Is it Time to buy and secure a long-term fixed rate mortgage?

mark55man

I have enjoyed this thread, as it has been stimulating + its not often you get to double your ignore list. I shan't return to it though as I get enough bickering at home with the kids. All I can say is I'm glad that when I'm competing for funds in the mortgage market I'm glad I'm not at the FTB end of the pool

I have a good LTV, I will be able to budget a regular fixed repayment against my personal circumstances, and I will be confident that at 4.x or even 5.x I will at max be paying 2000 a year over the best tracker at the moment with the possibility of saving 10000 a year if interest rates go above 8%

Pobby

Not sure I would want to buy now. Thankfully it`s one consideration I don`t have to take. Having said that, it has to be a difficult decision for many, indeed, for the youngsters in my family. Most are living at home and my advice is don`t make the jump yet. Again, most of them are in the South East, and frankly I would hate to buy a nasty terrace in an over crowded area for over £150k, madness. Totally mad when the same place was selling for a third of that price 10 years ago.

Living in a low wage area, the South West, prices are not a lot better.

I have no vested interest. I have to say that I still see a long drop ahead of us as far as house prices go.

Dithering_Dad

mark88man wrote: »

I have enjoyed this thread, as it has been stimulating + its not often you get to double your ignore list. I shan't return to it though as I get enough bickering at home with the kids. All I can say is I'm glad that when I'm competing for funds in the mortgage market I'm glad I'm not at the FTB end of the pool

I have a good LTV, I will be able to budget a regular fixed repayment against my personal circumstances, and I will be confident that at 4.x or even 5.x I will at max be paying 2000 a year over the best tracker at the moment with the possibility of saving 10000 a year if interest rates go above 8%

I know exactly what you mean. Try this thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1578999 where a discussion about fixed rates in on-going and the contributors aren't prepubescent teenagers.

There are a lot of nice people on MSE, even in this board. I was hoping that I could have a decent debate on a subject connected with house purchasing. Unfortunately due to the nature of this board it's not really possible to do this. Shame really, but it's only one board of many.

lostinrates

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

I know exactly what you mean. Try this thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1578999 where a discussion about fixed rates in on-going and the contributors aren't prepubescent teenagers.

There are a lot of nice people on MSE, even in this board. I was hoping that I could have a decent debate on a subject connected with house purchasing. Unfortunately due to the nature of this board it's not really possible to do this. Shame really, but it's only one board of many.

hey, you gave a list of us you appreciated- Are you retracting that now?

Dithering_Dad

lostinrates wrote: »

hey, you gave a list of us you appreciated- Are you retracting that now?

Nah, the decent people know who they are. The idiots also know who they are, and they seem to revel in their ignorance. Hey ho, it takes all sorts to make a world.

lostinrates

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

Nah, the decent people know who they are. The idiots also know who they are - probably just a couple of teenagers with a lot of logons

We know who we are?

lir-decent idiot. I should get that on a t-shirt :D

Dithering_Dad

I'll tell you something LIR, it's a damned shame that we can't have a decent discussion on here without the morons chiming in and ruining it. Oh well, I always seem to have the last laugh in these discussions.

The guys who, 2 years ago, derided my Mortgage overpayment suggestion and continued to MEW their equity to fund their investments and lifestyles "because house prices only ever go up", don't chime in anymore.

The guys who, 1 year ago, derided my decision to move my pension from equity funds into a cash fund "because the stockmarket is awash with credit and booming", don't chime in anymore.

We'll see if I'm right about double digit interest rates and whether these guys will be chiming in, 1 year from now...

Anyway, I've done my best and it's upto people to make their own decisions based on their own circumstances. Good luck to you all.

Thrugelmir

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

I'll tell you something LIR, it's a damned shame that we can't have a decent discussion on here without the morons chiming in and ruining it. Oh well, I always seem to have the last laugh in these discussions.

The guys who, 2 years ago, derided my Mortgage overpayment suggestion and continued to MEW their equity to fund their investments and lifestyles "because house prices only ever go up", don't chime in anymore.

The guys who, 1 year ago, derided my decision to move my pension from equity funds into a cash fund "because the stockmarket is awash with credit and booming", don't chime in anymore.

We'll see if I'm right about double digit interest rates and whether these guys will be chiming in, 1 year from now...

Anyway, I've done my best and it's upto people to make their own decisions based on their own circumstances. Good luck to you all.

Maybe you should apply for the job of Chancellor of the Exchequer.......

scousethife

Rightmove figures reveal than since January alone, 147,693 properties have had their asking price slashed; meaning that a total of 5.6bn has been cut from UK properties! To put this in to context, this equates to an average reduction of £28,377 on each UK price reduced property on the market.

http://www.uploadlibrary.com/rightmovenews/SeeMoreUK_newsletter/SeeMore_Mar09/UKPropPriceReduced.html?utm_source=uknewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Mar09


If I was thinking of buying today (I bought a year ago) I would wait another 6/12 months, because there are no forces, or presure on prices to go higher.

In fact with massive redundances, massive reposesions and banks unwillingness to lend. Government is desperate for prople to get spending so big interest rate rises are unlikely too. I personally cant see anything other then further price drops.

the_ash_and_the_oak

to be fair I don't think Dithering Dad is arguing there won't be continued price falls this year. I think his point is that in order to secure a long term cheap(ish?) fix there will come a time when it is worth buying even with the knowledge of further falls, and is that time now?

Although I disagree with him on this issue, the question is a good and valid question. I don't really believe the rates (for new buyers) are low enough to justify the risk at this time and I believe the best deals are only available for those with deposits to lose, I also believe these are the people who will benefit from continued savings and the reduced LTVs these can bring. I also believe it is too early to buy because I think the stock market will recover before the housing market and it might be good to have the funds to be able to partake in some of that first. It is an irony in my view that the people who might benefit from a long term fix at low rates and high prices are those to who the rate is most important, those borrowing the largest amounts, those currently excluded.

It is also worth pointing out that if interest rates do go up largely then that will also mean higher interest rates on peoples savings, which is not inconsiderable for those with largeish deposits. The one fear that is the worth of those savings will be diminished by the inflation that higher interest rates may be fighting against at that time. However I am of the view that it is only wage inflation that can erode the value of savings *exclusively* (price inflation affecting borrowers and savers equally, wage inflation benefiting borrowers at expense of savers). I don't see wage inflation on the horizon, but it would be the one thing I would be on guard against

I don't disagree with Dithering Dad that interest rates may rise sharply at some point in the future - but imo this isn't a reason to buy and fix long term, at this point. the higher they go, the more severe effects it will have on capital price (unless accompanied by wage rises). However if rates stay (relatively) low and are accessible in 12-18 months time this question could well become more interesting.

I'm yet to be convinced there is an urgency on entering this particular market