Your Home Finance
Choosing a fixed rate is a decision about length — not about the lowest headline number.
The regret people feel is almost never about the rate they took. It's about the early repayment charge they hit when life moved before the fix ended.
30+ years
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ERC exposure
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Total cost
not headline rate
How your case is assessed
What actually decides the right fix length
A fixed rate is two decisions dressed as one: the rate, and the length of commitment attached to it. The rate is easy to compare. The commitment is where the cost of getting it wrong sits.
Early repayment charges define the commitment
Most fixed deals carry a charge if you repay early, usually a percentage of the balance that steps down each year — often around 5% in the first year falling towards 1% in the final year. On a large balance a five-year fix can mean a five-figure exit cost in the early years. That exposure, not the rate, is what you're really signing up to.
Porting is a feature, not a guarantee
Most fixed rates are portable, so you can usually take the deal to a new property and avoid the charge. But you have to requalify on the lender's criteria at the time, the new property has to be acceptable, and any additional borrowing is priced at whatever rates then apply. Portability reduces the risk of a long fix — it doesn't remove it.
When you'll next need flexibility
Moving, extending, separating, a planned income change, a lump sum arriving, or wanting to pay the mortgage down hard all argue for a shorter commitment. If none of those is on the horizon, the payment certainty of a longer fix is usually worth more than a small rate difference.
Product fees and total cost over the term
A lower rate with a substantial arrangement fee can cost more than a slightly higher rate with no fee, particularly on a smaller balance or a two-year deal where the fee is spread over fewer months. The comparison that matters is total cost across the fixed period, and it frequently reorders the best-buy table.
You don't need to guess whether two or five years is right — we model total cost and exit risk against your actual plans before any hard search.
Specialist insight
The same rate suits one borrower and traps another
Possible move · uncertain income · large balance mid-term
Shorter fix usually safer
Heavy early repayment charge exposure · porting may not clear the next property · flexibility is worth more than a marginal rate saving.
Settled home · stable income · budget certainty matters most
Longer fix usually stronger
Payment locked for longer · one set of remortgage costs instead of two or three · overpayment allowance still available within the fix.
Independent reviews
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Your adviser
Jay Sabine
Expert mortgage adviser specialising in complex cases including adverse credit, self-employed borrowers, and first-time buyers. All advice is tailored to your individual circumstances.
Content reviewed: 3 August 2026
CeMAP awarded by The London Institute of Banking & Finance. Cert CII (MP) awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Specialist in fixed-rate mortgage strategy
Helping clients with complex credit histories for over 30 years · CeMAP, Cert CII (MP) · FCA regulated
“Most people ask me which rate is lowest. The better question is what happens if your life changes in year three. The early repayment charge is the part of a fixed rate that actually costs people money, and it never appears in the best-buy tables.”
Reviewed by Jay Sabine · Mortgage adviser · 30+ years' experience
Lived experience
Mistakes we repeatedly see
Not theory — the patterns behind almost every fixed-rate regret that walks through the door.
Fixing for five years with a move already in mind
The most expensive fixed-rate mistake there is. Porting usually helps, but it depends on requalifying and on the next property being acceptable. If a move is genuinely likely, the shorter commitment is normally worth paying a little for.
Taking the lowest rate without adding the fee
A rate a fraction lower with a four-figure arrangement fee often loses to a fee-free deal once you total the fixed period — especially on a two-year product or a modest balance. The best-buy table ranks on rate; your money doesn't work that way.
Letting the deal lapse onto the reversion rate
When a fix ends you move to the lender's standard variable rate, which is typically materially higher. Every month spent there is avoidable, and it's the single most common way people overpay without ever making a decision.
Waiting for rates to fall before securing anything
Mortgage offers are usually valid for several months, and you can normally secure a rate now and switch to a better one before completion if the market moves. Waiting with nothing in place risks losing the deal you can see for one you're only hoping for.
Real client scenarios
Real fixed-rate journeys
Based on genuine cases we've helped with. Personal details have been changed to protect privacy.
