Pay the same amount for a set period, the interest rate is fixed for this mortgage, so you'll pay the same amount for the set period e.g. two or five years.

This means you'll know exactly how much your payments will be, so you can plan a monthly budget to help keep your spending on track.

If you want to buy a property and rent it out

Thinking of buying a property and renting it out? Then a buy to let mortgage could be right for you. Buy to let is similar to standard mortgages, but the interest rates tend to be higher. You may also have to put down a bigger deposit.

Buy to let mortgages can have fixed or tracker rates.

A variable rate for a set period

For a set period, often two, three or five years, your interest rate will rise and fall in line with another interest rate. This is typically the Bank of England’s base rate.

If the rate drops, your monthly payments will reduced but if the rate goes up, your mortgage payment will too. 

Is your initial rate term over or about to expire?

When your initial mortgage deal is over, the standard variable rate (SVR) is the rate that you'll move onto. Your monthly mortgage payments will also change.

If you don't want to go onto the SVR, you can shop around towards the end of your current deal, for another mortgage.

When you have another repayment plan

You'll only pay the interest on your mortgage and nothing on the capital you borrowed. At the end of your term, you’ll still owe the full amount, so it’s important to have a repayment plan in place.

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Discount mortgages are variable-rate deals that charge your lender's SVR minus a fixed margin.

So if your lender's SVR is 5% and your deal charges the SVR minus 2%, you'll pay a rate of 3%.

If the lender puts up its SVR (for example, if the base rate goes up), your payments will go up accordingly. But if the SVR goes down, you'll pay less.

Discount mortgages usually come with introductory deal periods of two years.