The threat of rising interest rates, pushing up monthly bills on home loans, has triggered a rush to remortgage.

Home buyers who are on variable rate mortgages have already suffered a series of increases in monthly repayments on the back of recent hikes in the Bank of England base rate.

With potentially more rate rises to come, buyers could face a further squeeze on budgets that are already under pressure from record petrol prices, a surge in the cost of gas and electricity, plus rising grocery bills.

Many are looking to lock-in to a new fixed rate mortgage, which at least provides some certainty against the background of what is predicted to be the worst cost of living squeeze since the 1950s.

Mortgage experts at Greenacre Financial Services say that even people who are currently sitting on a fixed rate mortgage may be wise to shop around for a new loan – particularly if their current deal is due to run out later this year.

They stressed that is possible for someone on a fixed rate to sign up to a replacement option up to six months in advance. And it can pay off to get an early approval at a time when banks and building societies are withdrawing their cheapest and best deals.

If you are confused about where to start with your mortgage or need advice on the best deals available than experts at Greenacre can point you in the right direction - https://greenacrefs.co.uk/

The company also offers the 'Mortgage Doctor' online service, which provides the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions concerning home loans, providing easily accessible insight into the financial world.

On the Facebook page 'The Mortgage Doctor' - https://www.facebook.com/TheMortgageDoctorUK/ - you will find short 20-30 second videos each dedicated to explaining complicated topics in a simple way.

Greg Stanworth, from Greenacre, said: "Once you get to the last seven or eight months of your current mortgage deal you should be thinking about what you want from your next fixed rate.

"A mortgage advisor will be able to let you know what options are available, what sort of information they are going to need and what the new mortgage is going to look like."

He added: "When you are in your last six months, that is when we can start applying for a new mortgage for you and organise a new deal that's ready to take over when your current deal ends."

As well as the videos the Doctor is available to answer questions from locals on Fridays going forward via the email address [email protected] to get more specialised mortgage advice - all entirely free of charge.

Greenacre Financial Services are a Nub News sponsor. Without community-minded partners like Greenacre we would not be able to produce the locally-relevant news to the people of Richmond and Twickenham and Teddington.