First time buyer Fixed rate or Variable?

sniper83

Hi, looking for some good advice. Would I be wise to fix a mortgage for 5 years @ 3.60% with ulster bank? their variable is 3.70%. we also have approval from ptsb their variable is 3.55%, but their fixed rates are higher than ulster. I know short term rate rises are unlikely due to the global economy, but should we lock into a 5 year fixed?

PaulM1977

Depends what you want to do, if you want to pay off additional funds from your mortgage, you should go with variable. Bear in mind that there is also a lot of speculation about mortgage variable rates coming down as they are much lower elsewhere in Europe.
Fixed rates will allow you to budget for a certain amount to be paid each month which will give you a certain amount of certainty, but you will not be able to pay off extra from the mortgage balance until you come off the fixed rate.
With the new business fixed rates being close to or lower than the banks variable rate, the banks seem to think that they will reduce, but that is just speculation and may or may not happen.

PTSB do not have a variable rate of 3.55%, there are other lenders in the market worth checking out with better rates then Ulster Bank and PTSB.

PaulM1977

Depends what you want to do, if you want to pay off additional funds from your mortgage, you should go with variable. Bear in mind that there is also a lot of speculation about mortgage variable rates coming down as they are much lower elsewhere in Europe.
Fixed rates will allow you to budget for a certain amount to be paid each month which will give you a certain amount of certainty, but you will not be able to pay off extra from the mortgage balance until you come off the fixed rate.
With the new business fixed rates being close to or lower than the banks variable rate, the banks seem to think that they will reduce, but that is just speculation and may or may not happen.

PTSB do not have a variable rate of 3.55%, there are other lenders in the market worth checking out with better rates then Ulster Bank and PTSB.

sniper83

PaulM1977 wrote: »

PTSB do not have a variable rate of 3.55%, there are other lenders in the market worth checking out with better rates then Ulster Bank and PTSB.

My mistake Paul, your right it is actually Haven's rates I was comparing ulster's rates to. Think we will choose fixed as there is work to be done with the house and we can do that gradually with any extra cash we have.

PaulM1977

If you are choosing a lender and you have more than one option available to you, decide based on the APR rather than the interest rate, as this is the actual interest rate that will be charged to your mortgage account.
If you have to choose between Haven and Ulster, then I would go with Haven, they are better when you look at the APR as well as their rates.

PaulM1977

If you are choosing a lender and you have more than one option available to you, decide based on the APR rather than the interest rate, as this is the actual interest rate that will be charged to your mortgage account.
If you have to choose between Haven and Ulster, then I would go with Haven, they are better when you look at the APR as well as their rates.