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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not have paying the mortgage off as a priority

141 replies

BarchesterTowers · 02/01/2020 08:51

We've bought a house which requires a mortgage which we can afford. Were in our early 50s and dont have a mortgage now, it was paid off by dh redundancy payment a couple of years ago.
There are raised eyebrows from people who think we should just sit tight with no mortgage.

OP posts:
Flyinggeese · 02/01/2020 10:49

Who are these people and why discuss your finances with them? It's absolutely nobody else's business!

Flyinggeese · 02/01/2020 10:52

I feel old fashioned now but was brought up never to discuss finances, except with a partner you're sharing them with.

Jaichangecentfoisdenom · 02/01/2020 10:55

Past 55 and you can't get a mortgage, unless you sell your soul to the devil, anyway - we're in our sixties and mortgage free but need to get a lot of work done on the property and stupidly hadn't factored this into our savings/pension plan, so would ideally want to get a short-term mortgage/loan. We're finding it's not possible without paying stupid amounts of interest for it.
But I digress - ideally, I'd want to stay mortgage free when I was in my fifties because I'd be afraid something might happen to my regular income which would mean I couldn't repay it. Brexit, for instance, must have affected a fair few people in that way.

LEELULUMPKIN · 02/01/2020 10:57

We considered this a few years back and firmly decided against it. We have never regretted it for a second. The extra money now funds our travels.

Yes a flashier house would be nice but what we have is ours all paid for and at this point in our lives, material things matter so little.

Time to enjoy life now and see the world.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 02/01/2020 10:59

I have no opinion on your mortgage status either way, but 'if one of us die, the other will have to sell up' is absolutely crackers! You're comfortable that you or your partner would be made homeless if the other dies?

If you can't afford life insurance, then you shouldn't be mortgaging.
If you can't get life insurance due to age, health or whatever, you shouldn't be mortgaging.

Original poster
BarchesterTowers · 02/01/2020 11:05

We can get life insurance. He has kids from a previous relationship who we both want to make sure can get their inheritance should anything happen.

OP posts:
BrokenWing · 02/01/2020 11:08

We are mortgage free, also significantly helped by my redundancy pay out after 24 years service. We considered moving, but decided not as financially it was risky. If I faced redundancy again I would not have the security of a large pay out (dh is self employed), and rightly or wrongly I feel concerned I would be less able to pick up a new job quickly in my 50s.

But everyone's circumstances, aversion to risk and priorities are different and as adults we are free to choose.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 02/01/2020 11:12

He has kids from a previous relationship who we both want to make sure can get their inheritance should anything happen

In which case you need a) life insurance and b) an appointment with a solicitor to sort out a will. You are putting yourself at a massive disadvantage here. It's very simple to get a lifetime interest set up on the house (terminology may not be correct, I'm in Scotland) which allows you to stay in the house until your own death, at which point ownership reverts to the children. You can put provisions in about care, ie for example if you need to go into care and the house is sold, what % is for that and what goes to the kids.

Please don't wander into this blindly and put yourself at risk of homelessness....

sansou · 02/01/2020 11:12

Horses for courses. I’m 48 and DH is 50. We’ve technically paid off our mortgage a few years ago in order to divert our income to fund secondary school fees. We could have serviced a hefty mortgage instead but it’s a choice that we’ve made. Obviously, we’re content enough with our home and have made our financial priorities which will be different for everyone.

One of my friends took on a £400k+ mortgage in her early 40’s, upsizing from your standard modern estate detached house to a rather envy inducing “wow” barn conversion in the country. Ironically, she asked how we could afford school fees because they couldn’t.

I am a saver and I manage/control the family finances. It’s not a common/prevailing stance in RL and i keep quiet about it (apart from MN threads). Apart from 2 other close friends in their 50’s, I don’t know anyone else who have paid off their mortgage. Definitely in the minority in RL.

CoolcoolcoolcoolcoolNoDoubt · 02/01/2020 11:19

Maybe you should stop telling people that you've had to take out a mortgage on your new house then..? Why do they need to know the ins and outs anyway?

Original poster
BarchesterTowers · 02/01/2020 11:20

@LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett

The current arrangement in the will is that I buy the kids out of their share of the house. I can afford to do that in the house we are in now and it's also DH's in sole ownership.

This house will be in joint names and so we are going to life insurance to cover the mortgage and also rewrite the wills. I don't want to do it as a life interest in the house. I really don't want his kids having to wait till I die till they get what is due to them. And I wouldn't mind having to sell in those circumstances.

