be early settlement charges, but these could be nothing compared to the amount you’ll waste if you choose the “wrong” type of loan at the “wrong” time. As soon as you sense that you’re paying a lot more than you could be (by keeping an eye on the base rate), cash in your expensive loan and take out one that reflects the new financial climate.

Simply by maintaining contact with the Bank of England’s base rate (on which most lenders base their rates) long after you’ve taken out the loan, you’ll be in a position to e

As far as interest payments on a loan are concerned, there are two categories to choose from – fixed rate and variable rate – and the decision can be a painful one, even something of a gamble. But with the best information to hand, you can be sure to make the right decision.

Basically, a fixed rate loan is offered to the borrower at a set interest rate, and taking into account the loan amount and the term (how many months you’ll be taking to pay back the loan and the interest) you’ll be given a repayment amount that will remain constant month after month until repayment is complete. When interest rates are low, this would instinctively seem to be the one to go for. However it must be recognised that if the lenders predict that rates will rise, they will not offer loans that do not provide profit for them in the long term. Also, just when you think interest rates can’t get any lower, they often do just that, and fixed-rate borrowers could end up paying more.

The other type of loan is the variable rate loan. The interest rate of these loans goes up and down with the base rate, like a jet fighter avoids radar by clinging to the terrain. Clearly, if the base rate is high, a fixed-rate loan will be expensive if rates drop, so a variable rate loan would seem to be the best.

To find out what the current base rate is, you can visit the Bank of England’s website; changes to it are always announced in the national media. To see if it’s high or low, you’ll need to do a little research and keep up to date with the financial headlines. As a guide, however, since about 1992 the rate has fluctuated around the 5% mark, but throughout recent history much wilder shifts have happened.

The lenders are not, of course, oblivious to each other, and will still engage in competition to win new customers to their fixed-rate loans. Nor are they reckless; they spend huge amounts of money on financial forecasting to make sure shareholders and customers are equally satisfied.

If you’re a borrower, it pays to look at how much it will cost you to pay off. There will always be early settlement charges, but these could be nothing compared to the amount you’ll waste if you choose the “wrong” type of loan at the “wrong” time. As soon as you sense that you’re paying a lot more than you could be (by keeping an eye on the base rate), cash in your expensive loan and take out one that reflects the new financial climate.

Simply by maintaining contact with the Bank of England’s base rate (on which most lenders base their rates) long after you’ve taken out the loan, you’ll be in a position to el

t will remain constant month after month until repayment is complete. When interest rates are low, this would instinctively seem to be the one to go for. However it must be recognised that if the lenders predict that rates will rise, they will not offer loans that do not provide profit for them in the long term. Also, just when you think interest rates can’t get any lower, they often do just that, and fixed-rate borrowers could end up paying more.

The other type of loan is the variable rate loan. The interest rate of these loans goes up and down with the base rate, like a jet fighter avoids radar by clinging to the terrain. Clearly, if the base rate is high, a fixed-rate loan will be expensive if rates drop, so a variable rate loan would seem to be the best.

To find out what the current base rate is, you can visit the Bank of England’s website; changes to it are always announced in the national media. To see if it’s high or low, you’ll need to do a little research and keep up to date with the financial headlines. As a guide, however, since about 1992 the rate has fluctuated around the 5% mark, but throughout recent history much wilder shifts have happened.

The lenders are not, of course, oblivious to each other, and will still engage in competition to win new customers to their fixed-rate loans. Nor are they reckless; they spend huge amounts of money on financial forecasting to make sure shareholders and customers are equally satisfied.

If you’re a borrower, it pays to look at how much it will cost you to pay off. There will always be early settlement charges, but these could be nothing compared to the amount you’ll waste if you choose the “wrong” type of loan at the “wrong” time. As soon as you sense that you’re paying a lot more than you could be (by keeping an eye on the base rate), cash in your expensive loan and take out one that reflects the new financial climate.

Simply by maintaining contact with the Bank of England’s base rate (on which most lenders base their rates) long after you’ve taken out the loan, you’ll be in a position to e

f these loans goes up and down with the base rate, like a jet fighter avoids radar by clinging to the terrain. Clearly, if the base rate is high, a fixed-rate loan will be expensive if rates drop, so a variable rate loan would seem to be the best.

To find out what the current base rate is, you can visit the Bank of England’s website; changes to it are always announced in the national media. To see if it’s high or low, you’ll need to do a little research and keep up to date with the financial headlines. As a guide, however, since about 1992 the rate has fluctuated around the 5% mark, but throughout recent history much wilder shifts have happened.

The lenders are not, of course, oblivious to each other, and will still engage in competition to win new customers to their fixed-rate loans. Nor are they reckless; they spend huge amounts of money on financial forecasting to make sure shareholders and customers are equally satisfied.

If you’re a borrower, it pays to look at how much it will cost you to pay off. There will always be early settlement charges, but these could be nothing compared to the amount you’ll waste if you choose the “wrong” type of loan at the “wrong” time. As soon as you sense that you’re paying a lot more than you could be (by keeping an eye on the base rate), cash in your expensive loan and take out one that reflects the new financial climate.

Simply by maintaining contact with the Bank of England’s base rate (on which most lenders base their rates) long after you’ve taken out the loan, you’ll be in a position to e

owever, since about 1992 the rate has fluctuated around the 5% mark, but throughout recent history much wilder shifts have happened.

The lenders are not, of course, oblivious to each other, and will still engage in competition to win new customers to their fixed-rate loans. Nor are they reckless; they spend huge amounts of money on financial forecasting to make sure shareholders and customers are equally satisfied.

If you’re a borrower, it pays to look at how much it will cost you to pay off. There will always be early settlement charges, but these could be nothing compared to the amount you’ll waste if you choose the “wrong” type of loan at the “wrong” time. As soon as you sense that you’re paying a lot more than you could be (by keeping an eye on the base rate), cash in your expensive loan and take out one that reflects the new financial climate.

Simply by maintaining contact with the Bank of England’s base rate (on which most lenders base their rates) long after you’ve taken out the loan, you’ll be in a position to e

be early settlement charges, but these could be nothing compared to the amount you’ll waste if you choose the “wrong” type of loan at the “wrong” time. As soon as you sense that you’re paying a lot more than you could be (by keeping an eye on the base rate), cash in your expensive loan and take out one that reflects the new financial climate.

Simply by maintaining contact with the Bank of England’s base rate (on which most lenders base their rates) long after you’ve taken out the loan, you’ll be in a position to eliminate much of the risk that comes with your decision to take out a variable or fixed rate loan.