3 ms·

> At the start sure. But if you have a 2 year fixed rate and then it switches to variable, then you have a variable mortagege for 90% of your 20 year mortgage.

> At the start sure. But if you have a 2 year fixed rate and then it switches to variable, then you have a variable mortagege for 90% of your 20 year mortgage. Ok, you just don't understand how mortgages work in the US. Fixed-rate mortgages, which represent 91% of the mortgage market, can be had for terms of 15 or 30 years. This is not like Europe where you have to re-mortgage every two years. You can, right now, lock in a rate for the next 30 years in the US.

nlnn 4y ago
> This is not like Europe where you have to re-mortgage every two years. This isn't strictly true - 2 years tends to be the shortest (with the lowest rates) you can get, but longer terms are very common. In the UK, 2/3/5/10 year fixed rates are common. Many people used to go with 2 year fixed rate (for the lowest interest rates), then at the end of the term, switch to another fixed rate for the next N years. Now people are opting for 5/10 year fixed rate a lot more than they used to, especially if they can lock in to a low interest rate deal. In France you can get a fixed rate mortgage for the entire term of the mortgage. In Germany, I've seen fixed rate mortgages for 10/20/30 years advertised. Those are the only countries I'm familiar with though, not sure how other European countries differ.
MandieD 4y ago
We got 1.6% locked in for 15 years (and fully amortized!) in Germany, when we were lucky enough to finally beat out the wannabe landlords on our fourth offer, and then only because the seller had strong enough neighborhood ties that she didn't want to present her longtime friends and neighbors with a string of random renters, so she and her son were willing to wait a few days for our financing. We also had the good fortune to have done this in 2015, when you could still occasionally find a rowhouse in a close-in suburb near transit for a non-insane amount of money. I feel for my younger colleagues.

nlnn 4y ago

> This is not like Europe where you have to re-mortgage every two years. This isn't strictly true - 2 years tends to be the shortest (with the lowest rates) you can get, but longer terms are very common. In the UK, 2/3/5/10 year fixed rates are common. Many people used to go with 2 year fixed rate (for the lowest interest rates), then at the end of the term, switch to another fixed rate for the next N years. Now people are opting for 5/10 year fixed rate a lot more than they used to, especially if they can lock in to a low interest rate deal. In France you can get a fixed rate mortgage for the entire term of the mortgage. In Germany, I've seen fixed rate mortgages for 10/20/30 years advertised. Those are the only countries I'm familiar with though, not sure how other European countries differ.

MandieD 4y ago

We got 1.6% locked in for 15 years (and fully amortized!) in Germany, when we were lucky enough to finally beat out the wannabe landlords on our fourth offer, and then only because the seller had strong enough neighborhood ties that she didn't want to present her longtime friends and neighbors with a string of random renters, so she and her son were willing to wait a few days for our financing. We also had the good fortune to have done this in 2015, when you could still occasionally find a rowhouse in a close-in suburb near transit for a non-insane amount of money. I feel for my younger colleagues.