Most lending institutions have a portfolio of mortgage products on offer at any given time, with new customers usually qualifying for the best rates.Aside from finding an institution willing to trust you with a mortgage, one of the hardest hurdles to cross when choosing a mortgage is deciding whether to go for a fixed or variable option.

Holders of fixed mortgages will enter into an agreement to pay back the same amount every month for a fixed length of time, usually one, two, three, five or 10 years.

The longer the term involved, the higher the interest rate in application will be.

This is because the lending institution must charge for the security involved in such an arrangement.

Variable rates, on the other hand, will fluctuate with the market interest rates. In simple terms, a rise in ECB rates will imply a rise in your monthly repayments and vice versa. The alacrity with which lending institutions choose to pass on ECB hikes or reductions will vary.

A third option offered by some lenders is the split-rate mortgage, where borrowers choose to set half their mortgage at a fixed rate and half at a variable rate.

Again, mortgage-holders will pay a premium for the comfort of fixing, even when the loan fixed is small.

Questions to ask yourself when choosing between a fixed or variable rate:

How strictly do I need to budget my outgoings?

Will I feel nervous every time I hear about an ECB meeting?

Would I be comfortable facing into increased repayments?

Am I prepared to pay for the security attached to a fixed mortgage?