When I bought my flat I took out a fixed rate mortgage because I wanted to know exactly what my monthly repayments were going to be as I was borrowing quite near my maximum limit.

The fixed rate period ended in October last year and I took the daring decision, well daring for me, to not re-fix the interest rate but to take a chance on the variable rate. My new rate is now 3% lower than my previous fixed rate although it is still quite a bit higher than the base rate of interest set by the Bank of England - still don't entirely understand why the big difference - but to put it simply I am now making huge savings on my mortgage repayments.

How long I can ride this interest rate roller-coaster remains to be seen, many so-called experts are saying that interest rates will go up at some point soon.  I wish I could say that my mortgage future will be solely based on financial facts and figures, but truthfully it will come down to how long my nerve can hold.

I am not ashamed to admit that I do a little victory dance and my heart beats a little slower each time the Bank of England announces no rise to interest rates.

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Comments:

Kate Gregory says:

September 16th, 2011 at 13:56

Hang on in there Suzanne! You kind of have a 3% buffer at the moment, so even if the base rate was to rise by say ½%, hopefully you would still be OK?

Suzanne Kaluza says:

September 19th, 2011 at 09:04

I'm trying Kate! I just wish I had a crystal ball so that I could see the future.

I am actually looking to move soon so I will be taking out a fixed rate mortgage soon. Was actually quite surprised at the fixed rates that are around. They are still quite low even if you haven't got a massive deposits.

Pete Ash says:

September 19th, 2011 at 21:57

Suzanne
You can actually hedge your bets by provisionally fixing your interest rate in the future with a quote on a mortgage product, mortgage lenders will normally hold the offer for 3 months. You can then review in 3 months and either reapply (10 minute task), letting the previous offer lapse, or accept the offer depending on how the market has changed.

Suzanne Kaluza says:

September 20th, 2011 at 13:16

Thanks Pete that sounds like a good idea, I may look into that.

Teresa Berkenoff says:

September 29th, 2011 at 14:26

Thisismoney.co.uk have just written an article on 'What next for mortgage rates'...

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/article-1687576/What-mortgage-rates.html

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