Worried about variable rate mortgages

drewhyndman

I'm a freelance journalist so my income isn't exactly stable, the only way I see myself owning a home anytime soon is by taking a variable rate mortgage. But I've spoken to enough people who lived through 2008/09 and lost their homes as their variable rates rocketed.

Does anyone else have one and how do you manage it? Are you worried that what happened 10 years about might happen?

ViolaLass

Why can't you get a fixed rate mortgage? If a lender agrees to give you a mortgage, they're bound to have fixed rates available.

getmore4less

Never had a fix, trackers and offset,

Fix they only protect for a very short window and in most cases the trackers ended up cheaper anyway.

we are in a slightly different time fixes can trail the rising edge on rates so may win for a few years but not by a lot.

Neutrinno

drewhyndman wrote: »

the only way I see myself owning a home anytime soon is by taking a variable rate mortgage.

Why? If a lender will lend, they will typically have fixed rates available.

What makes you think variable is the only option?

Linton

Did mortgage interest rates rise significantly in 2008/9? The BoE interest rate was pretty constant from 1993 to 2009 when it dropped to around its current amount. In the late 1970s/early 1980s mortgage rates went up to around 15%! See here.

ViolaLass

Might the OP be talking about secured loans (no mortgages). Northern Rock, maybe?

AnotherJoe

drewhyndman wrote: »

I'm a freelance journalist so my income isn't exactly stable, the only way I see myself owning a home anytime soon is by taking a variable rate mortgage. But I've spoken to enough people who lived through 2008/09 and lost their homes as their variable rates rocketed.

Does anyone else have one and how do you manage it? Are you worried that what happened 10 years about might happen?

Rates didn’t “rocket” they fell, indeed I’d say plummeted, more than halving during 2008.
People lost houses because they lost jobs.

I can almost resist the temptation to hope that as a journalist you check your facts better than this.

sammyjammy

drewhyndman wrote: »

I'm a freelance journalist so my income isn't exactly stable, the only way I see myself owning a home anytime soon is by taking a variable rate mortgage. But I've spoken to enough people who lived through 2008/09 and lost their homes as their variable rates rocketed.

Does anyone else have one and how do you manage it? Are you worried that what happened 10 years about might happen?

Really? I don't know anyone that lost their house for that reason. You do know that the financial crash actually caused interest rates to reduce? I think you need to do some homework to understand mortgages.

As has been said if you are hung up on a fixed rate then there is no reason why you can't have one assuming someone will lend you the money in the first place.