FairInvestment.co.uk reports Brits like Darling's 25 year fixed rate mortgages
FairInvestment.co.uk research shows the majority of homeowners would prefer a long term fixed rate mortgage deal as proposed by Chancellor Alistair Darling in his 2008 Budget


/Financial News Articles/ - BRISTOL, UK, June 08, 2008 - The Chancellor Alistair Darling said in his recent 2008 Budget that he wants to encourage 25 year fixed rate mortgages and according to research from FairInvestment.co.uk, the majority of homeowners would go for a long term fixed rate deal.

In his pre-Budget speech, the Chancellor said that he wants people to, "Have the choice of long term fixed rate mortgages", because they, "Protect borrowers from risks and still allow them flexibility to move, or get a new mortgage if rates go down."

However, most UK homeowners have short-term fixed rates of two or three years, which are, leaving them exposed to interest rate rises when their fixed rate mortgage deal ends.

"I want to see more flexible and affordable long-term fixed rate mortgages for 10, 20 or even 25 years", he said, emphasising that he intends to investigate how to make a framework that will allow the UK to achieve 'affordable, long term fixed rate mortgages'.

FairInvestment.co.uk has found that 37 per cent of people would opt for a 25 year fixed rate mortgage, and a further 28 per cent would go for a medium term fixed rate deal.

"The fact that the majority of people would go for a long or medium term fixed rate mortgage is reflective of the country's nervousness regarding the current economy and the credit crunch", said James Caldwell, director at FairInvestment.co.uk. "At the moment, households are suffering from soaring mortgage repayments as they come off their fixed rate deals, and some might even lose their homes because they cannot keep up with the payments."

He continued, "A long term deal can provide people more security by reducing the risk involved with having a mortgage, which is particularly important for families with low incomes and for first time buyers, who often have no or little equity."

The research also found that some people believe a short-term deal is right for them, preferring to live life on the edge and take their chances with the Bank of England base rate. 25 percent stated that they would go for a short-term fixed rate, while six per cent said that they would not choose a fixed rate mortgage at all.

Mr Caldwell said, "If the base rate keeps dropping, then those who opted not to fix the interest rate on their mortgage will be better off as their mortgage repayments should go down while those on a fixed rate won't benefit. However, if the rate goes up, then those same people could find themselves faced with higher repayments while the more cautious people who opted for a fixed rate deal are protected from such fluctuations in the economy."

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Rachel Mason
Fair Investment Company
Editorial Manager
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