Here’s a question for you.
If you were going to get a new mortgage tomorrow…
What do you think is the maximum number of years for which you could fix your interest rate?
To make this question a little easier, let’s make this multiple choice.
a. 5 years
b. 7 years
c. 12 years
d. 15 years
Believe it or not, the answer is d – a whopping 15 years!
If you’re thinking about buying a new home in the near future (or a second house, or a buy-to-let property) …
Or if you have children, and they are looking to enter the property market, possibly for the first time…
Chances are that you (or your family members) have deliberated long and hard over whether to fix your mortgage rate – and if so, for how long.
You’ve likely fed your details into a mortgage calculator online, working out again and again what your monthly mortgage repayments will be in two, three, five years’ time…
…Guessing at what’s going to happen to interest rates – and to your own income.
It feels like a massive gamble, doesn’t it?
Because if you get this wrong, it can end up being a very costly mistake.
I mean, the interest you pay on longer-term, fixed rate loans is generally higher than you pay on their shorter-term counterparts.
Whether that turns out to be a good financial decision is something you might only be able to tell in hindsight, and meanwhile, you’re locked into your mortgage for a very long time.
Maybe not 15 years – those loans are still rare – but even 3 or 5 years might feel like an eternity if interest rates don’t change significantly, and you’re still paying over the odds…
Or if your personal circumstances change dramatically…
And you still have years to go before you can exit your mortgage term without incurring an early repayment fee – which could be up to 8%¹ of the repayment amount!
That would really hurt, wouldn’t it.
The bottom line is that picking the right mortgage can be a very complicated and confusing business.
There is so much to weigh up, from your own appetite to risk and what’s likely to happen in your own life, right through to the wider economic picture and the fine print of the loans you are considering.
There’s nothing worse than signing on that dotted line with butterflies in your stomach, wondering, “I hope I’m doing the right thing….”
So don’t try and do this alone.
Get advice from a qualified professional – someone you trust to offer only the very highest quality of advice.
That’s where we can help.
Our team of mortgage advisors will work with you closely to get clarity on the type of mortgage that would really suit you.
And then we will find a loan that is just right for you.
You’ll be able to sign your mortgage paperwork feeling happy and confident that you’ve made the right choice.
Just contact us to find out more.
We’d love to help.
Your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it
[1] https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/news-analysis-will-15-year-fixes-gain-traction/
Topics: financial planning, Mortgages