Halifax raises mortgage rates - Telegraph The lender, which was Britain's biggest mortgage bank before the credit crunch, has 850,000 customers on this rate, to which all mortgages taken out before the beginning of last year revert when initial deals come to an end. The rate rise will add nearly £500 a year to the cost of a £100,000 mortgage. Ray Boulger of John Charcol, the mortgage broker, said he feared that customers with larger mortgages, little equity or interest-only deals would be most affected, as they would struggle to move to a cheaper loan. For those who are able to remortgage, Mr Boulger said there were better options available. He urged people to shop around rather than take the "product transfer" option from Halifax for those who would like to change from the SVR. Under this deal, a customer with 40pc equity in their home could apply for a two-year fixed rate mortgage at 3.49pc with no product fee. Those with 25pc equity will be able to apply for a two-year fix at 3.74pc. Mr Boulger suggested that people with a decent amount of equity in their homes look for a five-year fixed-rate product or lifetime tracker. For example, it is currently possible to get a lifetime tracker at 2.39 percentage points above Bank Rate with Chelsea Building Society, with a fee of £1,495. There are five-year mortgages available from 3.59pc from the Post Office, as long as you have 25pc equity. "You can effectively buy yourself five years of protection rather than being on the Halifax SVR," Mr Boulger said.