Is it a smart move to remortgage now?

pkpk

We are ten years into our mortgage with Nationwide. Our initial deal was for a couple of years but once it ran out we went to 2% above the interest rate which worked out very well for us. We have just sat on this as the years rolled on but with interest rates slowing creeping up I was wondering if we should look at fixing again before the prices go upwards.
One concern is that we often talk about moving house and look around. While it's not particularly likely that we will move as it's very rare for something to come on the market at the pace we would be willing to pay, it would be nice to have some flexibility just in case.

Any thoughts would be warmly welcome.

Paul

billy2shots

Fixing doesn't mean you can't move during the term. Just make sure the mortgage is 'portable' if you do fix.

Trying to predict interest rates are hard so there is no saying if fixed or trackers will be cheaper during the next few years. You could risk paying a bit more on a fixed if the rates don't go up or you could risk paying a lot more by taking out a tracker and rates sky rocket after Brexit.

I've always gone fixed because I know exactly what I will be paying in 6 months, 1 year, 3 years. I can sleep soundly at night without stressing every time the media covers something that could change the interest rates.

I could have saved a few hundred pounds over the past 9 years by not fixing but these have been crazy times for low base interest rates. At 36 I've just cleared my mortgage so I'm not going to lose sleep by paying 1% more interest than I could have in hindsight.

Avantgarde

Looks like we're in a similar position although I had a lower fixed rate which has switched to their SVR which is quite a lot higher than the fixed we had!

As we've also been looking to move I certainly don't want to go to a fixed rate with any Early Repayment Charges as for the home move we would need a substantially larger mortgage and I'd rather get that all sorted out at the same time.

I found that my current provider have a Tracker like product (Coventry BS Flexx) that looks interesting that I am tempted with. The rate is lower than our fixed was but I know that it could rise (again affordability wise I can afford for that to increase quite a bit), yet crucially there is no ERC.

My only dilema is how would it look to Mortgage providers if I remortgage to a product like this now and then apply for another mortgage in say 3 months to a year (assuming our house sells and we find something else in that time).

Part of me thinks it's best to wait and keep paying the higher rate until we have a buyer and have found a place. Whilst another part of me thinks I could remortgage and consolidate some credit card balances with a lower rate - ultimately improving our disposable income (which may in turn help with the subsequent mortgage!).

The housing market does seem to have slowed down somewhat around here (South East / Home Counties) so who knows how long it may take to sell anyway!

Thrugelmir

pkpk wrote: »

Any thoughts would be warmly welcome.

Once you leave the BMR you'll never get it back. Instead you would default to the SVR of 4.24%. In essence forcing you to lock into another product.

Lending rates at the moment are helped by the BOE's injection of liquidity to banks and building societies. In time this will unwind. Resulting in lending margins creeping back upwards. Difficult to say now if 2% above base will be a competitive rate.

If in doubt overpay your mortgage. That way you'll benefit anyway what the short term holds.

kingstreet

I would not give up BMR and the re-draw facility.

If you make overpayments, you can borrow them back at about three days' notice.

https://www.nationwide-intermediary.co.uk/products/existing_nationwide_borrowers