Remortgaging is expected to see a boost with continued warnings of an interest rate hike.  Homeowners seeking to save money and save themselves from higher interest rates will seek to grab a fixed rate for budget assurance over the coming years.  There will also be those homeowners that are looking to release cash from their equity growth due to the booming housing market.  Such cash release opportunities will offer families the ability to pay off debt, afford high ticket items or plan holiday travel.

Currently the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has left the standard base interest rate untouched since March 2009.  The rate currently sits at the historically low level of 0.5%.  Experts have forecasted that the first interest rate increase will be minor but there will be more to come steady and surely as the economy continues to bounce back. 

If the interest rate increase occurs during the coming cold winter months it could put many households into a budget crisis.  Having extra costs for heating and then getting a higher interest cost for the mortgage repayments could be very difficult to juggle.  Rather than facing the increase in mortgage repayments a homeowner should consider a remortgage now as experts believe it will be by the end of the year or early 2015 when the first increase in the rate occurs.  Those homeowners that have had their mortgage deal end and have moved to their lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) should especially be alert to the impact higher interest costs will have on their budget. 

Homeowners should keep in mind that with higher demand for remortgages expected as well as the mortgage market review guidelines now in place that obtaining a new deal can take longer than in years past.  Gather material now, start shopping around and give plenty of time to decide on the right remortgage deal and also time to close the deal before a rate increase occurs.