Is now the right time to Remortgage?
In my career as a mortgage broker I have more often than not recommended taking a two year deal out to clients, of course individual circumstances are important to consider but in the main two year deals have been incredibly popular.
If you are someone who fixed their deal two years ago you will have been one of the lucky homeowners taking a deal when the lowest ever average two year fixed rates were available (this was September 2017 according to Moneyfacts, the average two year fixed was 2.17%).
This will mean that in the next month or two if you haven’t already done something about it your mortgage payment is going to jump onto the lender’s standard variable rate. I remember organising some deals with Accord Mortgages a couple of years ago that were at a fantastic fixed rate of 0.99%. I told my clients that they were unlikely to get this sort of deal again. Accord have a standard variable rate of 4.99% so the interest charged to you will be five times higher if you do nothing.
Luckily it is relatively easy to switch mortgage deal these days and more and more lenders are offering competitive deals to their existing customers. Historically this was not the case but lenders are realising the best customers they can get are the ones they already have.
Speak to your broker and have a look at what your existing lender can do. Often I find that the existing lender doesn’t have necessarily the lowest rate available but to save on the hassle factor it can be easier to stick with them rather than change lender and have to involve third party solicitors that can frustrate the process.
Rates are still very competitive but there aren’t any deals at less that 1% fixed today, however there are plenty of deals at around the 1.5% mark for two years and the five year fixed options are being exercised by many people with competition here pushing the five year rates (as long as you have sufficient equity) well below 2%.
Hopefully your broker has been in touch to remind you that your deal is coming to an end, also lenders will usually write to you to let you know so that you have enough time to do something about it. If not then hopefully this article will prompt you into action. Needless to say if you happen to end up on the standard variable rate then when the mortgage payment goes out of your account you’ll probably sit up and notice.