You get 3k Cashback with KBC so that covers legal fees, think our legal fees are about 1,200.
Worth switching mortgage providers if the cashback offer is decent. Was about to pull the trigger on ours until our own bank reduced their rates so a quick email meant we were getting a lower rate than the new bank. Fixed for 3 years. Think the avant application is fairly strict.
1 Like
Fixed term mortgage is up the end of the month and I can fix again for 2, 3, 4 or 5 years for pretty much the same monthly repayments.
Question is are rates likely to rise or fall over the next few years and should I be fixing for as long as possible or as short as possible?
Any guidance appreciated.
For me when I was it looking at it last year, it all depends on your circunstances ie if you want to overpay your mortgage with a bit of extra cash lying around and take on the slightly higher variable rate. That makes sense.
If you donāt, id fix it once you get a lower rate - which you absolutely should obviously if fixing it.
1 Like
Anyone who actually knows the answer to that shouldnāt be giving it away for free on the internet
1 Like
It makes no sense to be on a variable at the moment. Instead of overpaying save it and pay it off in a chunk when the fixed period ends (if thatās what you want to do).
Itās been discussed on here numerous times but overpaying your mortgage wouldnāt be best financial practice
1 Like
Agreed.
Iāll definitely be fixing as the rate is a good bit lower than variable regardless of duration.
I just donāt know whether to fix for 5 years and hope the rates donāt drop or 2 years and hope they do drop.
Iāve been rolling one year fixed the last few years, when I rolled for a year two Novembers ago, my plan was to fix long term this year, but with Covid etc I canāt see interest rates going anywhere anytime soon so I rolled it again and weāll see where we are in November
1 Like
Iāve a fixed rate for 3 years myself. If you can get a good rate at 5 years - probably a no brainer pal.
I canāt see them going down any further.
End of the day all depends on your LTV, how many years etc etc.
1 Like
What rate are they giving you?
TouchƩ.
I reckon there will be a surge in house sales post covid which in theory should increase competition and reduce interest rates so Iām leaning towards just fixing for 2 years and then hopefully fixing again at that stage on a lower rate.
One needs to be careful not to be rolling off fixed at the point of interest rate rises. Iām waiting till I think thereās a sniff of rises and then Iāll fix for as long as I can. But itās a pure guessing game.
In a properly functioning mortgage market fixed rate mortgages should be more expensive than variable.
2 Likes
Iām only 7 months in, what youāre saying there though is spot on.
Question is how long can the ECB rates be kept so ridiculously lowā¦its anyones guess I suppose.
I donāt know if anyone ever came to a firm conclusion on that
1 Like
Thats the other side if it, if rates pick up etc
Paying off any loan early is never bad financial advise surely.
Not everyone has the stomach for speculation etc too.
LTV is just gone under 60% so their offering me 2 years at 2.20% or 4 and 5 years both at 2.35%.
Monthly repayments are only about ā¬10 extra for 5 years compared to 2.
1 Like
Thatās a great rate for 5 years.
Well if you took it that the average rate over life of mortgage was 3.5% then your getting that return, risk free with no tax on return.
If you are making max pension contributions then overpaying mortgage isnāt a bad plan at all. If your mortgage was 1k a month and you could pay it off 10 years early then that gives you a lot of cash to build up a pot to retire early
4 Likes
Agree, absolutely.
Iām on 2.85% fixed at the moment, repayment is very manageable so Iām kind of not even thinking about it. But when the term finishes in 2.5 years - Iāll be thinking along those lines definitely.
I was on 4.25% variable prior to that - weād the bare 10% so they could screw you back in 2015.
1 Like