I paid off my mortgage today
Discussion
Seventyseven7 said:
Essarell said:
Congratulations, I’m 53 and been mortgage free for circa 20 years. It’s amazing how much easier your finances become when the biggest cost has gone, we kept saving and build up funds for all expenses to keep us firmly in the black. It’s also made employment/ career choices much easier as decisions are made from the heart and not by the bank account.
Doesn’t this mean before you was even 33 you had moved into the house you would spend the rest of your life in? Doesn’t sound very aspirational to me tbh. People seem to be motivated by paying off a mortgage on a house, rather than moving up the ladder to bigger and better properties for the fear of having a mortgage. We have other property (bought outright) didn’t need debt / inheritance to accrue it just good old fashioned hard graft.
I have no fear of a mortgage but thru my friends and family I see major life decisions being taken because of it.
Now my wife and I are older we can do jobs we both truly enjoy, we can also enjoy more time off as due to the aforementioned fiscal policy our real world overheads are very low. When I head out for work on Monday it’s for my family not some bank.
We’re not here for a long time so best make sure you’re having a good time.
Paid mine off 3 or 4 years ago.
Totally pointless when you could get 10 year fixed rates for well under 2% but I didn't care.
I absolutely hated jumping through the banks hoops, having them question my statements down to individual purchases.
It felt like a massive 2 fingers to the system to pay it off.
They want you on 40 year interest only mortgages, I'm sure they'd up it to whole life mortgages if they could.
f
k em, my house, my land.
Yes it feels great.
Totally pointless when you could get 10 year fixed rates for well under 2% but I didn't care.
I absolutely hated jumping through the banks hoops, having them question my statements down to individual purchases.
It felt like a massive 2 fingers to the system to pay it off.
They want you on 40 year interest only mortgages, I'm sure they'd up it to whole life mortgages if they could.
f
k em, my house, my land. Yes it feels great.
msport123 said:
Seventyseven7 said:
Doesn’t this mean before you was even 33 you had moved into the house you would spend the rest of your life in? Doesn’t sound very aspirational to me tbh. People seem to be motivated by paying off a mortgage on a house, rather than moving up the ladder to bigger and better properties for the fear of having a mortgage.
Depends on what your aspirations are…We’re still in our first home, mortgage gone < 30. Now 40 with two kids, house is still fine for our needs. Yes it would be nice to move ‘up’ but we have everything we need from the property we already have…
We’ve had a blast from when we paid the mortgage off to where we are now enjoying life as much as we can along the way - the extra disposable income sure does make a difference.
Yes prices have rocketed in the last 10 years, but does it bother me? Not one bit! Could we have moved to a bigger house that would have risen in value even more than our current home? Yes, but again that’s of very little benefit as you can’t really enjoy the equity in your home on a daily basis.
We are obsessed with moving up the ladder in the UK and can miss out on life while we’re doing so - all to benefit the next generation!
Edited by msport123 on Saturday 3rd June 14:35
Whatdoidonext said:
Just wanted to tell someone! Not to brag, not at all. I appreciate rising mortgage costs are a huge struggle for.many, and home ownership an impossibility for others.
But it's such a big step towards financial independence I figured it would ring true with some on here, and it's one of those huge milestones you can't really share amongst friends and colleagues.
Not the smartest financial move, I am sure but our 1.7% fixed rate finished end-May, and so £145k moved later ... no shopping for a new mortgage.
Always dreamed of paying it off by 43 (because it rhymes with mortgage-free!) but missed that by a couple of years. But at least it rhymes with the year
Going to have some quiet drinks with the wife as a silent celebration!
I've read for many it's an anti-climax, but honestly it feels like a weight lifted.
How did others feel? Did anyone regret it later on?
We had a mortgage from 19 years old to 57 years old . It was just the norm in the end . We paid it off 12 months ago and in truth the actual day was an anticlimax. Since then however we often sit in the garden and say to each other , this is good we own this house and no-one else does. But it's such a big step towards financial independence I figured it would ring true with some on here, and it's one of those huge milestones you can't really share amongst friends and colleagues.
