AIBU to be slightly freaked out at the thought of committing to a house for five years

[Bells3032]

We are buying a house hurrah. Very excited. it's a lovely house, plenty of space for us and a growing family (we are looking to start trying to conceive later this year Coronavirus pending) and very close to excellent schools/nurseries etc.

Then we got the mortgage offer through and it is excellent value and we decided best to lock in for five years as rates are really low. Just seeing that five years on paper and the charges if we leave before 5 years have me a little freaked out. Committing to something for that long - I can't even recognise my life from five years ago and no idea what the next five years would bring.

As of three years ago I hadn't even met my now husband and could not even conceive that three years from that date i would be married, buying a house and looking toward having kids.

I'm not backing out of the house or anything because of it - just feeling a little overwhelmed.

Maybe house buying isn’t for you. Most people I know but houses for the long term.

rejoice in your good fortune, there are plenty of people who can't afford a house.

I rent and even just signing for a year does the same thing to me!
Congratulations!!! It’s not weird at all to be overwhelmed, it’s a big moment in your life and this marks an amazing new chapter. Enjoy and remember you deserve it. You sound like a lovely couple at a very exciting moment in your lives.

Once you have a house and children the time flies by. Why not fix in for two years instead though?

Yes you are BU. People buy houses for the long haul. Five years is nothing! If you are one of those people who can’t settle and moves every couple of years you are going to face a lot more charges than just your mortgage penalty. Stamp duty will cripple you.
If you don’t want to be locked in for five years get a tracker mortgage

Interesting responses...

I'm with you, OP, I find it terrifying. I've lived in my current house 5 years and it's the longest I've lived anywhere since I was a kid. I have itchy feet now and want to move, signing a 5 year deal freaks me out too even though odds are I'll stay that long! It is a big commitment and doesn't cater for unexpected life changes.

But if they happen, hey ho, we will pay the exit fees and move on.

I get what you mean op but those 5 years will flash by in the blink of an eye, especially if you’re about to have kids.

Everyone has a wobble commuting to their first house it’s a natural part of the process.

The time is going to go by anyway and you need to have somewhere to live - it might as well be a house that is your own (hopefully that will appreciate in value) than a rental.

Congratulations and enjoy picking out house stuff

I know what you mean, I feel the same every time I upgrade my phone and get a new 2 year contract but I soon forget about it and just get on with things

But the time flies by, particularly if you busy yourself with TTC and having a baby and 5 years will be up before you know it.

We got out of a fixed deal before, it cost loads but worked out cheaper in the long run as we got a better rate once the house value and rates changed. It's also possible to port the mortgage so if you want to move house you can and not pay to get out of the mortgage but that depends on your mortgage terms. We have done that before and saved us about 3k.

We’ve just fixed for 7 years at under 1.59% and not even batted an eyelid about it.

(But we’re married, on our second house and have a DC)

Buying a house and moving is expensive. If you think you're going to stay less than 5 years then the mortgage exit charge is the least of your worries really!

Just get a 2 or three 3 year deal if you think 5 years is to much.

Of course locking down for a period of time longer than your relationship and knowing that hopefully you life with be totally unrecognisable from now on that time can feel overwhelming, there's nothing wrong with that. I think you've had a few harsh replies for feeling overwhelmed to imagine what is comparatively so far ahead.

I assume the house is family friendly, no a little 1 bed box? It'll be fine. The last 3 years have brought amazing changes and the next 5 will hopefully be even more amazing. Congratulations

It's very unlikely we would move in less than 5 years (one of the reasons we picked the house was it's proximity to an excellent school and realistically we wouldn't move til our currently non existent child got in so even if i got pregnant straight away it would be 5 years min) and I usually have no issues with committing to things, just seeing those numbers on paper but i guess in the grand scheme of life it's not a huge amount for us and just having a bit of a panic. it's a huge commitment for any length of time

@Bells3032 the fixed year deal didn't bother me as much as the numbers telling me how much interest I will pay 😭

It’s a small percentage of the life of your mortgage. If you move before 5 years you can take the mortgage with you.

@holdmyfrylight omg yes. i read that number to my husband and he was like

Yanbu-I felt exactly the same! It is a huge commitment. The feeling fades quickly I found.

@Bells3032 there's an online calculator which you can use to work out how much interest you will save by overpaying the mortgage. Its interesting but unfortunately I have no spare money to overpay just yet boooo!

Congratulations! You're not being unreasonable at all - I find often the most exciting life events can also be the most nerve wracking! A five year commitment does sound a bit scary but I've been in my house 4 years already and honestly it's flown. It sounds like you've done your research on the property / area so I'd say just try and enjoy it!

You can still move during the 5 years, you just port the mortgage.

The 5 year commitment is to the mortgage provider, not the house. You can move and take your mortgage with you.
We moved into our current house 5 years ago and weirdly two of the other houses we made offers on and didn't get have come up on the market again this month. I can't imagine moving that quickly, we've still got boxes we haven't unpacked. 😂

Didn't find it terrifying, but we bought our first house on a 4 year fixed term.

Ended up moving 3 years in. Had to pay a penalty on the mortgage, but wasn't a deal breaker.

How long are you thinking of committing to your future DC? Longer than five years, I hope.

I had exactly the same thoughts when I had dc!! I’m still a bit overwhelmed by it all at times. Doesn’t stop me though.

Do it, fix the mortgage now. The rates are amazing.