Took the higher two-year rate — and it was the right call
- Relocation likely
- Five-year fix rejected
- ERC avoided
- Moved in year two
Situation
Couple whose best-buy option was a five-year fix at a visibly lower rate than the two-year alternative, with a possible work relocation on the horizon.
Challenge
On the headline rate the five-year deal looked obviously better, but a move in year two or three would have exposed a substantial early repayment charge if porting didn't clear the next purchase.
What changed
We priced the rate difference over two years against the charge they'd face if they needed to exit the five-year deal, and took the shorter commitment deliberately.
Outcome
They relocated in year two, remortgaged cleanly at the end of the fix, and paid no exit charge.
Why it worked
The small extra cost of the shorter fix was insurance against a much larger charge. Priced that way, it wasn't a worse rate — it was a cheaper risk.
Wanted to break the fix — the numbers said stay
- Three years remaining
- ERC modelled
- Advised to wait
- Switch date diarised
Situation
Homeowner on a five-year fix with three years left, watching lower rates advertised and keen to switch immediately.
Challenge
The early repayment charge was a percentage of a substantial balance, and the saving from the new rate over the remaining term didn't come close to covering it.
What changed
We modelled the exit cost against the actual monthly saving, showed the break-even point sat well beyond the end of the fix, and advised staying put.
Outcome
No charge paid, no unnecessary application, and a review diarised six months before the fix ends so the next deal is secured in good time.
Why it worked
The advice cost us a case that year. It was still the right answer — and it's why they'll be back when the fix ends.
What happens after you get in touch
From first contact to a clear answer
What happens when you get in touch — no hard search at this stage.
- 1
We understand your balance, value, current deal and when it ends — plus what your next few years realistically look like (no hard search)
- 2
Jay compares fix lengths on total cost over the fixed period, including fees, not just the headline rate
- 3
We talk through your early repayment charge exposure and how portable each option really is
- 4
If proceeding: rate secured → application → completion, with a review date diarised before your fix ends
Reassurance
- Free initial review — before any hard credit search
- We compare total cost over the fixed period, including product fees
- If a better rate appears before completion, we'll usually be able to swap you onto it
Before you enquire
What we'll ask you on the first call
Straightforward questions — no hard credit search at this stage.
- Current lender, rate, when the deal ends and any early repayment charge that applies
- Outstanding balance and estimated property value, so we can see your loan-to-value tier
- How long you realistically expect to stay in the property
- Whether you plan to overpay, borrow more, or expect an income or family change in the next few years
Advisory promise
When we might tell you to wait
We won't always tell you to switch today.
We may advise waiting where the early repayment charge on your current deal outweighs the saving from a new one, where you're within a few months of the window in which a new rate can be secured anyway, or where a pending change of circumstances means committing to a long fix now would be the wrong call.
If staying where you are is the better answer, we'll say so and diarise the point at which it stops being true. We give advice — not just applications.
Straight answers
Common questions about fixed-rate mortgages
Our promise
What we'll never do
- Tell you to apply if it won't work
- Send applications everywhere
- Recommend borrowing beyond your budget
- Hide bad news
We don't recommend the lowest headline rate. We recommend the fix length that still makes sense if your circumstances change.
Find out which fix length actually fits you
Tell us your balance, when your deal ends and what the next few years look like — we'll show you what each fix length really costs and commits you to.
We won't recommend a fix length until we've modelled the early repayment charge you'd face if you needed to get out of it early.
Choosing between two and five years takes one conversation. Being locked into the wrong one lasts years.
£500 adviser fee — payable on completion.
Get Clear, Honest Mortgage Advice — Before You Apply
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Struggled to get approved elsewhere? We specialise in complex cases including CCJs, self-employed income, and declined applications. Over 90% of our clients had concerns about their situation before speaking to us.
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Related guides
Fixed rates — related decisions
If your decision turns on one of these questions, these chapters go deeper.
Two-year vs five-year fixed
The length decision in detail — total cost, exit risk and who each one suits.
Open guide →
Tracker mortgages
When variable movement and no early repayment charge beat locking in.
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Remortgage strategy
Timing your next deal so you never touch the reversion rate.
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Offset mortgages
If overpaying hard or holding savings against the balance is part of your plan.
Open guide →