Have you considered fixing some element of your mortgage and leaving some on variable - will depend on your own circumstances, but may be something to consider....
Have you considered fixing some element of your mortgage and leaving some on variable - will depend on your own circumstances, but may be something to consider....
Those fixed rates you've quoted sound really good. There are many people who wish they had such a good option (including myself) and I'd be grabbing the 5 year fix in particular.
My reasoning is as follows:
We know that already some banks (PTSB) are increasing their variable rates even though the ECB rates have not gone up
We know that many banks are losing money on trackers
We can see that the British based banks operating in Ireland have some of the highest rates available and the reason they are getting away with this is that they are not as dependant on the current government getting NAMA up and running, Irish banks don't want to rock the boat until NAMA is working
We know that many of the banks are going to try and sort out the financial mess they are in and the only way to do this is to generate more profit and the only way this can happen is if they go after their existing customers who can afford to pay higher rates
We also can see that many people coming of fixed rates with their current banks are being offered unfavourable terms and have no way of changing banks due to negative equity.
If you are staying put (don't forget you have to pay a fine to break a fix)and you can't afford 5% then you should fix for the peace of mind.
I'm kinda in the same boat as the OP, my fixed term of my mortgage is up soon, so I'm looking to continue on a fixed term as its handy for me knowing what's due each month and can plan ahead accordingly.
Plus with the uncertainty of how interest rates will go, its good to know something wont change.