When should I lock in my Variable rate mortgage?

A thought on the minds of many, with all the talk of ‘Historical low fixed mortgage rates’ and ‘rising Variable rates’.   “When should I lock in my Variable rate mortgage?”

Here’s a quick suggestion and rule that I follow… We only want to lock in our Variable rate mortgage when we think Variable rates will go way up and for an extended period of time…

But we must also look at what we can lock into… if you are in a 2.10% Variable rate mortgage, would you lock into a 3.89% fixed mortgage rate?   I’m not sure I would…. I think it will take a few years before my Variable rate mortgage approaches today’s Fixed rate…..  why pay more today when you don’t have to?

For me, I can’t see Variable rate mortgages underperforming Fixed Rates over the 12 to 17 years that it will take us to pay our mortgage off.  Having said that, we are always evaluating the Market Trends and will adjust our strategies when needed.  A mortgage is a huge debt and deserves a solid strategy to retire this debt with the lowest cost.

Ultimately, it will come down to risk tolerance, your personal budget and what you believe will be the better strategy.  Consult your Mortgage Broker to better understand the differences.

By the way, you might be interested in knowing that certain Banks and Trust companies have recently started to pay us more to offer fixed rate mortgages over Variable rate Mortgages…Good Mortgage Brokers don’t let the compensation dictate which product they recommend.  They recommend what they believe is right for the client.