Lifetime rate mortgages are designed to be loans you can stick with for your entire mortgage term.

(These are a different thing entirely from lifetime mortgages, which are a form of equity release plan for retired people.)

There are lifetime rate mortgages with interest arrangements designed for all types of borrower

The lifetime alternatives

• Fixes Lifetime fixes offer ultra-cautious borrowers the certainly of knowing that they will pay exactly the same amount every month for their entire term, no matter what happens to interest rates generally.

• Trackers Lifetime trackers, where the interest rate tracks a certain percentage above the Bank of England’s base lending rate, are aimed at borrowers who want to know that they will benefit immediately and in full from any interest rate falls.

(To learn more about trackers, go to Base rate tracker mortgage.)

• Offsets These mortgages, which offset your savings and, if you want, the cash in your current account to reduce your interest bill, and so either cut your monthly costs or clear your debt early, are often lifetime trackers.

(For a fuller explanation of how offsets work, visit The offset mortgage.)

• Standard variable rates Technically speaking, lenders standard variable rate (SVR) loans are the original form of lifetime rate mortgage, as you could opt to stay on this permanently.

But you’d be mad to do so. 

A standard variable rate loan should be a last resort, chosen only by those who can’t get accepted for anything else, as they are never competitive compared to market leading fixed-rate and discounted deals.

(For more on this, see Why you should never pay a standard variable rate.)