Fixing mortgage rate or not if I want to move

AliceBanned

Hi
I had a call from the mortgage broker who arranged my Nationwide mortgage deal in March 2021. Moving was a long drawn out process so we were talking long before then and he has now followed up about my next rate when the two-year fixed rate deal comes to an end. I was struggling to get a mortgage then, age 53 with only £45k in equity (in the south east).

Basically he thinks I need to decide around October whether I will be moving or not. Ideally I'd only like to stay in the flat for two years more (from now) so is it worth fixing for two years from March 2023? He said I can port but I know this isn't always possible. I was going to go on to the SVR but he suggests locking in a deal a few months before the fixed rate ends next March. 

I am nearly 55 and have quite a large mortgage (for my stage of life) of £180k at the moment on a property worth approximately £260-270k. I've managed a few overpayments but have had to stop these recently to repay credit cards that I needed to do renovations and some dental treatment and expensive glasses for work, as I put everything I had into buying the flat. (£10k on cards that I pay off £500 monthly).

 I earn £43.5k and I want to try to increase my mortgage slightly one last time, so that I can move in early 2024, when I think I will be in the right situation financially to do so. Does this mean it would be best to stay on the SVR after March 2022 until I move or is this risky at the moment? I like the stability of a fixed rate and fixed payments but I know I don't want a total of four years in the property, as I work from home most of the time and want the best option for me that I can afford, and want a more long-term home and bigger investment which I hope to downsize from when I retire. Currently in my area I'd be needing to spend close to £290/300k to get a property I'd like to stay in longer term. Thanks for any advice. I have time to think about all this but just starting to explore my options. I really don't want to move for over 10 years after this as I want to feel more settled. I also plan on getting a lodger to help with costs in my next place, current place really feels a bit too cramped thought I do have a spare bedroom. 

Jimeji

What's the difference in monthly payment between a new fixed rate and the SVR?

AliceBanned

Jimeji said:

What's the difference in monthly payment between a new fixed rate and the SVR?

My fixed rate is 3.09%, which was ok but not the best at the time I applied in 2020, but was the best I could get. Not sure what it will be in October, maybe better as the LTV is lower. Does that help Jimeji? 

K_S

AliceBanned said:

Basically he thinks I need to decide around October whether I will be moving or not. Ideally I'd only like to stay in the flat for two years more (from now) so is it worth fixing for two years from March 2023? He said I can port but I know this isn't always possible. I was going to go on to the SVR but he suggests locking in a deal a few months before the fixed rate ends next March. 

I am nearly 55 and have quite a large mortgage (for my stage of life) of £180k at the moment on a property worth approximately £260-270k. I've managed a few overpayments but have had to stop these recently to repay credit cards that I needed to do renovations and some dental treatment and expensive glasses for work, as I put everything I had into buying the flat. (£10k on cards that I pay off £500 monthly).

 I earn £43.5k and I want to try to increase my mortgage slightly one last time, so that I can move in early 2024, when I think I will be in the right situation financially to do so. Does this mean it would be best to stay on the SVR after March 2022 until I move or is this risky at the moment?

@alicebanned If you're almost certain to move in early 2024 and need to increase borrowing, then it may not make sense to fix in March 2023. A happy medium between a fix and SVR may be an ERC-free 2-year tracker/discount product. You won't get the certainty of a fixed rate, but you will get the flexibility of being able to move and access the whole of the mortgage market without any penalty. 

AliceBanned

Thanks KS, I'll look into those, wasn't aware of them. It may be 6-8 months at the most that I am on that rate, so to me it didn't make sense to fix for two years and then feel tied in, though the broker mentioned porting. He doesn't have the full plan but I started to tell him that I will be trying to borrow about £20k more but I really don't know whether it will be feasible anyway.