To not want to pay off my mortgage?

There are two separate issues, tied together here OP.

Firstly need to look at whether paying off your mortgage does make good financial sense - would using the 50k leave you with no savings buffer? That would probably be a no from me. I have an offset mortgage and have 100% of balance in savings, I still can't quite commit myself to actually pay off the mortgage 'just in case'.

If you still have other savings you need to work out how quickly you can replace your savings using your mortgage payment amount that will become spare cash. (personally I would redirect this all into savings for the short/mid term rather than feeling more cash rich)

I didn't understand the bit where you can't save what you may never pay - at some point this mortgage will need to be paid off, even if you move so long term you would be saving that 30k somewhere along the line.

The other issue is the strings that will be attached - once you have worked out whether you will be better off financially you need to work out whether the strings are worth it. Ignore the posters with faux horror of refusing this gift, only you know what you will need to do to 'repay' PIL's genorisity.

I have a friend that turned down the funds to buy a 4 bed house from in-laws, as she knew they would want too much input into which house they bought, what they did when they got it etc - she said she would rather stay in her perfectly fine mortgaged 3 bed and avoid the aggrevation.

But you’re not forced to accept a gift if you don’t want it.

Look into Yorkshire Building Society offset mortgage. You put your £50k into a savings account and your Mil can put hers into family offset account . That way the mortgage payments are zero but you both have immediate access to your £50k if you wanted to.

Well it doesn't make financial sense if you're getting markedly more return on the money than the mortgage interest is costing you.

I'm not sure why anyone would advise you that way, based on returns.

I’d be really frustrated with MIL trying to dictate our financial decisions by dangling money in front of us. I’d possibly say no thanks on principle. A gift with strings etc…

Without knowing the nuances of your financial situation and goals it’s impossible to say if this is a good idea. Using all your savings to pay off your mortgage and having no buffer is certainly daft. And even making an overpayment would depend on what your mortgage rate was, if there’s a repayment charge, and what rate you’re getting on your savings.

It looks like a nice gift, so hopefully not a trojan horse!
If there was a hint it could be the latter, I wouldn't need £50k enough to accept it I'm afraid.

Thank you, that's very plainly set out and helpful.

It's fair to say that I'm financially risk averse for family reasons but your explanation has clarified some things.

Secondly, return. If the return on savings/investments exceed the APR on the mortgage, you'll be better off.

For this, in particular, I suppose it will be interesting to see how this plays out after the budget.

She’s offering to pay off your mortgage and you’d rather keep it? That makes literally no sense.

If my mil was pound matching the overpayments on the mortgage I'd throw the lot in and it won't take long to accumulate another nest egg with the money you won't be paying on the mortgage each month.

Very generous of your MIL to offer to gift you 50k towards your mortgage but if it comes with conditions then it's not really a gift, is it? It's control. So no thank you.

edited to say sorry for quoting the whole OP, didn't mean to!

That’s what I understood from your first message. Glad I understood correctly.

You need to weigh up the strings together. MiL will probably be a controlling pain anyway. You can easily sell a mortgage-free house or remortgage should you need to. A lot of mortgage rates are going up at present, making people feel poorer. Being mortgage free will give you more disposable income that you can spend / save / invest as you see fit. It’s certainly not an offer to be disregarded without careful consideration.

Haven't read the whole thread but, after our mortgage was paid (end of term), my DH opened an account so all the money we'd have paid for the mortgage went into that!

It's not a true gift if you then want to control what happens to every penny of someone's savings.

It's a massive control grab. Especially from someone who has already caused problems in the past.

I wouldn't accept her money in your shoes.

I would turn down the gift, I have a similarly manipulative DFIL who has offered money and then strings have emerged, I’ve always turned him down because I would rather have less money than him interfering in my business. Thankfully DH is on board.

Can't you just put her £50K into the mortgage and keep your £50K as a nest egg? She doesn't need to know.

Hi. I'm not going to quote figures here because I'll have to start charging😜.

Firstly, liquidity. The money is tied up in the house, end realising this capital is a long, expensive, and disruptive process. So if you are mortgage free, but zero in reserve and the boiler packs up. You can't sell a bedroom to fund your boiler. You'd have to go into debt to fund the boiler. And that might be difficult, expensive or even impossible depending on the circumstances. Yes, eventually, your surplus income will help build this, but you will be initially quite vulnerable, and it will take some time to get back to the liquid position you had previously.

Secondly, return. If the return on savings/investments exceed the APR on the mortgage, you'll be better off.

Thirdly, savings discipline. This is a bet more woolly, but if your mortgage goes out each month as a non-negotiable, arguably, you'll repay this faster than you'd accumulate savings. Depends on how good you are at saving.

I know people have an instinct to repay debt, and that is good. But its not automatically the right choice, especially if it leaves you with little or no emergency cash.

😂I find the number of "awful" "controlling" "selfish" PIL on here threatening to pay off mortgages, offering to look after DGC etc bizarre.

This.
My savings rate is 4.65% (easy access.)
Mortgage 1 is 2.5% approx
Mortgage 2 is 4.3%
I over pay mortgage 2 a litte each month, but I'd still be better off saving it. It's an emotional thing.

It would be madness to leave yourself without a financial buffer.

I'd accept the gift on the understanding that it alone would be paid towards the mortgage.

Is using the money to move an
option?

I would take her £50k and do wtf I wanted with it.

Oh, they do, if they insist you do exactly what they think you should do with the money.

If I understand it, the OP has 50k in savings. MIL wants to give them another 50k, but only if they put the full 100k in savings meaning OP then has no savings in reserve if they need them.

That is the request of a controlling, manipulative shrew, not an unselfish gift and would be entirely reasonable grounds to refuse the money.

It wouldn't surprise me if the MIL, if OP sells the house, went on to insist on getting the money back and a share of any profit made on the sale.

If you take the MIL she will brag she paid your mortgage for you, not immediately but at some point it will be used against you. I wouldn't want to that floating over my head..If she wants to put it in an account for her grandkids university fees then fair enough.
If you are moving, it's best to keep some mortgage active and borrow some more, If you pay off the mortgage you will need a brand new loan which isn't a massive issue but you are just re-applying, deeper credit checks and getting older etc

Personally I hate debt and looking to clear the mortgage independently (lots more joy in that) whilst I'm on a low rate 1.19% I put extra money on 5% ISA accounts, then use all that lolly to smash the mortgage and save a bundle on interest. As much as I like Escape to the Country, don't think I'll be moving anytime soon from a 4 bed detached. If anything, could downsize near 60 and live on the equity.

Naive. Controlling people will do anything to control, that doesn't make their motives pure.