Those needing to fix their mortgages should “think outside the box” and consider signing up for a 30-year fixed term, a mortgage expert has told Sky News.
Ray Boulger, from John Charcol, said fixed rates have “probably just about hit peak now” following the Bank of England’s intervention last Wednesday.
“We’ve actually seen one lender, HSBC, today cut some rates.”
But his advice for anyone needing to get a mortgage, or refix their rate, was to contact their mortgage broker ASAP.
“Anybody who is looking to get a mortgage at the moment should think a bit outside the box,” he told Sky’s Kay Burley this morning.
“So for the last few years, most people have only thought about a two-year fixed or a five-year fixed.
“You can still get discounted rates now under 3% and you can get very long-term fixed rates like 30 years from as little as 4.15%.
“So I think anybody looking to get a mortgage at the moment needs to look at all the various options, not just focus on two- and five-year fixed rates.”
He added: “One other point, which I think is quite interesting, is that the spread between the cost of mortgages for people with a big deposit and a small deposit has narrowed significantly over the last year.
“If you were a first-time buyer needing a 95% mortgage a year ago, you could have expected to pay around 4%, whereas people with a big deposit would have paid around 1%.
“Now, if you look at Halifax, rates, for example, the cheapest rate is 5.44% for a five-year fixed. But if you’ve only got a 5% deposit, you only pay 5.99%.
“So the additional cost that those with the small deposit are having to pay is actually much less [now].”
What a great idea! Get a long mortgage when the interest rates are their highest so that you don’t end up overpaying just for few years, but for couple of decades if or when the rates go down again.
Box, about all you can afford as a first time buyer.
When did having a 30 year mortgage become normalised?
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Those needing to fix their mortgages should “think outside the box” and consider signing up for a 30-year fixed term, a mortgage expert has told Sky News.
Ray Boulger, from John Charcol, said fixed rates have “probably just about hit peak now” following the Bank of England’s intervention last Wednesday.
“We’ve actually seen one lender, HSBC, today cut some rates.”
But his advice for anyone needing to get a mortgage, or refix their rate, was to contact their mortgage broker ASAP.
“Anybody who is looking to get a mortgage at the moment should think a bit outside the box,” he told Sky’s Kay Burley this morning.
“So for the last few years, most people have only thought about a two-year fixed or a five-year fixed.
“You can still get discounted rates now under 3% and you can get very long-term fixed rates like 30 years from as little as 4.15%.
“So I think anybody looking to get a mortgage at the moment needs to look at all the various options, not just focus on two- and five-year fixed rates.”
He added: “One other point, which I think is quite interesting, is that the spread between the cost of mortgages for people with a big deposit and a small deposit has narrowed significantly over the last year.
“If you were a first-time buyer needing a 95% mortgage a year ago, you could have expected to pay around 4%, whereas people with a big deposit would have paid around 1%.
“Now, if you look at Halifax, rates, for example, the cheapest rate is 5.44% for a five-year fixed. But if you’ve only got a 5% deposit, you only pay 5.99%.
“So the additional cost that those with the small deposit are having to pay is actually much less [now].”
What a great idea! Get a long mortgage when the interest rates are their highest so that you don’t end up overpaying just for few years, but for couple of decades if or when the rates go down again.
Box, about all you can afford as a first time buyer.
When did having a 30 year mortgage become normalised?
Thinking outside the box … maybe this guy was a genius after all.](https://youtu.be/JB2di69FmhE)
How about I do it in like, six months when the housing market finally shits and dies?
Who offers a 30-year fixed? When we bought in 2020 our broker told us that 5 years fixed was the max anyone would offer.