I know this isn’t the obvious place to come for this advice but I love and trust my fellow Boro fans. I’m useless with money, but we need to renew our mortgage. Is now a good time? Or best to wait a little while? Looking for a fixed rate. We don’t have the greatest credit rating but we aren’t terrible. Don’t want to do loads of searches and worsen it but also don’t want to pay someone after being ripped off and getting a really bad deal. Any advice appreciated!
Mortgage advice
- Thread starter Zanzibobs
- Start date
ForssAwakens
Well-known member
If you stay with your current provider you won’t need a credit search to change the rate. Depends how competitive they are.
You can do a decision in principle with most lenders which most are soft searches. That will tell you if your likely to be accepted on your credit rating
You can do a decision in principle with most lenders which most are soft searches. That will tell you if your likely to be accepted on your credit rating
NorthumberlandBoro
Well-known member
Probably a bad time to look for a mortgage with interest rates at a peak.
Emmersons_BrazillianDong
Well-known member
Not compared to what the possible rate he'll transfer to might be. The SVR could be better or worse by some margin
@Zanzibobs you ned to get an idea from a broker. Regularly wont cost you anything and will give you advice you obviously need. I can reccomend @WeeGord who is a regular poster who has helped me on various occasions over the past 8-9 years
ThatFragranceGuy
Well-known member
Trouble is if his deal is expiring he will go onto a higher rate, and interest rates are forecast to come down but they've been saying that for a while. We are on a fix until Feb 25 and I was hoping that rates would have come down by then, but with them still going up, it's looking less and less likely.
Annoyingly we overpay our mortgage to pay it off sooner and reduce interest paid - if we remortgage at current rates out payment stays the same but we dont do any overpayment which is going to feel crap.
ForssAwakens
Well-known member
As an adviser myself I try and get people to push themselves as hard as they can at the start, whilst allowing them to do the things they want to in life. Always about balance
Redwurzel
Well-known member
Good advice to pay it off as early as you can, after you have paid off any other loans.
No one can predict where interest rates will be over the next 2 years.
Just get a good deal at present. I used to avoid fixed rates as I thought you pay a bit of a premium for them, but they have a purpose for people who have a limit of what they pay.
I found Nationwide to offer reasonable value year after year as they operate on a large scale and don't have shareholders. They alos have ben around a long time and tend to be fair with their long term mortgage customers.
No one can predict where interest rates will be over the next 2 years.
Just get a good deal at present. I used to avoid fixed rates as I thought you pay a bit of a premium for them, but they have a purpose for people who have a limit of what they pay.
I found Nationwide to offer reasonable value year after year as they operate on a large scale and don't have shareholders. They alos have ben around a long time and tend to be fair with their long term mortgage customers.
How far away is your renewal? You should always get the best fixed rate you can 6 months from renewal to keep as a 'if rates go up I've got this deal to fall back on', if rates then go down in the interim you just proceed with the lower rate.
In the event your renewal is now and you've not yet looked, I'm sorry to hear that.
Anyone claiming rates to go down doesn't know and vice versa but the sentiment across western finance is 'higher for longer' currently.
For what it's worth I think 0% rates are gone for good (unless.we see a very strange but still possible scenario play out, won't bore you with it). Say we hit soft landing territory, look for rates to settle between 3-4% over the next couple of years with fixed rates settling between 3.75-5.25%.
So is now a good time to fix? In my opinion if you can get a number below 5, you've done well but the reality is you need to crunch the numbers and figure out where you're at.
It is a huge financial risk for anyone 75% LTV or higher to go onto svr / tracker with the belief that rates will go down in 2024.
Good luck.
In the event your renewal is now and you've not yet looked, I'm sorry to hear that.
Anyone claiming rates to go down doesn't know and vice versa but the sentiment across western finance is 'higher for longer' currently.
For what it's worth I think 0% rates are gone for good (unless.we see a very strange but still possible scenario play out, won't bore you with it). Say we hit soft landing territory, look for rates to settle between 3-4% over the next couple of years with fixed rates settling between 3.75-5.25%.
So is now a good time to fix? In my opinion if you can get a number below 5, you've done well but the reality is you need to crunch the numbers and figure out where you're at.
It is a huge financial risk for anyone 75% LTV or higher to go onto svr / tracker with the belief that rates will go down in 2024.
Good luck.
WeeGord
Well-known member
Thanks @Emmersons_BrazillianDong I appreciate it. @Zanzibobs if you'd like a chat on the phone tomorrow I'm available, just drop me a message.
Also, I don't charge any fees to fellow Boro fans so no need to worry about any charges
Aet290204
Well-known member
Sorry to butt in….
Two years ago I took out a fixed rate deal. With the existing provider. The 5 year deal my broker arranged for me when I moved expired. Absolutely kicking myself i didn’t go for the five year (or even ten year) deal now.
That deal just expired so I’ve just done the same again in the hope that in two years the rate will be lower. I did google fixed rate deals and I think I got a reasonable deal. But I’m now £130 a month poorer - thanks to Liz and Kwasi.
