Martin Lewis has shared a six-month rule that any homeowner with a mortgage should follow. The MoneySavingExpert founder appeared on ITV's This Morning on Tuesday (Sept 29), where he hosted a phone-in answering viewer questions about mortgages and savings.
The advice comes as some average fixed mortgage rates have edged up in recent weeks amid rises in swap rates, which lenders use to price mortgages.
Advice for those with ending deals
Martin, 54, shared a clip on X from a segment of his phone-in, where he issued advice to anyone whose mortgage deal is ending. Alongside the clip, he wrote: "The markets expect four UK base rate rises within the next year. So interest rates are volatile and on the up. Millions have mortgage deals ending, if that's you, this is a key timing tip to talk to a mortgage broker about."
Speaking in the video, Martin said: "If your mortgage deal is ending, six months from the date it ends is the time you need to start acting, and that's the time I'd be going to a mortgage broker."
How the rule works
Explaining the reason why, Martin continued: "Usually, you can book a fixed rate up to six months in advance, which means you can get a new rate to start the day your existing mortgage ends. You can book it in, but if rates were to improve in the meantime, you would be able to get rid of it and get a new fixed rate that was cheaper. If rates get worse in the meantime then brilliant, it's an insurance policy that you are locked in."
The expert added: "People who leave it to two or three months before, especially in an upward environment as we have now as the markets are suggesting four base rate rises over the next year. The sooner you go and do this, the sooner you lock in the security of a fix. You need to do it in a way that you're able to get out of it, talk to your mortgage broker about that they'll be able to advise you."
Martin concluded: "There are well over a million people out there who are in that position. The longer you leave it, the riskier it gets."
