Yikes - will interest rates stay low

thefourbennetts

I read yesterday that the bank of england will keep interest rates low for up to 5 years. I know this doesnt mean mortgage rates will stay low but the suggestion was that there will be a bidding war for low mortgages for the next few years.

I have just fixed at a rate of 4.99 until Sept 2016. I was pretty pleased with this 7 year fix but now I am thinking we may have messed up.

We could come out of the mortgage and afford the penalties but we spent ages looking into doing the right thing at the time and now the seeds of regret are in my mind!

What do you expert guys think please?

Richie(UK)

Caveat : I'm not an expert!

We can only act on the information that we have at any one time. If you did your research and decided that that particular mortgage was best for you at that time then there is nothing more that you could have done.

If (when?) things do change in line with what you have read then you re-evaluate with the new information. It then becomes a matter of comparing the savings that could be made by switching to a cheaper rate as against the penalties and fees associated with switching. Of course, things may move the other way and then you'll be glad that you fixed at the rate you have.

In short, don't beat yourself up over things that may happen - just act based on the information you have available to you.

thefourbennetts

Good advice, thanks. You are more expert than I :T

Spangled

That's a decent rate for a decent amount of time. Don't beat yourself up on it. You have peace of mind, which in this day and age is pretty much priceless.

Seven years should be enough time to ride out the recession/deflation/hyperinflation. And if it isn't, then the economy will probably be well and truly fnucked and we'll be living off tinned rations and burning tenners for heat.

Relax, pour yourself a large glass of wine and don't come back to this particular board until 2015!

carrieg_2

The rates will remain low. There just is not that spark in the economy yet

Treadmill

I don't think we'll see an upward rise in the base for a long while yet, the economy is showing no signs of overheating, quite the opposite

Don't beat yourself up though, I fixed in 2007 for 10 years @ 5.99 so there are people worse off than you lol

thefourbennetts

Cheers guys

Kavanne

i'd be happy with that rate...

mark55man

Spangled wrote: »

That's a decent rate for a decent amount of time. Don't beat yourself up on it. You have peace of mind, which in this day and age is pretty much priceless.

Seven years should be enough time to ride out the recession/deflation/hyperinflation. And if it isn't, then the economy will probably be well and truly fnucked and we'll be living off tinned rations and burning tenners for heat.

Relax, pour yourself a large glass of wine and don't come back to this particular board until 2015!

that sir (or madam) is the wisest thing I have heard in a long time.

my personal view - 2-3 years from now, you won't find a fix under 6% (even on narrowed margins) and the rates will be heading upwards as we fail to learn the lessons of this crisis and head foolishly off on our profligate ways

but then I am an optimist - its like Woody Allen said - Today we are at a crossroads. One road leads to hopelessness and despair; the other, to total extinction. Let us pray we choose wisely

globalds

My Gut tells me that rates will be going up sooner than we think.

I do have experience of a deflationary economy ..I lived for 6 years in Japan ..
Setting close to 0% interest rates is an artificial creation that can only be maintained at great expense ..Japan had a reason and the reserves to do it ..
UK has neither ....Next time the wind blows we will find ourselves drifting in a different direction ..
You made the right choice at the time .

mark55man

lot of wisdom around here tonight !!