A 3% rise in interest rates would potentially mean borrowers with repayment mortgages paying an additional £150 a month for every £100,000 owed. UK homeowners were asked how they would cope making the increased payments, as part of a survey conducted on behalf of loans and mortgage broker Ocean Finance, who have developed an interest rise calculator, so people can see for themselves how a 3% rise might affect their repayments. More than a third (38%) said they would potentially struggle with the increase and would have to look at ways to save money. More worryingly, nearly one in 10 (7.9%) revealed they would definitely have difficulties and would immediately seek to sell their property.
Just over one in three (35%) mortgage customers noted they would adjust their current budget so they could make sure they were still able to afford the payments. Only one in five (19%) claimed they would comfortably manage if the interest rate on their mortgage increased by 3%.
With the Bank of England base rate at a historic low of 0.5%, there are homeowners who are already struggling to make their repayments. Asked to describe their ability to make their current mortgage payments, one in 10 (9.8%) homeowners said they have had difficulty keeping up and have fallen behind. A further one in five (19%) mortgage holders claimed they are up to date but do struggle to pay their mortgage.
Should their mortgage rates increase by 3%, some homeowners admitted they would have to take drastic measures to be able to maintain their payments. One in three (37%) said they would cut back on all non-essential spending, and a further third claimed they would reduce all their non-priority spending as well as some essential spending (33%).
Meanwhile, more than one in 10 (11%) mortgage holders said they would work more hours so that they could afford their increased repayments and still maintain their current lifestyle. Only one in five (22%) said they did not think they would have to make any cut backs.
Ian Williams, spokesman for Ocean Finance, says:
“Clearly it is likely to take a while for rates to rise by 3%. But if they do go up by that much over the next couple of years it’s worrying to hear that nearly half of mortgage borrowers are concerned about how they would keep up with the repayments - especially when one in 10 are already behind with their payments.
“If homeowners are currently on a variable rate or tracker mortgage and are concerned about how rate increases might affect them, they could seek out professional advice to find out if switching to a fixed rate mortgage could be beneficial.”