Not the smartest financial move, I am sure but our 1.7% fixed rate finished end-May, and so £145k moved later ... no shopping for a new mortgage.
Always dreamed of paying it off by 43 (because it rhymes with mortgage-free!) but missed that by a couple of years. But at least it rhymes with the year
Going to have some quiet drinks with the wife as a silent celebration!
I've read for many it's an anti-climax, but honestly it feels like a weight lifted.
How did others feel? Did anyone regret it later on?
I’ve kind of paid mine, I’ve got an offset mortgage for the full term, my saving balance is exactly the mortgage balance so interest payment is zero, makes no difference if interest rates go up or down as you pay on the difference between the two. I could press a few buttons and the savings pay off the mortgage, decided against it, the mortgage payment comes out of the savings account so no admin, simply leave it for another 15 years! I feel more reassured that I have a large emergency balance with instant access should I ever need it (which thankfully I haven’t done). If things go bad then getting through it needs cash flow, if I pay the mortgage the cash is gone and not easy to get back, you do need discipline though not to spend it.
Just a different approach but we’ll fine OP.
Just a different approach but we’ll fine OP.
Congrats OP!
I’m probably going to pay off our mortgage as I’ve £42k left in November and have a 1yr fixed saver with that exact amount maturing in November. Will have to pay an ERC but it will save 6 months of interest (1.59% finishes in May ‘24).
Yes I’d be slightly better waiting until May overall but will probably think sod it in November.
It’ll free up £750 a month I’ve not had since 2004 but it will go straight to replenishing the cash reserves and a small pension payment bump to mine (age 47, DB pension for 30+ years)and the Mrs (age 43) very small pension.
I’m probably going to pay off our mortgage as I’ve £42k left in November and have a 1yr fixed saver with that exact amount maturing in November. Will have to pay an ERC but it will save 6 months of interest (1.59% finishes in May ‘24).
Yes I’d be slightly better waiting until May overall but will probably think sod it in November.
It’ll free up £750 a month I’ve not had since 2004 but it will go straight to replenishing the cash reserves and a small pension payment bump to mine (age 47, DB pension for 30+ years)and the Mrs (age 43) very small pension.
Puzzles said:
Now don’t look on Rightmove
We started looking soon after we paid off our mortgage and downsized as our 4 bed wasn't needed anymore,even made a few bob in the process.Now in our second home with no plans to move again...
(Got lucky buying a fixer upper 4 bed detached as our first home but in 1991 it was only £59k)
Congratulations to the OP, we could have been mortgage free by now and it always a ‘dream’ when I was younger, but COVID really changed my view of things.
Last few years I’ve stopped overpaying the mortgage, and gone the other way with maximising the borrowing potential of the plot to enable a full rebuild/renovation we simply couldn’t have afford without cheap borrowing that’s now coming to an end.
The aim is to still pay off the mortgage before 55 (41 currently), but I’m far less obsessed by the mortgage debt now when I was 35.
Getting the current house rebuild completed to a decent spec is going to bring me a lot more joy than not having to pay the mortgage.
Last few years I’ve stopped overpaying the mortgage, and gone the other way with maximising the borrowing potential of the plot to enable a full rebuild/renovation we simply couldn’t have afford without cheap borrowing that’s now coming to an end.
The aim is to still pay off the mortgage before 55 (41 currently), but I’m far less obsessed by the mortgage debt now when I was 35.
Getting the current house rebuild completed to a decent spec is going to bring me a lot more joy than not having to pay the mortgage.
Seventyseven7 said:
Doesn’t sound very aspirational to me tbh. People seem to be motivated by paying off a mortgage on a house, rather than moving up the ladder to bigger and better properties for the fear of having a mortgage.
Moving up is diminishing returns when you get to a certain point, and an asset I'm only likely to pass on to my kid rather than ever release that equity for something else. We've more bedrooms than people sleep in. Why add more? We've a mature, secluded garden big enough for us and our dogs. I could never afford the acreage the countryside has to offer so why add more?
