Rates to rise in 'near term'.

Hopefully you will have seen the headlines this week, but if you haven’t, the specific one I am referring to is where the Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said he expects the bank base rate to rise in the “near term” – thought to be within the next few months.

He did emphasise that this would be a limited and gradual process as the bank begins to ease its “foot off the accelerator” of the UK economy.  Mr Carney also warned about lenders becoming more reckless in their consumer credit lending, including credit cards and car finance.

Coming from the Bank of England, this is a bold statement and one we should all take note of.  So, is now the right time to long term fix? 

Difficult to answer, as it’s down to personal preference.  The points to note in the statement are that this will be a gradual process.  We all know rates will rise, but it’s when and by how much that no one can predict.  Therefore, if you know your circumstances are not going to change for the foreseeable future and you like the security of knowing your outgoings remain the same each month, then a long term fix is probably for you and there are some great deals to be had currently.   But if you like a bit of comfort in your monthly budgets and are a bit more of risk taker, maybe something shorter term is more applicable to your needs.  The rates will be slightly lower, but of course at the end of the term, you could be meeting the full on barrage effect of a rate rise.  Obviously, terms and conditions apply and each person is different, so personal preferences is key and advice should be sought.

And finally this week, some great news from our good friends at Precise Mortgages.  Charter Court Financial Services, the parent company of Charter Savings Bank, Precise Mortgages and Exact Mortgage Experts, has been valued at approximately £550m as part of its stock market flotation.  The specialist mortgage finance company will make more than 95 million shares available.  This shows the continual need for specialist mortgages and how well the lender has done since launch in 2011.  Congratulations to all of the teams there.