How old were you when you had your mortgage paid off?

[scotchbonnetface]

My mortgage is a psychological burden on me. It’s not huge but I’d like to have it paid off sooner rather than later. I have it in my head that it needs to be paid off right now.

Im early 40s and hoping to have it paid off by the time I’m about 58. If I’m not a pile of dust from the menopause by then!

I didn’t buy until I was mid 30s and took it over a 35 year term. Gulp.

Bought the house when I was 28. Mortgage paid when I was 46

We were 44, but only got our first home and mortgage when we were 33, so only had a mortgage for 11 years. Before that we saved and saved to get a 50% deposit so only borrowed 50% and then we saved and overpaid the mortgage to get rid of it asap. It helped that we didn't over-stretch ourselves with the house we bought. We could have bought one 2 or 3 times the cost but we didn't "need" a bigger house, so just bought a house that would be big enough for a small family but not so huge that we'd have to sell and downsize when the kids left home. It is indeed a "forever" home for us. Not paying the mortgage for the past 15 years or so has been a game changer for us as we've been able to invest the money (partly in shares and partly in pensions) rather than lining the pockets of some millionaire/billionaire in interest payments!

I was 48. Three factors really. The main thing was living in a smaller house than we could afford so having a smaller mortgage, this was possible due to relocating to a little village in the Scottish Highlands at his employer’s request when someone left unexpectedly. They asked him on the off chance,
expecting he'd say no but we liked the look of the place, having visited previously. We waited so long for something to come on the market there that we ended buying a house a bit smaller than we were looking for.

The second thing was related to that move- there were no houses up for sale there when we moved and his employer agreed to pay for a rental for a year in o give us time to find something. So we had a bigger deposit than we would have otherwise.

Lastly, STBXH took an 80% salary cut during Covid lockdowns. That time was really tough especially as he was working even harder than usual. It went back up again though, to a bit more than it had been and a year later his firm paid the salary he’d missed out on plus a bonus as a thanks out or taking the cut. That was at about the same time as the fixed rate expired on our mortgage so we just paid it off.

We were 41 or 42.
Got first mortgage at 28. Moved 3 years later and increased the mortgage but stuck with the 22 year term. Always had variable rate mortgages. When interest rates fell (as they did significantly after 2008) we always kept repayments the same so overpaid gradually over time. In the early years, if we ever needed to remortgage, we always tried to cut a year ir so off the term when doing so and pay a small lump sum.

The difference it made to us - meant we could afford for DC to attend private school for part of their education. Also helped us save significant chunks which enabled us to buy a rental property outright about 6 years ago. Also helped us save so we could cover all uni costs for DC. Has also meant we have been able to put a bit more into pensions and will be able to stop work in late 50s.

Our max mortgage payments were never more than about £900 but having an extra £900 each month over an extended period simply gives you access to lots of choices you might not otherwise have.

One point is that we did not move again after the age of 31. We stuck with the decent for not impressive or huge family house we had bought. It was big enough for us. Many others we know upgraded to bigger houses. They are still paying their mortgages but will have a more valuable property in the end. But many of them with the bigger houses haven’t been able to afford the options we have had access to, because they didn’t have the spare cash or accumulate savings.

We will be early retired with a smaller house.

Everyone makes different choices, but being aware that choices have a compound financial effect is very worth being aware of.

Fifty years and 8 months old!

always said we would pay it off by the time we’re 50, went just over the line but happy with that. We did overpay for quite a few years to do that.