Fix mortgage today - 3 yrs or 5 yrs?

[Flowers024]

Just that really, if you were fixing your mortgage today, would you go for a 3 year term or a 5 year? Difference pm is about £20. So hard to know what to do!!

Fix for as long and as low as possible. Realistically the rates can only go up.

(I had a mortgage in the 1990s when rates topped 13%. )

5 as a minimum, longer if it’s a decent rate.

I recently got a fixed rate for 10 years

At a difference of £20 per month I'd go for the 5 year fix. We fixed last year for 5 years at just over 1% and I'm really glad we did that.

We just fixed ours for 10 years at 3.49%. It is a long time but we can port it if we decide to move and we can also over pay. I’m an over thinker / worrier so I just wanted to fix it and forget it.

5 here too! It's nice to know it won't change as our childcare is gonna be extortionate for the next 3-4 years. I was considering 10 but couldn't find a good enough rate at the time to take the plunge!

I thought it was always best to get the longest lock in that you can.

10 years. I'd have gone for the full 25yr fix if I could find or afford the monthly payment. Then again, I know we're here for a while because of circumstances.

10 years...

I think I've found a bug. That should say 10 years.

Depends on your circumstances, until January this year I’ve always gone for a tracker, because no one can predict the market and trackers mean you can overpay if you’re able to and you don’t risk a sudden huge jump in monthly payments if rates rise, for me adjusting spending gradually is easier.

However when I came to the end of a deal in January rates were so low that overpaying didn’t seem to make sense so I’ve fixed for 5 years and am building up a savings buffer should rates be significantly higher at the end of my deal. I’m in the incredibly fortunate position of having a mortgage much lower than I could have.

You have to weigh it up and make the best decision for you, even if you’re decision ends up being a bit more expensive, what’s important is that it’s the most sensible at the time of the decision.

My SIL is a mortgage advisor and mentored everyone is fixing for 5 years rather than shorter terms at the mo for certainty. Seems to make sense to me.

Wow thanks very much everyone!! Seems general consensus is 5 years/as long as possible. We’re ftb so never had to make a decision like this before, plus in this climate it’s even harder but I think we’ll definitely go for 5 and if rates do end up dropping before then, I believe our early repayment charge would be fairly low so exiting wouldn’t be out of the question if it got to that point. Fingers crossed for the future for us all!

I’d go for 5 years, we’ve always fixed for 5 years on our mortgage.

We’re moving house and just applied for a 5 year fix at 3.45%.

5 years personally.

Or 10 at the moment!

We fixed a few months ago for five years. Seeing what’s happened since then, I really wish we’d gone for ten!

Five years here too. I debated 10 but my circumstances might have changed in five years so I'm happy to stick with five. I think my fix is 2.49% (low LTV).

I've just fixed at 2.70% for 7 years if that helps!

That’s a v good rate - which lender has that on offer, if you don’t mind me asking?

I fixed for 5 years in Nov last year. I'm now thinking I should have gone for 10!

@Mildura it was Barclays but it was a month ago I fixed, and I believe rates have risen twice since I fixed!

its happening all over the boards!

I agree fixing for at least 5 years is the best option.

• check if it's portable. (You can move it to a new property, but you still have to have mortgage checks etc) without having to pay any ERP (Early Repayment Fees)

•. Check your ERP, they'll give you a chart of the costs.

• check if you can over pay & how much without penalties.

these might not seem important now, but 5 years is a longtime.

I was undecided when mine came up for renewal (I usually fix for 2 years) because I might have to sell to go overseas & either rent or sell. Renting I can do, but I can't make any changes to my mortgage & it goes to SVR at the end of the fix (plus 1%), so I was very tempted to fix at 10 years, but it's a hefty ERP for the first 6 years. 2 years was just too much uncertainty this time.

I figured that at WORST. I'd be 'over paying' by 2.48% (5 year fix rate a few months ago) & interest rates are NOT likely to go to anywhere near 0% in 5 years, so somewhere up to that %.

whereas interest rates ARE likely to go up a lot more.

IF going overseas (for family reasons) wasn't something I need to keep in mind, I'd have fixed for 10 years.

gutted I didn't do that 4, or even 2, years ago when rates were much lower, but you know, you live & you learn!!

enjoy your first house!! 😊