Advice needed - remortgaging now, but probably moving in next 1-2 years

Emma_Em

Hi MoneySavers,

Looking for some advice.

My fixed-term mortgage (1.98%) with HSBC is shortly coming to an end so I am starting to scout the market place for deals to move to once I'm out of my fixed period.

Given the impending interest rate rises, my initial thoughts were to lock myself into as long a fixed period as possible. However, I've a couple of spanners:

1) I will likely be upsizing in the next 1-2 years once we know where my partner will be working (he's just finished his PhD and job hunting - wish him luck!!) I'll be staying in my current job.

2) When we buy the new house, I'd like it to be in both our names. We currently live in the house I own and the mortgage is in my name only.

So what should I do??

I've been advised that if I port my mortgage then any new money I borrow to supplement the upsizing would have to be from the same provider but in a secondary mortgage with them on different terms and rate - so then I have two mortgages that are out of sync with each other in term of when fixed periods are up, so one or the other will have to enter SVR for a period... OR face having to pay £1000s to exit early.

Or do I take the risk of going with a no initial period, variable mortgage with low/no exit fees but higher interest rates?

My dad is always an advocate of offset mortgages and I understand the flexibility these can offer, but am I right in thinking these should only really be taken with a long-term view once I've found my 'forever home'?

Decisions, decisions. I'm always one to look for the best deal possible, but in this case I think I'm going to have to settle for the lesser of a bad deal given the changing circumstances.

YHM

How about sit down with a broker and allow them to provide you actual qualified advice?

Emma_Em

The advice I mentioned in the post was provided by my broker, but I just wanted to get the opinions/experience of others who have had this situation themselves as I'm sure it must be common.

The advice from my broker was either go with a no-initial-period variable or 2 year fixed and there's clear pros and cons to both. This is what I'm trying to get my head around to make the right decision for me.

amnblog

Emma_Em wrote: »

I've been advised that if I port my mortgage then any new money I borrow to supplement the upsizing would have to be from the same provider but in a secondary mortgage with them on different terms and rate - so then I have two mortgages that are out of sync with each other in term of when fixed periods are up, so one or the other will have to enter SVR for a period... OR face having to pay £1000s to exit early.

Can be the case, but not the end of the world.

A bigger question is whether your Lender at the time will underwrite your larger mortgage in joint names.

Emma_Em wrote: »

Or do I take the risk of going with a no initial period, variable mortgage with low/no exit fees but higher interest rates?

There are competitive no exit deals out there.

Emma_Em wrote: »

My dad is always an advocate of offset mortgages and I understand the flexibility these can offer, but am I right in thinking these should only really be taken with a long-term view once I've found my 'forever home'?

They might be right for you, but am I right in guessing Dad simply had an offset once that worked for him?

Emma_Em wrote: »

Decisions, decisions. I'm always one to look for the best deal possible, but in this case I think I'm going to have to settle for the lesser of a bad deal given the changing circumstances.

No, all you can do is plan ahead as best you can. You probably need an experienced broker to stop you shooting yourselves in the foot.