Dreaming of being mortgage free, how old were you when you paid yours off?

[Smarshian]

We are early thirties with 2 pre school DC in nursery 4 days per week. I’ve just taken a better paying job which will hopefully lead to more progression moving forwards.
We have 32 years to pay on our £230k mortgage and it just seems so daunting! We haven’t been able to overpay as we are pretty stretched with nursery fees but now I’ve got this new job that should hopefully change.
When did you pay yours off? How did it feel?

[Chasingsquirrels]

Mid-30's. Combination of factors. It felt, and still feels (late-40's), fantastic to know that the house was ours (now mine).

[AuntieMarys]

55. It's a great feeling. Every day I think " this is mine".

[middleager]

Not paid it off, but you are me 15 years ago. We are only half way through and it goes on and on...so if you can overpay, then do.

[Thankssomuch]

I’ve got £616 left to pay on mine and it’s taken me 21 years. Paid it all myself, never missed a payment or went on to interest only, with no contributions from anyone else - it feels good. Will clear it in December 😀

[GalOopNorth]

Overpay the extra you are getting from your new job into the mortgage.
Even 50 a month makes a big difference over several years.

[Svelteinmydreams]

51.It feels great. It’s a real load off my mind.
We overpaid massively in the 9 years we had it. We had lived abroad and had a shock at the house prices, and the big mortgage was a daunting thought. We basically lived off one salary and the rest hit the mortgage.

[Smarshian]

Will start overpayments when I get my first pay check for the new job, will up again next September when DD starts school and DS starts getting his free hours as currently paying £1000 a month for nursery fees! Will reduce massively then.
Would love to pay it off by 50

[Baileyscoffeeandcampfires]

I was 39 but we bought our first house when I was 18, got lucky with the timing for growing equity and have been in our second (current) house for 16 years.
We overpaid when we could and actively decided to stay here in a 3 bed semi and pay off the mortgage rather than upgrade to a 4 bed detached.
Currently saving what would have been our mortgage payment to buy a motor home

[Autumnchills]

We couldn’t overpay initially due to similar reasons and needing to do work on the house. Then both of us changes jobs, got significant pay rises and with good pay progression and now we are paying off huge chunks and expect to pay it off in a few years. It’s so exciting but we’re not there yet and I hope nothing goes wrong to slow us down again. I expect many in our position would opt to get a bigger house or move to a nicer area but we prefer to be mortgage free and then save up if we want to ‘upgrade’.

[MrsJBaptiste]

We paid our off last year, I was 41 and DH was 49.

I wasn't in any rush to pay it off (I'm only early 40's) but it is amazing being able to save that £1000 a month, knowing we have a great buffer for Uni fees or for the kids' future.

[IceniWarrior]

We have 11 years left and plan to reduce to 5 next Feb and over pay as much as possible. 5 years ago it was a 20 year mortgage. We had been chipping away. I'm 42 and DH 53. I want it gone.

[HoneyWheeler]

We have 23 years on ours, and I'll be 54 when paid off, and DH will be 63. When we bought we fixed the rate for 10 years so no substantial overpayments for the next 8 years. We took this route because we didn't expect rates to drop further (LOL) but also we're in the trenches of raising little kids and it felt good to know for sure what the repayments would be during that time.

It does feel a hell of a long way off, but I think I've resigned to the idea that the next decade is about head down bum up working and parenting, then once both kids are well and truly in school we shall have a bit more money to overpay! Hopefully my salary has gone up then too.

[HoneyWheeler]

Also having said that, if we'd stayed in our last house (3 bed terrace) we'd be mortgage free in 5 years 😭 but we have so much more space now and it is definitely our forever home.

[InMySpareTime]

Paid ours off at 38, we bought our first house at 22 and consistently added half our pay rises each year to overpayment. It really adds up.

[Smarshian]

We are in a lovely house and area and don’t see us moving anytime soon. Plenty of space for the kids so don’t plan to add to the borrowing.

[MaverickDanger]

Early 30s now and technically we could pay it off, but have invested that money instead.

We have a 15 year term so I will be 45, hopeful we can repay early.

[Screamingeels]

God - suspect you'll get loads of earlier settlers here. Officially ours runs til I am 65... i keep wondering how as I first took it out at 32. Will probably be a few years earlier as did manage overpayments for about 10yrs.

Basically will be really well of pensioners (public sector pension) which feels a bit pointless!

[AndWhat]

Mine is currently like yours and we’ll be 68 ! We have just moved and reduced our mortgage payments by £200 by moving to a cheaper property. Hoping to start overpaying by that £200 once nursery fees finish and then pay off mortgage before we hit 50.

[Cupcakegirl13]

I just don’t know anyone in the real world who pays off early 🤷🏻‍♀️ We have 25 years to go I’m 37 and DH is 48.

[user159]

If we do nothing and just keep paying as we are then we'll be 55/56. We too are currently paying nursery fees so once that's finished we'll definitely start overpaying as we are used to not having that money now.
Had a long conversation with a relative about this recently, we were weighing up reducing term or overpaying and overpaying seems the best option as it's so much more flexible in terms of amount etc whereas committing to higher payments over a shorter term might not be ideal given the current world we live in.

[OneRingToRuleThemAll]

I bought my current flat at 21 and due to pay off the mortgage in a few years at 38, but I expect we will move and will then be paying a mortgage until our 60's.

[Coniferhedge]

38, but only because my Mum died and I paid it off through my inheritance.

[burnoutbabe]

Bought at 27 and I was in a Position to pay it off at 37 (interest rates were low so I put the overpayments in savings account) and finally cleared it at 42.
Felt great, took voluntary redundancy when offered and have been able to attend university again at minimal cost (beyond tuition fees)

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

We are 34/36. Just taking out a 15year mortgage. Hope to pay it off in 7 when DH retires from the Army.

[Cam77]

38. Felt good, but to be honest I was already overjoyed just to have escaped renting and crap landlords a few years earlier. Just the cherry on top really.