It is really important to look for a good mortgage rate because it will make a big difference as to the cost of the mortgage. If you assume that you will be paying the same rate for the whole term of your mortgage, then even a difference of half a percent can make a huge difference in money terms. For example, if you borrow £100,000 at 1% you will pay £84 a month in interest, if the rate is 1.5% that is £125 of interest. Add that up over a 20 year term and that £50 a month adds up to £9,840. That is a huge sum and that is just half a percent difference. If you debt is bigger and the interest higher, then you could find the costs could be much bigger.
So you need to be on a constant look out for a good mortgage rate. There are comparison websites that can help, but you should also do research on your own as not all sites are included on comparison websites. You do need to consider more than the rate when you are comparing lenders though.
Some lenders will tie you in to a fixed rate for a certain time period. If you see a very low rate, it can be tempting, but you have to bear in mind that there may be better rates that come along while you are tied in to the low rate and you could regret it. Of course, rates may go up above that fixed rate and you could do very well being tied in to it. It will depend on what the base rate does and that is not very predictable.
You also need to consider the lender and how likely they are to change the rate that you have gone for. You may be happy to keep changing lender if their rate goes up, but you may rather settle with one that you can stay with. If you look at their rates history, you will be able to find out what their rates have done in the past. This should give you an idea of what may happen in the future and it is probably the best and only indication that you will have.
It can be a good idea to keep looking at mortgage rates as well. They tend to change a lot as lenders try to get new customers and so you may want to keep changing so that you can take advantage of this.