Aspirational to me is quality of life. I aspire to retire at 55 with a decent 4 bed in a leafy part of the South East, commuting distance to London, rather than work to 65 with mansion!
Whatdoidonext said:
Seventyseven7 said:
Doesn’t sound very aspirational to me tbh. People seem to be motivated by paying off a mortgage on a house, rather than moving up the ladder to bigger and better properties for the fear of having a mortgage.
Moving up is diminishing returns when you get to a certain point, and an asset I'm only likely to pass on to my kid rather than ever release that equity for something else. We've more bedrooms than people sleep in. Why add more? We've a mature, secluded garden big enough for us and our dogs. I could never afford the acreage the countryside has to offer so why add more?
Aspirational to me is quality of life. I aspire to retire at 55 with a decent 4 bed in a leafy part of the South East, commuting distance to London, rather than work to 65 with mansion!
I’ve nothing against the reality that your first house is unlikely to be your last, but when you reach a happy point you should acknowledge that. There’ll always be a bit of temptation for something a bit bigger or more scenic but the reality of whatever extra years of work that means can quickly cool that desire.
BTW, congrats, I should have said that in my earlier post.
Whatdoidonext said:
Seventyseven7 said:
Doesn’t sound very aspirational to me tbh. People seem to be motivated by paying off a mortgage on a house, rather than moving up the ladder to bigger and better properties for the fear of having a mortgage.
Moving up is diminishing returns when you get to a certain point, and an asset I'm only likely to pass on to my kid rather than ever release that equity for something else. We've more bedrooms than people sleep in. Why add more? We've a mature, secluded garden big enough for us and our dogs. I could never afford the acreage the countryside has to offer so why add more?
Aspirational to me is quality of life. I aspire to retire at 55 with a decent 4 bed in a leafy part of the South East, commuting distance to London, rather than work to 65 with mansion!
I chose life.
Whatdoidonext said:
We've more bedrooms than people sleep in. Why add more?
That's why we aren't adding a single bed room or even anymore floor space despite essentially tearing down and rebuilding the entire house!!! If its any where near affordable the land/space/privacy the country side offers for me anyways is priceless....well there is a price ofcourse
.Enjoy a mortgage free life
.At 53 our mortgage feels like a weight around my neck.
I'm hoping that the housing market rebounds in the near future and that I can find the right buyer for the second property which we're renovating, as this would go a long way to getting shot of the mortgage. Also, I need to finish the renovation
I'm hoping that the housing market rebounds in the near future and that I can find the right buyer for the second property which we're renovating, as this would go a long way to getting shot of the mortgage. Also, I need to finish the renovation
cheesejunkie said:
Wholeheartedly agree. The property ladder is a bit of a scam in some ways. The notion that if you’ve the means to do so that you should aspire to bigger and bigger and work longer for it to preserve the value of someone else’s whilst remaining in debt. It’s pish. There are more important things in life.
I’ve nothing against the reality that your first house is unlikely to be your last, but when you reach a happy point you should acknowledge that. There’ll always be a bit of temptation for something a bit bigger or more scenic but the reality of whatever extra years of work that means can quickly cool that desire.
BTW, congrats, I should have said that in my earlier post.
Agree 100%I’ve nothing against the reality that your first house is unlikely to be your last, but when you reach a happy point you should acknowledge that. There’ll always be a bit of temptation for something a bit bigger or more scenic but the reality of whatever extra years of work that means can quickly cool that desire.
BTW, congrats, I should have said that in my earlier post.
As I said above, I could have gone bigger a long time ago but ended up staying as we were happy with the locality, the neighbours and the schools in the area.
At the risk of introducing some tedious irrelevant anecdote, I used to work for a luxury brand company. The whole business model was centred around marketing and the target demographic was what they called aspirants. Teaching people that they should go for more than they actually need, to drive the desire to want more than what you have. There is nothing wrong with aspiration but you should identify what the driving force is in your decisions.
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