or tie-ins.

YHM

[frank hovis]

Hi any chance of getting some of the same advice ?

I have just came off my fixed rate with Yorkshire and now back on there base rate ,

had planned to stay on base rate and make fairly substanial captial repayments this year and next { asumming my contract gets renewed of course }

any advice is well recived

Thanks

[scotal]

frank hovis said:

Hi any chance of getting some of the same advice ?

I have just came off my fixed rate with Yorkshire and now back on there base rate ,

had planned to stay on base rate and make fairly substanial captial repayments this year and next { asumming my contract gets renewed of course }

any advice is well recived

Thanks

Mail on its way.

Zippee you should have had mail yesterday
Fizz, same for you.

[Zippee]

scotal said:

frank hovis said:

Hi any chance of getting some of the same advice ?

I have just came off my fixed rate with Yorkshire and now back on there base rate ,

had planned to stay on base rate and make fairly substanial captial repayments this year and next { asumming my contract gets renewed of course }

any advice is well recived

Thanks

Mail on its way.

Zippee you should have had mail yesterday
Fizz, same for you.

Hi Alex, received and I'm going to try and find time to reply later today. Thanks!

[Zippee]

TomBoo said:

Zippee said:

Any chance of some advice here as well - our fixed deal with Nationwide ends in a couple of months and we'll also be looking to move, current equity of around 60k and looking to borrow between 190 & 240k.

As others have said, it doesnt always pay to be too hasty to jump ship.
It may be that coming off your existing deal going onto the lenders "revert to deal" may be more beneficial for you than moving.

This is because any deal that was done back when SVRs were in the order of 5% should revert to BBR + a very small margin.

For example, I have existing Nationwide clients, having come off long term fixed/or tracker deals have reverted to BBR + 2%.
That's 2.5% variable!
With no fees or tie-ins.

YHM

Thanks - I know exactly what you are saying and base is great but we're looking to move house so will require extra borrowing - unfortunately I can't do this on the SVR.

[Oggs]

Alex, were you able to help Brian out???

[scotal]

Oggs said:

Alex, were you able to help Brian out???

Hello mate, I've had a chat with him, hopefully, yes.

[TomBoo]

frank hovis said:

Hi any chance of getting some of the same advice ?

I have just came off my fixed rate with Yorkshire and now back on there base rate ,

had planned to stay on base rate and make fairly substanial captial repayments this year and next { asumming my contract gets renewed of course }

any advice is well recived

Thanks

YHM