There are a few variable rate mortgages creeping onto the market that you'll want to steer clear of. They're particularly nasty because they lock you in for a long period of high interest repayments.
A few Building Societies are currently offerng these types of mortgages where you pay a low variable rate for a set introductory period. This is all fine, but when this period ends you pay a particularly high amount of interest on your repayments.
Now in most mortgages you could simply switch and avoid this problem, but these have what are known as 'overhanging redemption penalties'. This means that you have to pay a significant fee to be freed from the agreement.
So make sure you're looking for these types of fees when shopping for a variable rate mortgage. Experts have labelled these deals 'prehistoric' in their structure and expect them not to last for a great deal of time.
Industry expert David Holingworth added, "Borrowers considering such loans must be aware of their inflexible nature and question their real value."