Mortgage Rate Alerts:
Hear First When Rates Move

The initial consultation is free, so if you would rather talk than type, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

What happens when your mortgage deal ends?

When a deal ends, nothing is signed and nothing is chosen: the loan rolls onto the lender's standard variable rate automatically, and the monthly payment usually rises. Borrowers have three options before that happens: a product transfer with the current lender, a remortgage to another lender, or doing nothing and paying the reversion rate.

If your mortgage deal is coming to an end and the paperwork has gone quiet, assume nothing is booked until you have booked it. Lenders write to existing borrowers ahead of the end date, but the letter sells their own transfer products, not the market. Most borrowers do better by weighing that transfer offer against remortgage rates by lender before deciding, because the strongest deal for your loan size and loan-to-value is as likely to sit with a rival lender as with your own.

Why timing a remortgage is harder than it looks

Lenders reprice fixed deals around expectations of the Bank of England base rate, not around your end date, and a deal on sale this week can be withdrawn at short notice. Watching rates by hand means checking the market at the right moment, month after month, which is exactly what most working borrowers never manage.

A fixed rate mortgage ending next spring will be repriced many times between now and then, because pricing follows the Bank of England base rate forecast implied by markets, which itself moves on every inflation print and every Bank announcement. The rate you saw when you first worried about your deal ending is not the rate that will exist when you can act. An alert hands that watching to someone whose job it is.

If your current deal ends within the next three months, an alert is the slow route, so call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

The cost of drifting onto the standard variable rate

Every fixed deal that reaches its end date reverts automatically, and each lender sets its own standard variable rate and can change it at any time, by any amount. The gap between a lender's reversion rate and the fixed deals it sells to new borrowers is the price of drifting, paid every month until a new deal starts.

Drift is rarely a decision. It happens to borrowers who meant to deal with it, missed the date, and then paid the reversion rate while sorting out a remortgage from a standing start. Our page on the current standard variable rate shows what reverting costs and why the reversion rate moves differently from the deals on sale. The reminder exists so the end date arrives with a plan already in motion rather than a scramble.

What your rate alert covers between now and then

A rate alert is two emails: one when rates move, and one reminder when your transfer window opens. Both relate to your own lender and your own end month, both are written by a broker rather than a marketing system, and setting the alert up takes under a minute.

The rate emails deal in direction rather than noise: what is happening to current UK mortgage rates, and what that means for someone with your end month. No daily bulletins, no re-sold data feeds, and no contact about anything except your mortgage.

Who these mortgage rate alerts are designed for

The alerts are built for residential borrowers and buy-to-let landlords with a deal from any UK lender, whether it ends next month or up to about three years from now. They are free, they carry no obligation, and anyone already sitting on a variable rate can sign up for the rate emails alone.

Nothing is sold by email. The alert exists so that, when your month arrives, you already know a broker who knows your deadline, your lender and your reason for waiting or moving.

When the reminder lands and you would rather hand over the legwork, call 01202 155992 or contact Mortgage One.

Back to Rates, Charts and Data

The information provided in this article is for general guidance only and does not constitute personal or regulated financial advice. If you'd like to understand what these moves could mean for you, speak to Mortgage One. We can explain your options and timings based on your specific circumstances.

FAQs

1. What happens when my mortgage deal comes to an end? Your loan moves onto your lender's standard variable rate automatically and your payment usually rises. Nothing happens in your favour on its own: a new deal only starts if you or your broker put one in place before the end date.

2. How far ahead can I set a mortgage rate alert? The deal-end list runs about three years ahead, and there are options for borrowers already on a variable rate or unsure of their date. The earlier the alert is set, the more of the rate cycle it covers before your month arrives.

3. What happens if I do nothing when my deal ends? You pay the standard variable rate until you act. There is no penalty for leaving it, but there is a price: the reversion rate is set by the lender alone and can change at any time, by any amount.

4. Are the mortgage rate alerts free? Yes. The alerts, the reminder and the initial consultation are all free, and signing up creates no obligation to use Mortgage One when your deal ends.

5. Do the alerts cover buy-to-let mortgages? Yes. Residential and buy-to-let deals are both covered, with any UK lender, and the same one-minute form serves both.

6. Do I have to use Mortgage One when my deal ends? No. The reminder tells you the clock has started, and what you do with it is your call. Most people ask us to weigh their lender's transfer offer against the wider market, which is exactly the work a whole of market broker is for.