Brits want flexible mortgages

More and more Britons want their mortgages to be flexible - allowing overpayments and underpayments - new research reveals.

Data out today from UCB Home Loans shows that 69 per cent of mortgage intermediaries report there are more people requesting flexible features on their mortgages than there were a year ago.

"In the buy-to-let and self-cert sectors, both landlords and the self-employed may experience fluctuations in the level of income they receive from one month to another," said Keith Astill of UCB Home Loans.

"Therefore, having a mortgage which allows them to either underpay, overpay, or take the odd payment holiday can make managing their mortgage so much easier and fits their individual circumstances."

As well as an increasing demand for flexible mortgages, UCB's survey of 1,400 mortgage intermediaries reveals that some 94 per cent of mortgage applicants feel relatively secure in their current jobs.

And despite one interest rate hike in August and the expectation of another to come in November, two intermediaries in three report tracker mortgages are at least as popular as they were a year ago with 32 per cent reporting trackers are more popular.

Overall, three Brits in four (74 per cent) are choosing tracker-rate mortgages because they do not think the Bank of England will increase base rate significantly over the next few years. Currently banks expect two interest rate rises in the next two years seeing base rate at 5.25 per cent, according to swap rates - which are used to set fixed rate deals.

Two-year trackers are the most popular option with 84 per cent of intermediaries, UCB reports. XXX