Have I fked up?
Two years ago I took out a fixed rate deal. With the existing provider. The 5 year deal my broker arranged for me when I moved expired. Absolutely kicking myself i didn’t go for the five year (or even ten year) deal now.
That deal just expired so I’ve just done the same again in the hope that in two years the rate will be lower. I did google fixed rate deals and I think I got a reasonable deal. But I’m now £130 a month poorer - thanks to Liz and Kwasi.
Have I fked up?
WeeGord
Well-known member
Its difficult to tell, the 5 year deals are cheaper than the 2 year deals at the moment so if peace of mind was your number 1 priority then perhaps the 5 year would have been more suitable.
That said, it's extremely difficult to try and predict what will happen with interest rates in the next couple of years. They may be lower in 2 years than they are now, I certainly hope they are.
Concrete Dreams
Well-known member
We are in a similar position regarding overpaying and then losing that when our fix ends, as rates stand currently. Very, very annoying.
Aet290204
Well-known member
Thanks @WeeGord. I think my priority was to keep the monthly costs as low as possible so I’m hoping i did the right thing….didn’t actually contact my broker as assumed as since rates had gone through the roof that was the best deal I could get.
it’s gonna be a struggle but I’ll be fine. Sadly it just means a few less home games next season for me. And no luxuries like Netflix and prime.
ForssAwakens
Well-known member
A lot of people are doing what you are doing, hoping that rates are back down in 2 years time.
If it’s more important for you to benefit from reductions that protect against the prospect of rising interest rates
Ultimately no one will ever know if you choice is right or wrong until the end of the fixed period. All decisions are a gamble if you base it solely on what might happen with rates
I always advise to circumstances, I never advise on what rates are going to do, cos you can get a mini budget or covid or a financial crash which will blow any predictions out of the water
Aet290204
Well-known member
Thanks. Gives me some reassurance.
I guess was just a bit concerned short termism wasn’t the best option in the long term but like you say you just don’t know what will happen to rates.
So annoyed I didn’t take out the 5 yr deal 2 years ago…..oh well.
ForssAwakens
Well-known member
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Glad you got some reassurance and hopefully in a couple years rates will be down
On The Bob
Well-known member
Things are so changeable at the moment. Higher Inflation is hanging around like a bad smell, resulting in Swap rates getting another shot in the arm. Lots of banks had to withdraw rates in the last few weeks.
Swap rates had been reducing since last September and had steadied a little up until recently.
In my line of work it’s something we review quite regularly. We were hoping the BOE rate rises would be flushed through by now but it seems we will be in for at least another 2.
My rate was up in August but I’ve just renewed through my existing lender in the last 3 weeks. We were FTB’s 5 years ago with a 10% deposit. The rate we got at the time was still a bit higher than the lower rates due to LTV. As house prices have massively inflated since buying, and us overpaying. We’ve managed to get a 75% LTV product based on the HPI Valuation. We’ve been quite lucky with timing, as our rate will increase by around 0.3% with the recalculated payments. After overpaying monthly, it’s a minimal rise and we can still overpay.
I plumped for a 5 year fixed. I was thinking of potentially doing a 2 year and hoping for lower rates down the line, but things are just too up in the air to bank on that. Very tricky situation. Making the right decision will be more luck than judgement, so you’ve just got to do what’s right for your personal circumstances.
Swap rates had been reducing since last September and had steadied a little up until recently.
In my line of work it’s something we review quite regularly. We were hoping the BOE rate rises would be flushed through by now but it seems we will be in for at least another 2.
My rate was up in August but I’ve just renewed through my existing lender in the last 3 weeks. We were FTB’s 5 years ago with a 10% deposit. The rate we got at the time was still a bit higher than the lower rates due to LTV. As house prices have massively inflated since buying, and us overpaying. We’ve managed to get a 75% LTV product based on the HPI Valuation. We’ve been quite lucky with timing, as our rate will increase by around 0.3% with the recalculated payments. After overpaying monthly, it’s a minimal rise and we can still overpay.
I plumped for a 5 year fixed. I was thinking of potentially doing a 2 year and hoping for lower rates down the line, but things are just too up in the air to bank on that. Very tricky situation. Making the right decision will be more luck than judgement, so you’ve just got to do what’s right for your personal circumstances.
uncle_rico
Well-known member
I'm currently stuck between going for a 2 year or 5 year fixed. Either way we're looking at £200-£350 more per month! 
FatFrank
Well-known member
I use the below company, have done for years. Andy is a good guy and goes through the finer detail so you don't have to. I believe their fee is £495 which is added on to the mortgage amount so not outlay of initial payment.
www.northeastfinancial.co.uk
I think it is currently a dreadful time to renew a mortgage tariff. Luckily, we're not due until July 2024.
North East Financial Ltd – Mortgage & Insurance Brokers, Yarm
Expert advice on your mortgage and insurance needs in the North East area. Call North East Financial Ltd on 01642 915 315
I think it is currently a dreadful time to renew a mortgage tariff. Luckily, we're not due until July 2024.