Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6

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:

Ated · 03/01/2020 18:11

Go for it if it's affordable and if there are children look to putting everything into a trust or similar.

reginafelangee · 03/01/2020 18:13

It's no one else's business. Don't discuss your finances with other people then no eyebrows will be raised.

FelicisNox · 03/01/2020 18:19

It depends what you want the property for and how big the mortgage will be. If it is a small mortgage and this is all part of a retirement plan, great, otherwise you would be mad.

Will you do it up and sell it on for more money?

Will you rent it out as an ongoing income?

Will you do it up, move in and sell/rent the other property?

All rhetorical of course. It's your life, do what makes you happy.

NoKnickerElastic · 03/01/2020 18:21

I see paying a larger mortgage as a savings plan for the future and an opportunity to live in my dream home while my DC are relatively young (early teens) and we need the space. If we didn't have a large mortgage we'd almost certainly be frittering their inheritance away so I'd rather it went into a house increasing in value.

Streamside · 03/01/2020 18:26

Irrelevant really as long as you can afford it.I know people who struggled to pay off mortgage, dh died unexpectedly and it would have been paid off anyway. If you buy a 30-40 yr old house and pay it off it's going to need work done to it after you've paid the mortgage anyway.

amusedbush · 03/01/2020 18:45

We were in the bittersweet position in 2019 of inheriting half of DH’s granny’s house and we bought his uncle out so it’s ours outright. We are both 29, didn’t think we’d get on the property ladder for YEARS and now that we have this security, nothing could convince me to take on a mortgage.

I can think of a hundred other things I’d rather spend our cash on!

ktp100 · 03/01/2020 18:52

We were mortgage free but needed a bigger house once had our son. We don't have a large mortgage and don't regret it at all (also moved out of a city to a village and love it there) but it was nice to not have one for a few years.

Blah1881 · 03/01/2020 19:31

You are only 50- a lot of people nowadays won’t be getting a mortgage until they are late 30s/early 40s. At 50 you are hardly elderly and will be of working age for another 15 years at least. I wouldn’t be in a massive rush to live mortgage free - enjoy your new property.

NoobThebrave · 03/01/2020 19:34

Maybe find a financial advisor. We have been trying to pay our mortgage off, load our pensions etc etc. He had some interesting takes on traditional beliefs and paying off a mortgage was very low on his priorities as long as you have a plan!!

Jack80 · 03/01/2020 21:05

It's up to you, I don't have a mortgage I rent but if I could afford to buy a house outright I wouldn't take another mortgage on but that's my opinion

caringcarer · 03/01/2020 21:06

When I divorced first husband we only had two years left on mortgage friends and family kept gently hinting I should stay married even if not happy. I later remarried and now after many years of overpayment we only have three and a half years left. Do what makes you happy. You only get one life.

Mum2Girls19 · 03/01/2020 21:21

Do what makes you happy..
Our family decided to move and buy a house we fell in love with when my husband was 57 and I was 28.
We pay a mortgage each month and will continue to do so for the next 7 years...we had it over 10 years..
Our kids are happy and we are stable...
He would like to retire now but is aware that we need to have both incomes untill the mortgage is paid but that is a decision we made together...
Live your life for you...noone else
If you want to buy a house and have a mortgage go for it..

People look at me and go you'll be mortgage free by the time your 37 and Im like yes but we have sacrificed to get it that way.

Go for it :) Regret is a bitter taste.

Devora13 · 03/01/2020 21:29

We had been mortgage free for 16 years. Then the chance came up to buy a house very close by which would be perfect for our disabled son. Fingers crossed it's all going well. I wasn't keen on taking out another mortgage but as long as you have the income and enough left over to have a few treats, almost five years on it's all good.

MrsT1405 · 03/01/2020 21:51

What's the problem with a mortgage if you can afford it? We're retired , years ago, had another one a year ago to move. No problem, we can afford it ON OUR PENSIONS . Income is nail on, we still have our holidays, although we've cut down this year a bit. But what is the point in having hundreds of thousand locked in a house? For your kids? Let them get their own. We've moved and are doing our end apartment up for the rest of our life. Eventually we'll sell our old house and pay of our mortgage, but it's not really a life goal.

sansou · 03/01/2020 22:57

Well, OP - you paid off the mortgage on your house which you now rent out. Why did you bother to do that?

Housemum · 04/01/2020 14:39

We planned to be mortgage free in a couple of years in our previous house (similar age) but we chose to buy our perfect house with a mortgage which will take us to 60. We can afford it, and the fact that we have a house we love is more important than being mortgage free. Enjoy your home - it’s your business what you prioritise.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6