As a first-time buyer, opting for a five-year fix makes sense, although taking a ten-year fix could be a bit too long.
While ten-year fixes provide payment security, rates change a lot over a decade, so borrowers could pay more if rates come down over the longer term.
The idea is that borrowers purchase a property, pay off some of the mortgage balance and house prices increase. This puts homeowners in a positive to remortgage or move home if the want to. Ten-year fixes also tend to have higher early repayment charges.
One of the benefits of the Halifax first-time buyer scheme is they can opt for a two-year fix and potentially borrow 5.5 times their salary.