How long to fix? First time buyer

efunc

Personally I swing towards getting a long a fix as possible, 7 or 10 years if it's a good deal. I'm a FTB with no kids and, as you say, may want to move after I discover my first property isn't for me, but like anyone else will have to deal with porting or early exit fees in that eventuality. The more pressing consideration is that the recent forecasted growth in the economy is going to mean interest rates will eventually move - the driver will be employment levels as Mark Carney has suggested. Anyway, as you say, there's no point in fixing for 2 or 3 years because the rates at the end of that period may well be unattractive and at the same time I would have missed out on the low rates of some of the best trackers over the same period, thus loosing either advantage. My current thinking is to either get the cheapest tracker currently available and overpay like crazy, or get the longest fix and try and enjoy low-ish rates for at least a decade. But it does appear to be a complete gamble either way, even based on purely financial considerations.