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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Do you think your mortgage is a debt

114 replies

HaudYerWheeshtBawbag · 18/05/2018 23:27

I don’t...

I think of it as an investment & not a debt that I would say in terms of a credit card etc...( I/We dot have one)

WDYT?

OP posts:

StorminaBcup · 19/05/2018 00:01

Of course it's a debt. You have a repayment agreement and a mortgage contract.

mirime · 19/05/2018 00:04

It's a debt, and feels even more of one when you have a shitload of negative equity but need to sell.

crunchymint · 19/05/2018 00:05

Yes it is a debt

Chickoletta · 19/05/2018 00:07

No, I don't. But that's probably because I have far more pressing debts to worry about...

BackforGood · 19/05/2018 00:08

REally Purple ?
You think someone gradually paying down a debt that is going to result in them getting a huge asset, whilst at the same time saving themselves from making monthly rent payments, is equal to someone having tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt they can't afford to pay down, and are not actually going to end up with any solid asset. ??

Honeyroar · 19/05/2018 00:10

Yes it's a debt, but a sensible one. I'd never consider myself debt free until the mortgage is gone, despite not having any other debts.

starsandstuff · 19/05/2018 00:12

I think it's a debt, but one that will (hopefully) pay off in the long term as I'll have an asset. I don't see it as the same as a debt where you're still paying for it long after the thing purchased has gone or lost value, like a car or holiday or those shoes

DontMakeMeShushYou · 19/05/2018 00:17

Absolutely, yes, of course it's a debt like any other. It was money you didn't have that someone (the bank) has lent you and it needs to be paid back. I can't see it makes any difference what you spent the borrowed money on.

crunchymint · 19/05/2018 00:18

Lose your job and stop paying your mortgage and see if it is a debt.

AnnieAnoniMouser · 19/05/2018 00:20

I know technically it’s a debt, but I don’t think of it as a debt, no.

I’d say I’m ‘debt free’. No car finance, no outstanding CC, HP balances etc

My house has a mortgage on it. The value of the house far exceeds the mortgage, so if I sold it tomorrow I could easily repay the mortgage. Therefore it does not feel like a debt at all.

blue25 · 19/05/2018 00:21

Anyone who can't see the difference between good and bad debt isn't very financially literate. If my brother had avoided mortgage debt, he wouldn't now have a 700k mortgage free house. This was definitely a good debt.

Getting into debt for holidays, cars, TVs you can't afford is bad debt.

Teacuphiccup · 19/05/2018 00:24

The difference between good and bad debt is hindsite.

My friends has negative equity in her house, that’s not good debt but she wasn’t to know that.

llangennith · 19/05/2018 00:27

Of course it’s a debt. It’s borrowed money that needs repaying.

UserV · 19/05/2018 00:29

Yes it is a debt.

DontMakeMeShushYou · 19/05/2018 00:31

It was only a 'good debt' because the value of property has increased. If he had had the same mortgage and house prices had dropped say 50% or 75%, it would have been a bad debt.

Brokenbiscuit · 19/05/2018 00:37

It's definitely a debt! Not sure how anyone could think otherwise!

Lokisglowstickofdestiny · 19/05/2018 00:39

You cannot be debt free if you have a mortgage. You may think of it as a good debt but it's a secured debt against your property. Ask those on the late 80's and 90's who got into negative equity, couldn't pay their mortgage and ended up being repossessed and still owing their lenders the shortfall if they thought it wasn't a debt.

gluteustothemaximus · 19/05/2018 00:42

I have read the word debt too many times on this thread, and now it’s lost all meaning.

PyongyangKipperbang · 19/05/2018 00:47

No.

While it is technically a debt in that I owe someone some money, the amount I own in my home is worth far more than I owe the bank.

LoveManyTrustfew · 19/05/2018 00:52

Technically a debt, but as my DM says posh rent.

Topseyt · 19/05/2018 00:57

Of course it is a debt. What else is it?

Many of us overpay so that we can be rid of it sooner. We look forward to the day when we can be mortgage-free.

caroldecker · 19/05/2018 01:10

Pyongyang It is still a debt - if you stopped paying you would lose your house. The remaining equity may buy you a smaller house, but still a debt.

In 2016, 53% of towns and cities average house prices were below 2007 levels, meaning lots of people still in negative equity. www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-3553988/Homeowners-trapped-negative-equity-house-prices-stuck-2007-levels.html

Housefiresarentfun · 19/05/2018 01:46

It's a debt that has allowed me to live in the same home for 17 years providing stability for my dc.

When it's paid off I will own my home giving me an asset for the future.

sycamore54321 · 19/05/2018 02:18

Yes it's a debt. But it's a different type of debt. Most debt (credit card, car loan) you could reasonably do without the item in question and simply save up to buy the item at a later point. A place to live is different. Shelter doesn't come for free, and it's not a realistic option to wait until you have saved enough to buy a house, because in the meantime you can't put off the expense of funding somewhere to live. So for most people, if they were not paying a mortgage, they would be paying at least part of that in rent instead.

I hate being in debt, I've never had a car loan or overdraft. But I have a mortgage. I know its debt but it's a different class of debt

LePamplemoussse · 19/05/2018 03:46

A mortgage is a good debt. Not many loans will let you have a holiday from payments for instance! Whereas mortgage lenders will.

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