Is now the time to fix your mortgage?

A meltdown in the eurozone and the effect this will have on Britain's banks is threatening to drive up mortgage rates. So what can you do to ensure you still get a great deal?

For many Britons, the eurozone sovereign-debt crisis might seem a bit remote given we are not part of the single currency. However, our banks might be about to bring it straight to us. Until now the record low Bank of England base rate has encouraged mortgage providers to come up with some excellent deals. Yet while the base rate doesn't look like it's going anywhere just now, Europe's troubles could panic the banks and push up lending rates.

The early warning has come from private banks, which often act faster than their high-street peers. In recent weeks several British private banks have started to increase rates for the first time in two years. "Uncertainty in the eurozone over a default by Greece and the downgrading of Italian sovereign debt is starting to push up the rates at which the lenders finance home loans," says Lorna Bourke in CityWire. So far the increases have been gradual, but things could get worse very quickly.

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