OP posts:
userxx · 02/01/2020 11:23

Well it depends on the amount, the term and your ability to pay...

exactly this.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 02/01/2020 11:25

I'm aware if I keep responding to your points that I'm as bad as the people nipping your head in rL OP Smile clearly you've thought this through. It's not a choice I would make - people can be very funny where inheritances are concerned and I don't mean funny haha - but all the best to you.

TheTrollFairy · 02/01/2020 11:26

For me it would depend on the amount and how long it would take you to pay off.
My goal is to pay off my mortgage so it’s one less bill we have to pay.
If your house now isn’t what you want and the mortgage is manageable if one of you has to give up work then go for it.

PickAChew · 02/01/2020 11:28

We've done the same. Better house to grow old in in a better area to be old in. Also better for our teen boys. Complete no brainer.

We make the odd overpayment, when funds allow.

Original poster
BarchesterTowers · 02/01/2020 11:33

Cheers @LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett it's helpful to have someone pointing this stuff out - the practicalities. I have a good relationship with his kids but I don't think it would survive them effectively waiting for me to die!!

If all goes according to plan - and we've had about 3 years where nothing has so I'm not being complacent about this - then it's a house we can grow old together in. With a garden and room for a dog in a lovely area.

We are both well provided for pension wise.

OP posts:
Elieza · 02/01/2020 11:34

How much would the mortgage be. Do you have savings. What term would the mortgage be over.
Can you add value to the new house by installing a bathroom or whatever.
What do you and your partners earn per month he is it going to be a strain.
You do realise insurance policies that pay off mortgages if you can’t work due to illness could be very expensive and may not pay out if there are existing health issues.

Lots of questions which could be helpful for people to know the answers to in order to give you there thoughts.

ChicCroissant · 02/01/2020 11:40

If it is a hefty mortgage then I think that's slightly too much of a risk. The interest rates are likely to be higher for your age group (we had a mortgage in our mid to late forties for a couple of years and had a limited choice and shorter timescale).

How old are his children, will they be needing any financial support for Uni, for instance? I would be wary about taking on a large financial responsibility like a mortgage when your earning power is limited tbh.

ILoveAllRainbowsx · 02/01/2020 11:47

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Lily193 · 02/01/2020 11:48

That sounds old to still have a mortgage, never mind taking on a new mortgage or any other sizeable financial commitment. I definitely wouldn't, but I always planned financially to retire before I reached fifty.

Drabarni · 02/01/2020 11:53

I'm in my early 50's and no way would I take on another mortgage now.
We have no idea what will happen post brexit, if it happens, anyway.
Interest rates could shoot up, house prices slump.
I think you'd have to be mad, plus I wouldn't want to have to work until 70. Grin

Ellisandra · 02/01/2020 11:54

By your early 50s, you really should be beyond giving a hoot what anyone else thinks of your decisions.

The fact that you’re posting, and talking about “unspoken” opinions (so - your imagination, potentially) makes me think it’s you who isn’t totally comfortable. Not in a bad way, and not something you can’t work through.

But why does anyone else know your business? And why do you care what you think?

None of my friends (in similar age) would know if I was mortgage free or not, or where the money was coming from for a move. We’re at an age where sudden injections of cash via inheritance are not unusual.

I’ve been mortgage free for 10 years - none of my friends know that, why would they?

Egghead68 · 02/01/2020 11:54

I took on a mortgage at 49 from being mortgage-free. I'm glad I did but I am also glad I have prioritised paying it off as soon as possible. I don't want to end up homeless if I become too ill to work.

TryingToBeBold · 02/01/2020 12:02

Mortgage free would be lovely!

But a dream house is even better.
As long as you have the financial capability to pay should one of you pass or become seriously Ill (pension, life insurance, critical illness) then I say go for it!

How many of those people advising you to stay wish they could move...

Original poster
BarchesterTowers · 02/01/2020 12:03

Financially we are sound. It's our choice to use our money this way rather than say to buy a second home to rent out or a holiday home to rent out. Both of which we have discussed.

Either of us could afford the mortgage on our own. It would take a bit longer and would mean a more restrictive lifestyle but we could.

We should be clear of it in 7 years. I have a house I own outright that I rent out that I could sell to pay off a substantial chunk but I prefer the income from it at the moment .

It's more that that prevailing feeling among friends is that they are trying their hardest to get rid of their mortgages. Whereas I am more seeing it as an affordable debt to get a house in an area I like.

I suppose the question is

OP posts: