Fixed mortgages are ideal for people who want to know exactly how much they will have to pay at the end of each month for the next year or so. The mortgage type allows you fix your monthly repayments for a certain time period.

The advantage is that you know exactly how much you need to set aside for your mortgage repayments during the next few years. This would help towards financial planning if you have a family or have other short loan repayments. If the base rate was to increase your monthly mortgage repayments would not be affected at all (during the fixed rate period).

The disadvantage of a fixed rate mortgage is that if the base rate is low and remains low for a great length of the time period, you will find yourself paying out far more on your mortgage repayments than a standard variable or discounted mortgage.

The period can vary from different lenders offering different packages but are normally between six months to five years. To get the best deals look at fixed rate mortgages that offer a time period of one to three years.

Once your fixed period has ended you would pay monthly repayments according to the base rate set by the bank of England . You might find your repayments to be more than your fixed rate price or less depending on the base rate.