Fixed rate ends end of July,when should I start looking?

gord115

My 5 year fixed rate ends at the end of july.

I was hoping for another fixed rate, but am not sure when I should start looking for a remortgage.

Is now too soon or should I leave it a while?

Thanks in advance.

opinions4u

Make yourself aware of what's available now at sites like www.moneyfacts.co.uk and I'd say start putting things in place with a suitable broker/lender in April / May time.

What's your property worth?

How much do you owe?

What rate will you go on to in July if you do nothing?

redpete

It seems far too early to start looking now. No-one knows what rates will be in force in 6 months time nor what offers mortgage companies will have. I doubt that anyone would guarantee any rate now that they would apply in July.

The only reason I can think of for looking now is that you think rates are likely to go up significantly in the next 6 months and the amount you think you will save by going now is more than any early redemption charges on your current deal.

gord115

opinions4u wrote: »

Make yourself aware of what's available now at sites like www.moneyfacts.co.uk and I'd say start putting things in place with a suitable broker/lender in April / May time.

What's your property worth?

How much do you owe?

What rate will you go on to in July if you do nothing?

It's worth £110000

I will owe £21500

My rate now (for 5 year fixed term) is 5.09% so I should expect this to be lower come July

brit1234

redpete wrote: »

It seems far too early to start looking now. No-one knows what rates will be in force in 6 months time nor what offers mortgage companies will have. I doubt that anyone would guarantee any rate now that they would apply in July.

The only reason I can think of for looking now is that you think rates are likely to go up significantly in the next 6 months and the amount you think you will save by going now is more than any early redemption charges on your current deal.

Rates are going up this year due to the bond crisis and the UK credit rating. Best fix now and pay a lot less as 6 months down the road and the are alredy up expect to pay a lot more

nollag2006

redpete wrote: »

It seems far too early to start looking now. No-one knows what rates will be in force in 6 months time nor what offers mortgage companies will have. I doubt that anyone would guarantee any rate now that they would apply in July.

The only reason I can think of for looking now is that you think rates are likely to go up significantly in the next 6 months and the amount you think you will save by going now is more than any early redemption charges on your current deal.

I would hold off looking for another month or two.

Rates are going to come down this year, due to the unwinding of the credit squeeze and new entrants to the mortgage market.

Nationwide, for example, have just reduced the deposit requirements for many of their products and have also just dropped their fixed rates.
http://www.ftadviser.com/FTAdviser/Mortgages/Products/News/article/20100107/26f54e7e-fb7c-11de-8fd9-00144f2af8e8/Nationwide-set-to-cut-number-of-mortgage-rates.jsp

:T


Others will follow over the next month or two

redpete

brit1234 wrote:

Rates are going up this year due to the bond crisis and the UK credit rating.

nollag2006 wrote:

Rates are going to come down this year, due to the unwinding of the credit squeeze and new entrants to the mortgage market.

I was obviously wrong when I suggested that no-one knows what's going to happen to interest rates. At least two people do know, unfortunately they disagree with each other.

getmore4less

Now is about the tight time to start considering the options.

Remember a lot of deals can be set up early so no ERC.

dwsjarcmcd

gord115 wrote: »

It's worth £110000

I will owe £21500

My rate now (for 5 year fixed term) is 5.09% so I should expect this to be lower come July

While a great position to be in, you may struggle to get a fixed rate with such a small loan. If you can get a fixed rate, look at fee free deals because the effect of application/arrangement fees will dispropotionately affect the overall cost of most fixed.

First port of call should be you existing lender but I tend to agree that you should leave it a couple of months.

hillcats

Provided you know what type of mortgage you are now looking for, and how long for etc then I would personally start shopping around about 6 weeks before the current deal expires, thus giving you plenty of time to get it up and running and on-time.

Thing is, do you KNOW what it is you want, it helps to already have an idea, and then click away on the net looking what deals are around, but remember you are then stuck with your choice, so do think carefully about your options here; if you fix and rates go up above your fix then you are laughing and probably quids in, if rates stay low at least you have piece of mind what you are paying (even though it may be slightly higher than others) at your fixed outgoings every month.
If you go tracker then you need to consider WHAT IF the rates go back to around the level they were, 6.0% ish or higher - can you still afford then, The rates WILL go back up, thing is nobody knows when they will go back up, we will all have to pay for this mess that the country is in eventually,as you can only blow so much dust under the carpet until it starts seeping out again. Offset Mortgage, ok if you have some savings, and I think best if you are a higher rate taxpayer. Another option was Capped, but I am not sure if this option is still available on the open market TBH, I have just looked via google and couldnt find any lenders offering this anymore, this needs investigating.
Or there are First time buyer only deals, it doesnt help you though, or the last one would be the standard Viarable Rate which is just was it says it is, they can change at any time they see fit.

One word I would advise, if you go tracker try to make sure it actually tracks the BANK OF ENGLAND base rate and NOT the lenders base rate, or they can do as they please, just by upping there own base rate, if your deal is tied to the B of E (Like mine) then the lender can do nothing at all apart from hope....

stulaunch

gord115 wrote: »

It's worth £110000

I will owe £21500

My rate now (for 5 year fixed term) is 5.09% so I should expect this to be lower come July

I'm in almost the same position but owe £36000 on a Endowment mortgage.

My question is, when the amount owed is this small, is it worth paying arrangment fees and so on they charge now? Or in my case i've got 4yrs left to pay, surely its better to stick to SVR.