If you are considering buying your first home or if you are considering moving to the house of your dreams then you will need to consider very seriously which mortgage is the right one for you.

Many mortgage providers will give provide incentive deals for people arranging mortgages through them for the very first time. They will offer a variety of mortgages based around variable rates and fixed terms. It will be down to you to decide which mortgage best suits you and your finances.

Nothing in life is guaranteed so whilst the property market is quite stable and has been for some time it could change for the worst which in turn will affect your monthly payments should you not be on a fixed term.

Arranging a mortgage with a fixed rate of interest and a term of say two or three years is probably the best option as this will insure your finances will be manageable and stable for that term and you will be able to budget accordingly.

However there is a downside to arranging a fixed term mortgage and that is if the variable interests rates fall below what you are paying on your fixed term. Normally a fixed term rate will be very competitive with the current variable so this scenario is unlikely but it is a reason why you should not enter into a long

fixed term of say five or six years as you will be annoyed if you are paying over the odds on your mortgage whilst everyone else is enjoying a lower interest rate.

It may be a case where your finances at the moment are particularly tight but may not necessarily remain that way in the future. An example of this is where a couple buy a house based on a joint salary and their finances and budget are tailored accordingly and then they have children. This often means that one person has to leave work and look after the baby and will not be able to return to work until the child is ready to go to school.

Of course if this is the case your finances will suffer for it and money will be tight at a time where you will want to buy things for your child and your home.

There are one or two ways you can spread your mortgage payments to accommodate the time when one partner is unable to work.

Firstly you can approach your mortgage company and request they spread the term of the repayment. A standard mortgage is often over a period of twenty five years however this can be increased to a period of forty years in most cases and will considerably reduce the monthly payments and ease the burden on your finances.

Alternatively you can change your mortgage to an interest only repayment and again this will decrease your monthly payments although you will need to convince your mortgage provider arrangements are in place to repay the capital at the end of the term.

Both of these arrangements can be viewed as temporary and reversible at a point when both partners are able to return to work on a full time basis.