Standard variable mortgages
A standard variable mortgage is based on the lender's basic mortgage rate, commonly known as the Standard Variable Mortgage Rate.
It is usually the rate that customers revert to after a fixed, capped or discount period ends.
This mortgage is regarded by some as the least complex mortgage type with the interest rate varying (rising and falling) in response to changes in the UK base rate. The base rate is set by the Bank of England and lenders are free to decide for themselves the amount that they will alter their own interest rates by in relation to these movements in base rate.
