Fixes have grown in popularity since the early Nineties, when lenders locked in borrowers with stiff redemption penalties that applied well beyond the fixed-rate period. With some exceptions, overhanging redemption penalties are dying out. Sometimes no penalty is applied, even during a fixed- rate period. His main home is in Cyprus, but he wanted a UK base so last year he bought a second home in Southport, Merseyside, on a 10-year mortgage. Borrowers are tied in for six years, with the loss of the two-year benefit plus big penalties if they repay the loan early.
Northern Rock has other less onerous deals at higher rates, however.
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