Recent predictions from industry officials have sparked concerns amongst many homeowners over their future repayments, with one official claiming that the base rate could rocket from its current all time low of just 0.5 percent to a shopping 8 percent over the next couple of years, which could push mortgage interest rates up to 11 or 12 percent.

For many homeowners this would put them in financial dire straits, adding hundreds of pounds a month to their mortgages and putting them at risk of losing their homes altogether if they cannot find the extra money to make these higher monthly repayments.

It is now thought that these claims and predictions over the base rate increasing could result in people flocking to fix their interest rate before the base rate does go up, although nobody knows when this will be. Some experts have said that the recent reports and predictions are simply scaremongering, and have warned consumers not to rush into taking measures that may prove unnecessary.

However, others are warning consumers to look into the options available to them, as although the base rate may not go up yet it will go up at some point, and consumers need to have a good idea of what their options are if and when this happens. For those that would struggle to maintain repayments on their mortgages if the cost went up each month this is particularly important.

One financial industry official said: ‘If borrowers know they would struggle if rates started to jump, it is important to look at ways of preventing mortgage payments shooting up.’

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