How long to fix mortgage rate?

[anonyrat39]

Oh no, not another Brexit thread

Our 2 year fixed mortgage is coming to an end and we were planning on taking another 2 years fixed. In light of recent events would it be sensible to fix it for longer, in case 2 years from now we're right in the middle of all the madness and mortgage rates shoot up?
On the other hand we don't want to pay a hefty penalty for ending the mortgage early if we decide to move in 3 years time.

Probably a 40% chance we'll want to move house within 5 years.

Would you guess there a higher chance of mortgage rates shooting up?

[anonyrat39]

Sarnie said:

anonyrat39 said:

On the other hand we don't want to pay a hefty penalty for ending the mortgage early if we decide to move in 3 years time.

You wouldn't pay a hefty penalty, most products these days are portable so you'd just transfer the mortgage to the new property.....

Thanks . I just called the mortgage provider and they said that yes we can do that as long as we sell/buy at the exact same time. Having never sold a house before I don't know whether that's the norm or not.
Would there be lots of T&C that make it difficult, or is it a commonly done thing?

[anonyrat39]

Lucas Ayde said:

With rates being as low as they are, you'd be advised for fix for as low/long as possible (work out the balance you are comfortable with, longer term will be slightly higher fixed rate). Just get one you are happy/comfortable paying and don't worry if short term rates go even lower, you have the certainty of knowing what you will pay for a longer period of time and are insulated if rates somehow sharply rise (which is always a possibility, never assume that low rates are the norm).

I'm not worried about rates getting lower, I feel our mortgage is very cheap as it is! I'm aware we got our first mortgage at a time when they're very low.
If the base rate goes back up to 7%+ as quickly as it fell a few years ago... Well, we did plan for that, but it would be a pretty unpleasant lifestyle change.

Actually it would be horrible because we have so many friends/family who bought their first homes after the rates dropped and bought at the absolute top of what they could afford... So if rates go back I suppose they'll all be moving in with us .


Maybe this is over-simplifying it, but I'm sure mortgage providers are better at predicting future rates than I am. If they're willing to offer me a fairly low interest rate for 10 years, they must be pretty confident that the base rate isn't going to shoot up massively in the short term. So it's probably safe enough to just take a 2 year fixed period each time as it gives me more flexibility.