Worried about interest rate rises

mummy2aimee

I am worried that the rates are going to go up in the next few days. Basically we currently have a mortgage with Halifax and our fixed rate ends on the 31st December this year. I have an appointment with them next tuesday (30th September) to try and sort out our remortgage as they said they can only see us 3 months before. I am worried however that the rates are going to go up before then. Is there anything else I can do?

beecher

Mine runs out on 31 December too and when I phoned them last week they said I could book a rate from tomorrow onwards. I keep checking their rates to see if they've changed yet - would not be happy if they change before tomorrow!!

mummy2aimee

Is it halifax your mortgage is with? So did they tell you you can book a new deal from tomorrow? I might try and see if i can get an appointment to see someone tomorrow. THanks

andrewmp

Rates are unlikely to go up in the short term though are they?

ashleyk

My deal runs out with the Halifax on the 12th of January I think, since that was the date of completion 2 years ago. I also think rates are likely to rise in the near short term but beyond that who can tell? Now that they've been taken over by Lloyds I am wondering how that will change things and whether another building society may offer better deals. I am looking at all of this now to see what can be arranged but I think I'd rather get a deal over 10 years or longer.

beecher

mummy2aimee wrote: »

Is it halifax your mortgage is with? So did they tell you you can book a new deal from tomorrow? I might try and see if i can get an appointment to see someone tomorrow. THanks

Yes, mine's with HBoS. First of all they told me I could only get a new deal 8 weeks before mine ran out, but I asked for her to check and she came back saying that I could book a new rate from 25 September. Who knows if they'll say the same thing tomorrow but Customer Services are usually quite good with HBoS in my experience.

I'll be doing mine over the phone if possible as I have picked the 5 year fixed rate I want - if you know what you're going for it might be worth doing the same?

dunstonh

Next move, when it comes should be downward. Nothing out there suggests rates will be going up, as far as Bank of England rate is concerned.

luckyfool

Halifax group are quite vulnerable to the recent increases in the variable LIBOR rates following the Lehman Bros. Bankruptcy (3 month LIBOR jumped 0.30% from 5.7% to 6%).

There has already been an announcement from one Halifax brand (Intelligent Finance) that they are putting rates up at the weekend, so I would not be surprised if Halifax do not do something similar as well. Halifax do not always give significant notice so it may well be that they increase rates in the next few days also.

I would either speak to Halifax direct, or if you cannot get to speak to them properly soon, it might be worth speaking to a broker as an alternative, as they can access product transfer deals for Halifax Customers and secure rates.

luckyfool

dunstonh wrote: »

Next move, when it comes should be downward. Nothing out there suggests rates will be going up, as far as Bank of England rate is concerned.

However LIBOR is up significantly, so there are signs that the recent lowered cost of mortgage funds (independent of base rate) could be reversed.

Accord Mortgages (Yorkshire BS) pulled all their products until further notice.

Yorkshire Building Society pulled their very popular 5 yr fixed rates.

Intelligent Finance have announced rate increases this weekend.

Given that for the last couple of months its been one long stream of lenders announcing rate cuts after rate cuts there are signs that this has stopped and may have reversed.

I don't think there is any harm in looking to secure a new deal now in my opinion.

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Having said that - if you are with Halifax/HBOS and coming to the end of a deal, definitely look at what is on offer as a product transfer, but also look at what else is available on the open market. If you have good equity in your property it may be better to secure a rate with a new lender than to stick with Halifax - you really need to do some research and your sums.

Example Halifax product transfer rates just now : 5.89% 3 yr fixed rate for up to 75% ltv (with a £1,499 arrangement fee).

sarkin

Had an email from RBS this morning and they are raiseing the 2 year fix by 0.2%

Can I ask why no one has thought about contacting a broker for quotes, you dont have to use them but they will source the whole market.

beecher

sarkin wrote: »

Had an email from RBS this morning and they are raiseing the 2 year fix by 0.2%

Can I ask why no one has thought about contacting a broker for quotes, you dont have to use them but they will source the whole market.

I'm not bothering as my mortgage is only £40,000 and so I don't think it is worthwhile. I am going for the 5 year fixed rate at 6.29% for £249 which I think isn't bad. As long as it is still there tomorrow....