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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To wonder if having a mortgage is worth it?

240 replies

malificent7 · 09/05/2019 19:19

If for example you have to scrimp and save for a deposit first...then earn enough for the monthly deposit.
It may mean giving up pleasures and treats in life such as nice food or a social life.
Also it means that many will stay in jobs they hate for fear of loosing a house.

I am aiming for a mortgage but has anyone decided not to get one in order to have a better quality of life. ( mad though that sponds.) I know that dp will gave virtually nowt left for treats if we got one which is going to be hard for 25 years.

OP posts:

ForalltheSaints · 09/05/2019 21:17

OP, yes worth there sacrifices. As someone who now has no mortgage or rent.

DerelictWreck · 09/05/2019 21:25

How is that different from renting though? When you rent you need a deposit, and to pay monthly, and the keep your jobs so you're not homeless!

Either way you're paying a mortgage. Choice is whether it's yours or someone else's!

PinkiOcelot · 09/05/2019 21:40

Those saying you could pay for a better care home on selling your house than one council paid. Not necessarily, my mam is in a care home, currently funded by her savings. House will be going up for sale. She is there with council funded people as well. Only difference, she is paying a hell of a lot more than they are.
It doesn’t smell of pee or cabbage!!

Gth1234 · 09/05/2019 21:43

its only worth it if house prices go up. If they don't you are getting a worse deal than renting.

Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 09/05/2019 21:49

She is there with council funded people as well.

This is totally true. My friend's husband runs a chain of (good) care homes. The residents are mixed self-funding and council funded. The care is exactly the same, but the self-funding residents are essentially subsidising the council funded ones, due to the stingy fees paid by the councils.

The truth is, unless you have really loads of money, you might be better spending what you have. Same applies to pensions.

sola82 · 09/05/2019 21:54

I must be the only person whose mortgage is more than what I used to pay in rent (£780 compared to £615 in different but similar value house).
It is worth it though, I know eventually I wil own the house and won't need to worry about housing costs when I retire.

Pinkprincess1978 · 09/05/2019 22:01

Your mortgage rates usually stay about the same though whereas wages generally increase. When we bought our first home 15 years ago we went to the maximum we could afford at that time. Within a few years we were comfortable again though.

Also, once your mortgage is paid for off you no longer have that bill whereas with renting you will forever have to pay it which may mean you being unable to retire or retire fully.

Bluntness100 · 09/05/2019 22:02

It is very unusual for rent to be lower than mortgage.

The simple reason is rent also covers all the maintenance and repairs to the property as well as a profit for the landlord.

So rent is generally mortgage. (Or equivalent fee) , plus all potential repairs and maintenance plus profit for land lady/lord and that equates to market based pricing because that's the standard all landladies/lords work to.

So as such your mortgage is before all repairs and maintenance and there is no profit element so is generally very much lower than rent which is built up to include these things.

Neverender · 09/05/2019 22:04

Yep! You pay a massive amount of interest to 'own' a home which will be sold if you get old enough. And...you're responsible if the boiler packs up.

If everyone inherited a house then I might agree with it but it's all total bollocks these days. When someone says they've "bought" their 1st home I say congrats on a huge loan for nothing.

Grasspigeons · 09/05/2019 22:04

I bought my house 10 years ago and i couldnt afford to rent it now. When i first bought the rent /mortgage was the same but rents went up and the mortgage went down a little.

Neverender · 09/05/2019 22:05

Plus I can rent a massive house which I could never buy.

whitehalleve · 09/05/2019 22:06

I think the end result of not paying rent as a pensioner is worth it.

JoleneJoleneJoleneJoleeeeeene · 09/05/2019 22:07

In my opinion it is worth it.
Our first ever home as a couple was a rented two bed semi. At the time we paid £475pcm
Two bed houses on that street are now up for rent at £625pcm

That's the mortgage we pay on our four bed semi. We didn't have a huge deposit and live in a reasonable affordable area (East Midlands)

If we rented a four bedroom house here the cost is between £850 and £1200 pcm

Neverender · 09/05/2019 22:08

I've rented a flat and a house and spent 10.5ys in them together. No solicitors fees, no stamp duty. Delicious.

emotionalaffair · 09/05/2019 22:10

Paying rent is paying a mortgage. It's just that it's someone else's. Of course it's worth having your own mortgage.

User8888888 · 10/05/2019 06:10

It is worth it even if it feels tough sometimes. Having security and building equity give you more options. I’ve also now seen a number of elderly relatives in care homes. The ones that were self funding were in far nicer places ( that had a day rate over council funding). If I’m going to live out my final days in a home, I want the money to go somewhere non-grim.

KanielOutis · 10/05/2019 06:49

It's worth it for me, who bought a small flat age 21, has no plans to move and will have it paid off by £40. It's south east, so at £650/mth I will save over £210,000 in not paying housing costs from mortgage free day to retirement. And that's not taking into account rent rises and rent in retirement.

MediocrePenguin · 10/05/2019 06:54

@Neverender a very unintelligent comment. You are mostly money back into your own pocket, you do realise that right?!

By renting you are simply paying someone else's mortgage for them and will end up hundreds or thousands of pounds worse off.

stucknoue · 10/05/2019 06:55

The benefit is that one day you are mortgage free

Bluntness100 · 10/05/2019 07:07

I think people need to put care homes into perspective, it's about 3.5 percent of the over 65 population, it's really not the case it's the over whelming majority of folks.

Neverender, you just sound a bit bitter about your situation.

pinacoladalover · 10/05/2019 07:12

Brought 4 years ago. My mortgage is much lower than what I would pay in rent and my equity at the moment in house is about 60k I brought it with 156 now my mortgage is 130 and house was valued for 190. I never looked back and there is no greater feeling in the world than coming home and know is yours. Mind you we have fruit trees in our lovely garden and we work our butts off to keep it nice but is so worth it.

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 10/05/2019 07:28

Rent still has to be paid so no different finance wise bar the deposit.

I'd never want to rent. I know this place is mine, I can do to to what I like. We have a stable base and don't have to move round constantly at a landlords whim etc.

I grew up on rented and nowhere ever felt like home. The moving didn't help. It's not something I would want for my children.

BendydickCuminsnatch · 10/05/2019 07:29

We spend less on mortgage than we did in rent, so yes.

caffeinebuzz · 10/05/2019 07:33

Better than paying somebody else's mortgage for the rest of your life. While they benefit from the equity gained and appreciating value.

Plus I live in the SE, so my mortgage is actually cheaper than rent.

mrsed1987 · 10/05/2019 07:37

Our mortgage is less than renting

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