House / Mortgage Advice
Discussion
Playsatan said:
I was in a similar position 4 years ago. I was 38 at the time and sitting mortgage free in a home that was more than enough for us, we'd been living there for 8 years and I'm sure if we'd made a different decision I'm sure we'd still be happy there. Friends said we were mad when we talked of moving saying we'd be giving up our disposable income (they were right) and how we'd live to regret it (they were wrong).
So why did we do it? For me it was the fact that I felt that if I left it much longer the decision would be taken out of my hands, mid to late 40's plus a 25 year stretch would not be my best idea. Second the arse had fallen out of the market in the two years leading up to that point and moving up the ladder was more affordable than any point before or since. The main reason is that although it would be great to have the great feeling of freedom that no mortgage brings how boring would it be to always take the safe, easy option when you could take the exciting and rewarding one.
If you are not stretched to the max, get a long mortgage and just overpay. Its what im doing at the moment. Have the benefit of low monthly payments due to the long period (30 yrs) but overpay but a grand each month at the moment.So why did we do it? For me it was the fact that I felt that if I left it much longer the decision would be taken out of my hands, mid to late 40's plus a 25 year stretch would not be my best idea. Second the arse had fallen out of the market in the two years leading up to that point and moving up the ladder was more affordable than any point before or since. The main reason is that although it would be great to have the great feeling of freedom that no mortgage brings how boring would it be to always take the safe, easy option when you could take the exciting and rewarding one.
The 30 year should come down to around 12 if I keep it up, but if I dont want to overpay for a particular reason, I dont have to.
Best of both worlds.
This overpayment calculator shows how much you can cut the time down by. Its staggering really.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgag...
p1stonhead said:
Playsatan said:
I was in a similar position 4 years ago. I was 38 at the time and sitting mortgage free in a home that was more than enough for us, we'd been living there for 8 years and I'm sure if we'd made a different decision I'm sure we'd still be happy there. Friends said we were mad when we talked of moving saying we'd be giving up our disposable income (they were right) and how we'd live to regret it (they were wrong).
So why did we do it? For me it was the fact that I felt that if I left it much longer the decision would be taken out of my hands, mid to late 40's plus a 25 year stretch would not be my best idea. Second the arse had fallen out of the market in the two years leading up to that point and moving up the ladder was more affordable than any point before or since. The main reason is that although it would be great to have the great feeling of freedom that no mortgage brings how boring would it be to always take the safe, easy option when you could take the exciting and rewarding one.
If you are not stretched to the max, get a long mortgage and just overpay. Its what im doing at the moment. Have the benefit of low monthly payments due to the long period (30 yrs) but overpay but a grand each month at the moment.So why did we do it? For me it was the fact that I felt that if I left it much longer the decision would be taken out of my hands, mid to late 40's plus a 25 year stretch would not be my best idea. Second the arse had fallen out of the market in the two years leading up to that point and moving up the ladder was more affordable than any point before or since. The main reason is that although it would be great to have the great feeling of freedom that no mortgage brings how boring would it be to always take the safe, easy option when you could take the exciting and rewarding one.
The 30 year should come down to around 12 if I keep it up, but if I dont want to overpay for a particular reason, I dont have to.
Best of both worlds.
This overpayment calculator shows how much you can cut the time down by. Its staggering really.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgag...
I'm pro the 30year mortgage and overpaying. Gives you more wriggle room should anything go wrong as at the end of the day no one's job is secure; you just have to keep your self skilled enough to be able to attain another job if you owe someone the best part of £200k.
I also don't think £200k a big mortgage, I have £218k currently on a standard 3 bed semi just outside London. I bought 5 years ago so I am lucky my house has almost doubled in value but even today I cannot see how anyone would be able to buy a standard family home (£450-£500k) with a mortgage smaller than £300-350k (unless they have had substantial help or are moving out from London).
I also don't think £200k a big mortgage, I have £218k currently on a standard 3 bed semi just outside London. I bought 5 years ago so I am lucky my house has almost doubled in value but even today I cannot see how anyone would be able to buy a standard family home (£450-£500k) with a mortgage smaller than £300-350k (unless they have had substantial help or are moving out from London).
I'll give you my view FWIW.
I've been mortgage free for approx 10yrs through overpaying and then paying the lump off when it got to c£10k. Over the years I'd had a mix of interest only and endowment which I decided to keep the latter going even though it wasn't asigned to the mortgage as it gave me life insurance and the prospect of a lump sum that paid out a few years back.
When I bought my current house I had no intention of moving again and dont really intend to. Albeit when I near retirement I may look to downsize as personally I dont see the point in a large house with only two people in it even though my pension options mean at just over 50 I'm fortunate to need never work again and I can still manage this property easily.
If you're looking at investment and buying a property now with a mortgage in the belief you can sell for a sizeable profit to fund retirement that's an option I suppose but you need to factor in all the variables - location, job security, attitude to risk etc.
My attitude to risk is 'cautious' and personally have never subscribed to borrowing money to repay it back with interest unless there's something in it for me. Mortgage free does leave you with surplus cash which surprisingly all the things you wanted when you didn't have it don't seem to appeal as much any more - go figure!
I've been mortgage free for approx 10yrs through overpaying and then paying the lump off when it got to c£10k. Over the years I'd had a mix of interest only and endowment which I decided to keep the latter going even though it wasn't asigned to the mortgage as it gave me life insurance and the prospect of a lump sum that paid out a few years back.
When I bought my current house I had no intention of moving again and dont really intend to. Albeit when I near retirement I may look to downsize as personally I dont see the point in a large house with only two people in it even though my pension options mean at just over 50 I'm fortunate to need never work again and I can still manage this property easily.
If you're looking at investment and buying a property now with a mortgage in the belief you can sell for a sizeable profit to fund retirement that's an option I suppose but you need to factor in all the variables - location, job security, attitude to risk etc.
My attitude to risk is 'cautious' and personally have never subscribed to borrowing money to repay it back with interest unless there's something in it for me. Mortgage free does leave you with surplus cash which surprisingly all the things you wanted when you didn't have it don't seem to appeal as much any more - go figure!
pfnsht said:
I cannot see how anyone would be able to buy a standard family home (£450-£500k) with a mortgage smaller than £300-350k (unless they have had substantial help or are moving out from London).
They don't.People either:
- Have help from parents
- Have a massive mortgage
- Have ridden the property boom on their previous house
- Have amassed chunky savings through earnings (but this requires pretty big earnings to make a decent impact)
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