Adrian Garside

photo credit: quinn.anya

For mortgage customers these are interesting times and it is very difficult to predict the future of interest rates. I have just the minutes of the Bank of England Monetary Policy commitee meeting for this month – I like to perform a heroic feat every day before 7am.

The minutes were pretty vague this month and didn’t really suggest anything new. The vote to keep interest rates at 0.5% was still 8:1.

So, what has happened in ‘real life’?

Well, this past month fixed rate mortgages have become cheaper. 2 year fixed rates are available below 3% and 4 year fixed rates are available below 4% with 5 years just above 4%.

I’ve seen and spoken to alot of existing customers over the past few weeks and while these rates are fantastic  for those paying below 2% as an interest rate now,  it is still too difficult to make the decision. I understand that difficulty and if you are on a ‘super low’ interest rate I suspect you just have to stay on it and deal with any consequences later.

However, there are some for whom a switch to a fixed rate would be well worth considering.

There are quite a few people paying the “standard rate” on their mortgage. We have some people lucky enough to be paying, well, I saw a guy last night paying 0.79% on his mortgage, but others will be paying a standard rate of 4%.

If you are paying 4% anyway, the option to fixed for 4 or 5 years at a similar rate isn’t such a hard choice.

If that’s you, give me a call.

Disclaimer : A long term fix isn’t for everyone, so this article isn’t ‘advice’. Advice is tailored to suit each individual.