how long did you fix your mortgage for

[Marzipan23]

Hello,
we are currently remortgaging, heading to a 4.6% rate vs a 1.5% rate we had previously which does sting!! I'm pregnant with our first baby, we have budgeted for the 4.6% and we can make that work alongside childcare but it will be fairly tight! I'm struggling to decide if we should fix for 2 years or 5. On one hand if the rates drop and we fix at 5 then we could potentially miss out on 3 years paying a lower rate, on the other hand if they go up a stupid amount then we really will be stuck. Either way is a gamble! what did everyone else do? or what would you do if you were remortaging right now?

We have always fixed for 5 years. I like to know what we will be paying, and I am very risk averse. Peace of mind is worth paying the little bit extra for should the rates go down.
I’m very thankful we do 5 years tbh as we had just fixed right before Truss caused chaos.

My husband is a mortgage adviser & our previous deal came to an end just before Christmas, we fixed for 2 years. His opinion from work was that rates weren’t likely to get much higher than they already are but they do stand a good chance of dropping over the next year or 2 x

I always fixed for as long as possible, with the theory that there is no maximum ceiling rates can climb to, but a definite limit to the floor (zero). Our last fix was for 10 years. If rates really do plummet again (unlikely imo) you can calculate whether it is worth the exit fee to switch product.

We're going through the same and going from 1.55% to 4.4% so really similar to you - we're fixing for 2 years

Went from 1.6% to 4. Something this month. Fixed for two years, the difference was about £30 a month between the 2 & 5 so went with 2 and hope it drops a bit more by 2026

We remortgaged in 2022 for 5 years as it was a lower rate than the 2 or 3 year ones

My 1.6% ends next spring. Hoping it drops more before then, right now I'm thinking 2yr tracker if case toothed time signs are that it will continue to drop.

I think when you have childcare costs predictability is important so would go for 5 years to get to school age (we did). It's not worth the risk when things are going to be tight anyway.

We did a 2 year recently but we know we will be in a much better position financially in 2 years due to raises, no more childcare etc

We moved last year and fixed for 5 years. Our mortgage deal was agreed early last year and rates rose and are still higher than we agreed almost 12 months ago. For us, with childcare costs it was worth it to know we can afford the mortgage and childcare until DC goes to school. If interest rates go above that and you would struggle to pay both, I’d go for a 5 year fixed for the peace of mind that you can afford both.

I remortgaged in November in the midst of divorcing. Similar to you, went from a 1.79% to a 4.36%. Opted for a 5 year rate as wanted predictability.

Fixed in 2019 for 10 years. I thought DH was mad but as he works in finance I deferred to him. Very pleased we did!

We fixed for 3 last Feb. Wanted to go to 5 or even 10, but because of how high the rates were we didn't want to be stuck so gambled they'd be lower in 3 years. 2 and 3 were the same monthly.

We were on 2.44% and are now fixed at 4.84%. Went up around £200 a month. Which stung

We fixed for 2 years in Oct 23. We think rates will go down.

In the past when i was a SAHM, we fixed for 5 years a piece cos we needed to know we could afford the payments whatever happened to rates.

We’ve always fixed for 5 years. I view it more as is that affordable for 5 years and don’t try to think what rates do. I’d rather have that certainty for 5 years.

We fixed ours for 3 years and think it's due to end in a couple of months. We only have nearly 5 years left. Haven't looked at any rates yet 🤦‍♀️

We remortgaged last year and fixed for 5 years as we managed to get a 3.2% rate. I wanted to be able to budget while we would be paying high childcare bills!

It depends on your personal psychology, because nobody has a crystal ball.

I fixed for 5 years, because I know I'll get used to the rate I pay, and any sense of regret I might feel if rates go down after two years will be quite mild, because of my personality. Whereas the stress I would feel looking to prepare to remortgage in 18 months' time if rates haven't gone down will be intense. I'm a more risk-averse and anxious person than I am an opportunity-seeker. For example, I tend to make more conservative investments, and even when I hear my friends' riskier investments have earned bigger returns, I don't feel all that bad about my choice. It's worth thinking about similar situations and figuring out where you sit.

So it depends what your personality is and therefore what you think is worth paying for, psychologically.

Last summer I fixed for 4.19%, I was on 1.93%. Rates started dropping suddenly and went down to 3.99% for like a month then it got announced it was going up again, I was in the 'cooling off period' so quickly switched to the 3.99% but mildly got stung for one month, but long term saved me money over the term of the deal. Just focusing on overpaying as much as possible like usual.

We went for 5 years at 2.1% in 2021 and were so glad we did. We debated going for a 2 year fix as it was very slightly lower. However, we reasoned that we could afford the monthly amount and preferred knowing what we’d be paying for 5 years, given it was a £500 a month rise from our old house to our current house.

We’re so glad we went for the certainty given what’s been happening recently as our mortgage could have been a hell of a lot higher. We’re hoping to ride it out until 2026!

I say, go for 5 years.

We remortgaged in January, fixed for 2 years. Very similar situation - DW was pregnant (baby now born - hooray!) and cost conscious as a result. Normally we'd fix for 5 but given what we're all aware of having happened, high chance of a drop in the next 2 years and very low chance of any increase (even if there is an increase, it'll be negligible). Our mortgage advisor actually said he'd just remortgaged himself and made the same call. Good luck with baby!

We did ours before the Trussterfuck when rates were low and fixed for the entire remaining term. If I recall correctly, this was about 13 years at that time. Not sure what we would do if it were today though.

Definitely fix for two. Most lenders and brokers are certain it's coming down which is why two year deals are slightly more expensive. We are about to do ours and doing it at 2 years.

We've just refixed for 5 for 2 reasons 1) we have a baby and having certainty for 5 years whilst paying childcare fees is reassuring 2) we want to avoid repaying a product fee in 2 years as we don't have loads of disposable income/savings at the moment.

no one has a clue if they are going up or down, it's just bets currently. last year when I did my fix they said the same for 2 years. OP should do what makes them feel comfortable - if u need the comfort then stick for longer, but if u are more willing to take the risk then go shorter.