More fantastically good news for homeowners...not!

If you are one of the 3 million homeowners with a fixed rate mortgage, then your repayments are set to rise as your fixed rate deal nears the end of its term.

Most fixed rate mortgages (which shield you from rising interest rates) generally last for 2 -3 years and, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) about 2.8 million of these mortgages will come to an end over the next 18 months.

Some 1.3 million of us took out a fixed rate mortgage in 2005 and a further 1.5 million of us in 2006. We tended to go for 2 year deals.

However, (as we are all quite aware), the mortgage lenders have been increasing their rates as a response to the rising Bank of England base rate. Having reached a 6 year high of 5.5% in May, the majority of us borrowers can look forward to further increases of between 0.75% and 1.5% on our mortgage rates.

Those of us who took out our fixed rate repayment mortgages at the interest rate trough of September 2005 borrowed an average of £114,000 at a rate of 4.6%, the CML says.

If the rate goes up by 1.5%, we will have to find another £102 per month; repayments will rise 16% to £742!

If you are on an interest-only basis, the increase is even more dramatic: you will have to pay £143 more per month, with yourrepayments rising 33% to £580!

So, what are your options?

Financial markets have almost completely priced in a base rate rise to 5.75% by August and are factoring in an 80 % chance that it will reach 6% this year.

Halifax has increased its rates by 0.30% and Northern Rock by 0.10%.

Other lenders have withdrawn their higher-risk loans: for example, Birmingham Midshires has scrapped mortgages with an additional 30% loan-to-value and Portman Building Society has withdrawn its 100% fixed rate deals.

Currently, the best 2 year fixed rate loans on the market have rates around 5.3%.

• Although it is good to have the security of a fixed rate mortgage, better value can be found in the tracker market.

• Halifax and BM Solutions offer 2 year tracker mortgages at 0.5% below the base rate, (current interest rate of 4.99%). Fees are quite expensive (£1,499) but valuation and legal fees are free for re-mortgages.

• Another option for you is to choose a drop-lock deal with no early repayment charges. With a drop-lock deal, you start with a discounted rate for a set period but if rates look set to rise, the option is there for you to switch to a fixed rate.

Recently both The Skipton Building Society and Woolwich launched mortgages that allow you to hedge your bets.

• Woolwich's "fix and track" range allows borrowers to fix at a competitive 5.39% for one year, with the option to revert, (free of charge), to a lifetime tracker of base rate plus 0.39%. There are no early repayment charges, the loan is available on up to 80% of the property value and initial fees are £595.

• Meanwhile, Skipton's new range allows you to mix and match from a selection of fixed, tracker, discounted and capped rate products.

Moneyfacts.co.uk mortgage analyst Julia Harris said "It is great to see an innovative approach to rates reaching the marketplace. Borrowers who want to speculate against future base rate moves ... or who would like a slice of security, but still take advantage of any rate reductions, will find these products a welcome addition to the mortgage market."

So, if your fixed rate deal is aboout to end, you should start looking around for some impartial advice on comparing mortgages.

This will make it all that bit easier!