Tracker Mortgage Advice in Birmingham
Before we get onto what exactly a tracker mortgage is, first of all you may be wondering just how many different kinds of mortgages are out there for home buyers and homeowners alike.
There are a lot of different types of mortgages available to customers, with each of them being unique and demonstrating their own list of pros and cons.
Throughout our article here, we are going to take a focus on the tracker mortgage, what it is, how it can help and why it may be a better option for you to take when you are looking at all of your mortgage options in Birmingham.
What is a Tracker Mortgage?
If you have a tracker mortgage, this means that your interest rate will follow alongside the Bank of England’s base rate, with an additional percentage of interest being added on by the mortgage lender.
Your lender will not have the choice of how much they add on top of the base rate, as it is an external rate that they must follow.
For example, the Bank of England’s base rate might be somewhere around the region of 1%, with your lender being required to add on an additional 1%. So, depending on what the Bank of England base rate is, your mortgage will always be slightly higher than that.
Will a Tracker Mortgage benefit me and my situation?
Remember, a mortgage deal is only as good as the situation that it is put up against.
For example, you could get a tracker mortgage, only to figure out later on that you would be much better suited for working with fixed payments (utilising a fixed-rate mortgage), but you are already locked into a legal agreement with a mortgage lender.
It’s for reasons like this why we will always advise that you do plenty of research ahead of the mortgage process or look to obtain expert Mortgage Advice in Birmingham, to make sure that you are on the best deal for your circumstances. We do also feature an article on why use a Mortgage Broker in Birmingham, and list the benfits of having us on your side.
Tracker Mortgages Historically
A Tracker Mortgage will work out well for you if the Bank of England’s rate is low. It will generally sit somewhere around 0-1%, though it will rise and fall as the year progresses. When the credit crunch happened, the market crashed and interest rates rose.
The highest point that it ever went up to was about 5%. Bearing in mind what we said earlier about your lender adding on an additional amount, you could’ve had 6% interest on your monthly mortgage payments!
If we head into more recent territory with March 2020, the mortgage market gave many in the industry deja vu. This time the panic surrounding interest-rates was brought in because of COVID-19.
This time though, things went a little differently, as the Bank of England’s rate dropped significantly, going down to a miniscule 0.1%. If you happened to be on a tracker mortgage during this time, it was likely that you went down to a 1.1% interest rate.
As you might expect during this time, it wasn’t possible to get a tracker mortgage. The reasoning for this, is that in reality, mortgage lenders are a business and need to make money too. This type of practice would’ve been poor business on their end.
As time has passed (as of December 2021), they have become readily available for customers, though they tend not to be as popular as they used to be.
Tracker mortgages rely heavily on the economy, so if the market is performing well, it’s a solid choice to go with. If the market is performing poorly, it’s probably not the best option for you to go with.
Different Types of Mortgages in Birmingham
There are all-sorts of different types of mortgages out there for homeowners and home buyers in Birmingham, it’s all just about finding the right one for you and your circumstances.
Before you jump into something that might be harmful to you, it would be within your best interests to speak to an expert Mortgage Advisor in Birmingham about what your mortgage options might be.
They will be on hand to help you shop around for unique and suitable deals, ensuring that you have the best one you can possibly get for the situation that you are in.
Perhaps you are a First Time Buyer in Birmingham? Maybe you are looking to Remortgage in Birmingham or at your options for Moving Home in Birmingham? In any case, we believe that you will truly benefit from the mortgage advice of our experts here at Birminghammoneyman.
There is rarely a situation we haven’t come across. Utilising our knowledge and experience within the mortgage industry, we will be able to guide you onto the right path for what you are looking to achieve. Book your free mortgage appointment online and speak to a dedicated mortgage advisor in Birmingham today.
Date Last Edited: December 6, 2023
