Trying to Sell House - Fixing Mortgage

jknowles130

Hello all - looking for advice/general thoughts on my current mortgage situation. 

In the 2nd half of August '22 we decided to put our house up for sale which was a decision driven by a house we liked coming up for sale. This coincided with the end of our 3yr fixed mortgage deal coming to an end. Considering everything that went up for sale in our area, at the time, seemed to be getting snapped in a matter of weeks everything seemed to be aligning nicely.

Spoke to the mortgage advisor at the time who advised going onto the variable rate mortgage to avoid paying an exit fee upon selling our house, and the interest rates weren't expected to change that much.....Fast forward 6/7 months, house is still for sale with minimal interest from buyers, interest rates went to pot and our mortgage payment has doubled (think the interest rate has increased 0.5% more or less every month since coming off the fixed deal up to around 7.9%). Should probably say my current mortgage is with Halifax. 

I know winter is typically not a good time for house sales so we are holding out hope that come the next month or two we will start seeing things pick up. However, I am considering entering a 2yr fixed deal with Halifax at around 4.5% (bringing mortgage payment down from £835 to £625) and then porting the mortgage when/if we sell and find somewhere new to avoid the exit fee. Obviously there are a couple of unknowns - the house could sell in the next month or it could take a year, and the interest rates could either go up or down, although I've heard a lot of talk of them coming down a bit. I guess there's also the risk that I won't have anywhere to buy upon sale so I'll have to pay the fee anyway.   

I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on fixing in vs staying on the variable in my current situation, and what others might do in the same situation? 

Any input greatly appreciated. 

kingstreet

What if Halifax won't allow a port due to property or affordability? Their calculator hasn't been very friendly recently.

A remortgage to an ERC-free tracker might help but that's difficult while you're on the market.

jknowles130

kingstreet said:

What if Halifax won't allow a port due to property or affordability? Their calculator hasn't been very friendly recently.

A remortgage to an ERC-free tracker might help but that's difficult while you're on the market.

I have a decision in principle for a mortgage on the property we like, which isn't necessarily a guarantee depending on how long it takes to sell the house, but hopefully a good indication. Definite risk though I agree. 

I'll look into a tracker and see what I can find out.