After the March meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), experts forecasted that there could be a standard base interest rate increase as soon as May. The news that 2018 would be experiencing an interest rate increase so soon after the increase in November could have many homeowners’ attention. Those that have had their mortgage deal end and have been moved to their lenders standard variable rate (SVR) should be the most interested, though any homeowner could find current interest rates attractive when facing possible increases.

Should the MPC increase the rate in May, it could put the interest rate at three times the level seen in May of last year. In May 2017 the rate was only 0.25%, in November the MPC doubled the rate to 0.50%. The expectation is that the next interest rate increase will again be 0.25% putting the rate at 0.75%, which is three times the level seen in May last year.

Such an increase could put hardship on some homeowners’ financial budgets. Yet, by getting a low fixed rate remortgage, a homeowner could secure a low interest rate before the rate increases and lock it in for years to come.

Even those homeowners still on their mortgage deal could consider paying a fee to end a deal early and secure a long term low interest rate. For instance, someone that is due to have their deal end next year might consider ending their deal early, even if penalty fees are involved, and get a five year fixed remortgage that offers the low rates available now rather than waiting until their deal ends next year and face higher interest rate offerings.

Experts suggest that homeowners consider a complete remortgage and look at the overall savings of a deal, including any fees or expenses in remortgaging to determine if a new deal is right for their needs.

May is certainly right around the corner, and homeowners might want to listen closely to the warnings of another interest rate hike and shop around for remortgage deals sooner rather than later.