Fixed rate Mortgage Expires Soon... Advice wanted

Sarah24

I have a fixed rate mortgage expiring January 2009.

Are there any damage limitation steps to prevent a very large increase in mortgage rates before the term expires?

We are going to try and make extra payments into the mortgage to pay some off but we don't have huge amounts to do this.

I am wondering if it is best in the long run to pay off as much as possible, depleting our savings, or if we should always leave some savings to 'fall back on'.

Also, are fears of a housing market crash justified? We have only recently bought our first house and are worried about these rumours.

Any advice welcome.

Thankyou.

cattie

It's sad that you've only just bought your first house & here you are worrying about what mortgage rates will be in 15-16 months time & whether there will be a housing crash.

Nobody can forcast what will happen with the interest rate that far ahead & as for the housing market crashing, it's a dream that many would be buyers have been praying for for donkeys years, in the hope that they can pick up a house for a fraction of todays prices. :rotfl: :rotfl:


Maybe house prices will start to hold steady in areas of rapid growth & even show some falls in some areas, but if you have bought your house as a home & not as a means of trying to make a quick profit, you just sit tight during any fall in the market & eventually prices start to recover & even peak again.

There are more than a few of us on these boards that have been through the housing slump of the 90's & not only live to tell the tale but have still managed to work our way up the property ladder over the years without having lost out financially.

ikr2

I am pondering whether to take an early repayment hit for a 5 year fixed rate mortgage due to end at the end of October 2008. I think we just sit tight for now though - there's £120,000 left to pay and it's fixed at 5.0% and there are 18 years left in total. The only way we will keep repayments similar is to go for another fixed rater with an extra 4 years on it.

I hope rates will be similar next summer when I start looking!