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Original poster

Have I missed the thread where all of us on fixed term mortgages feel a bit sick?

68 replies

tatty33 · 11/02/2009 19:54

I know its useless to moan.. and I know I'm lucky to have a home, but my God my stomach keeps going into knots when I thing about what we fixed on compared to interest rate now

Pointless rant over, as you were...

OP posts:

Winehouse · 11/02/2009 21:33

Bicnod, if you have an interest only mortgage then yes you are paying it all to the mortgage company and will still have the outstanding sum to pay at the end of the term of payment. But if your mortgage is a repayment one you are constantly chipping away at the outstanding sum, by paying an element of interest and an element of the actual money owed at the same time.

Northernlurker · 11/02/2009 21:38

If you fixed thinking you would save money then you were kidding yourselves tbh. I don't see that as being the reason for a fixed rate. You fix to protect yourself and your family against a rise in costs you can't afford. We fixed for five years last year and I am delighted that we did so. We got a good fixed rate - even with rates as low as they are fixed offers aren't coming down much and it means I can sit in our home KNOWING that I don't need to fret about whether we'll be able to afford it in three months. That security is worth more than the money we would save now on a variable rate.

thritbies · 11/02/2009 21:40

Me too- and ours is interest only because I am out of work. If we hadn't been fixed we could have switched back to repayment by now and be paying some off . Oh and we only fixed last July- for 5 yrs- arrrggh!

ruddynorah · 11/02/2009 21:42

it doesn't mean you pay more off if it's fixed. the difference goes to the bank, it doesn't come off your mortgage.

Bicnod · 11/02/2009 21:50

northernlurker - you make a very good point... and that was the reason we went for a fixed rate. At least we KNOW we can make the repayments. It is a tad sickening to think how little we'd be paying on a variable rate right now though...

FairLadyRandySlut · 11/02/2009 21:53

it doesn't ruddy....shame...I was all happy then when winehouse mentioned that...
I am the first to admit, that I haven't got a clue about this...finances completely baffle me....

Mintyy · 11/02/2009 22:16

Thank you for your helpful comment Portofino regarding the take a chance aspect of choosing a mortgage.

I said it would be a scandal were I to be respossed if I would otherwise have been able to afford the mortgage repayments had I chosen a tracker instead of a fixed rate.

poopscoop · 11/02/2009 22:17

we did a fix for 5 years and are satisfied we made the right decision for us. We were on the variable for a few months after the last fixed came to an end and were on tenterhooks watching whether it was going up or down. I really dont thin i could tae the stress of a couple of increases, so a fixed is deffo the right move.

Winehouse · 11/02/2009 22:20

Ruddynorah I am sure I am right in the case of repayment mortgages. We are in the process of buying a house and our mortgage company had not reduced our rate despite our being on a tracker. When our broker questioned them they provided a current statement and our outstanding sum had dropped by £4300, when normally it would only have dropped by £400 in the same period. Honestly.

Our settlement figure is now a lot lower than it would have been if they had cut our monthly payment by £250.

feefifo · 11/02/2009 22:34

Oh that makes sense - its because you are on a tracker Winehouse, not a fixed rate! Not the difference btw intrest and repayment. You are one of the lucky ones who've done well out of the rate drop (its alright, I'll still speak to you).

sep1712 · 11/02/2009 22:47

We got a capped rate for three years which runs out in july. I'm dreading not being able to get such a great deal again. Hopefully the rate won't go up alot before then

ruddynorah · 11/02/2009 22:54

winehouse that's just making an overpayment. you can set up some trackers like that, so if rates drop you still pay the same amount..an overpayment.

ruty · 11/02/2009 22:58

we're on a great tracker rate. but i am worried about rates going up a lot. Is that the consensus?

Winehouse · 11/02/2009 23:07

Oh, I see the difference now. I'm sorry

Olihan · 11/02/2009 23:16

Our fixed rate ended in Dec so we've done okay the last couple of months.

However, we are about to fix again for 2 years because I just can't take the uncertainty of what will happen to the rates.

In the last recession rates went up to 14/15% didn;t they? There is no way on earth we could afford our mortgage payments at those rates so fixing at the best rate we can get now is our only option.

Rates are expected to drop once more, I think but I really don't want to take any risks with the house.

All of you on 2/3/5 year deals will feel VERY smug in a year's time, I should think.

WynkenBlynkenandNod · 12/02/2009 03:29

Our fix runs out in September and we are thinking about what to do. I think we'll fix for 5 years minimum, I don't care that it will cost us more, I want the security of knowing what our payments will be and not to worry about whether we will have enough equity left for a 75 ltv and to not be paying fees every couple of years as we have done in the past.

I'm fairly convinced that rates will be increasing and have noticed the rates on fixes increasing in the last few weeks with some 10 year rates being withdrawn which suggests that banks do expect them to increase.

Sidge · 12/02/2009 16:08

Can I be really nosy and ask what those of you on fixed rates are paying?

We fixed in Oct 2007 at 6% which was good at the time and we liked knowing exactly what our payments would be - like you poopscoop and Olihan we like the security of having a fixed rate, even though it's galling at the moment

I think things are so unpredictable at the mo, and as our incomes are fixed with no possibility of overtime/bonuses etc a fixed rate is good for us.

Winehouse · 12/02/2009 16:10

Sorry for being so dim yesterday. Our payments are £1070 a month. That is quite scary to see in black and white.

CatIsSleepy · 12/02/2009 16:14

we fixed last year for 10 years

am hoping things will even out in the long run!

otherwise am just really trying not to think about it

Umlellala · 12/02/2009 16:29

yeah, our fixed runs out in July. 5.14%. We were voluntarily overpaying, just stopped for a bit. Think their SVR is about 4.5 at the mo...

Agree we fixed because of security.

bellavita · 12/02/2009 16:36

Our fixed rate runs out in 2012 , but two weeks ago, we received a letter from our mortgage company advising that they were ceasing lending on new mortgages/remortgages/further advances.

Also, if you were tied in with a fixed rate (like us which would receive penalties if you moved it), they were happy for lending to go elsewhere and waive all penalties. So we are doing just that and saving ourselves £200 per month.

DaisyMooSteiner · 12/02/2009 16:50

Who's your mortgage provider bellavita?

I don't think people should fix on the basis that interest rates will go up because we're in recession. Interest rates were very high prior to the last recession because inflation was also very high - about 10%, so much higher than last time and the current worry is deflation. Interest rates generally come down during a recession, which is what we've been seeing over the past few months. I don't think you needed to be a sooth-sayer to see that coming!

bellavita · 12/02/2009 17:01

It is with Mortgage Express (who come under Bradford & Bingley Building Society)

poopscoop · 12/02/2009 17:21

fixed at 5.69% for next 5 years. Not bad for the security feel.

JillJ72 · 12/02/2009 18:06

The flip side is our situation. We had a good deposit when we bought this house in 2007, porting across the loan (fixed rate) on our previous property. That rate finished end last year, the bigger loan on this property comes off its fixed rate in September. We had a shock when I rang our lender to ask about a new fixed rate. Because house prices have fallen (not a bad thing overall), our good deposit has been eroded to nothing, if not negative equity now, and there are no products - fixed, tracker etc - available to us at all. We are stuck on SVR, and that is somewhat worrying come September....

We borrowed 3.3 x our income, put down a 16% deposit, but because house prices have fallen it's all semantics. It's a bit

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