Are people who own their own homes or have a mortgage worried about bills?

[gotelltheoldmandowntheroad]

If you have a mortgage or own a house outright, does it usually come along with being okay financially?

Do you all have thousands in the bank? I assume you do because things come up like repairs and services that can be expensive.

So with the energy hikes and other cost of living issues, what happens? Do you know you will have enough to cover the bills? Or are you high earners along with owning?

If you couldn't pay your utility bills would that mean your house would be under threat?

I know nothing about it all as no one in my family has ever had a mortgage.

I've got a mortgage.

I'm really worried about the high bills.

Owning a house comes along with so many extra bills.

I'm worried about any extras repairs that may be needed in the coming months.

My car has just been in an accident so waiting on seeing on what the outcome is from that.

Although I have a mortgage and my housing situation is currently stable. It doesnt mean I dont worry about unexpected bills.

So which is it- no one in your family has ever had a mortgage, or your dad owns his house outright? Did he pay cash for it?

We’re both retired, paid off the mortgage a couple of years ago. We’re fortunate in that I had an inheritance last year and could get the house up together so it shouldn’t need anything done to it for some time.
I do worry about bills; I’m determined we (looking at DH) will live as economically as possible so hopefully can pay them. I’m glad I can help the DCs if necessary too.
I do worry about a number of people I know who are already struggling, I will help them too if I can. We’re all in this together ☹️

But to answer your question- some people have manageable mortgages, some are overstretched. Some have fixed rates, some jump every time the interest rate goes up. I have a savings account for small repairs (smashed window pane, broken toilet etc) but larger bills generally have to go on a credit card and get paid off.

I have a mortgage and don't have thousands in savings. In the worst case scenario, I'd have my house insurance company to pay for repairs.

the choice of whether to pay for gas or mortgage is the same as the choice of whether to pay for gas or rent. People will pick rent because a home but no gas will be more useful than gas but no home

We have a (small) mortgage. We did have savings which were going to go towards getting the roof redone, but another more urgent job has come up so the roof will have to wait. When that job's done we won't have thousands in savings by any means.

Because our mortgage is smallish, we do have the option of re-mortgaging if a massive house repair needed doing urgently, so that's one thing where we're in a better position than someone renting (or someone who's already got the maximum mortgage they can afford). Obviously that's not going help with paying regular bills though.

If it wasnt so serious it would be almost funny. My mum & dad taught me never to look at people and presume they have money. New cars, big houses etc. For a huge proportion of the country its just a glimpse from the outside. Inside they are beans on toast households, clinging on even when things were easy.

It took my family at least 20yrs of our mortgage to get completely on top of things and have genuine savings to fall back on. We are ok now but that only happened over the last 5 years.

Unless you have access to someones personal bank details, take anything they say with a pinch of salt.

Odd post.

Having a house on a mortgage is in many ways similar to renting in that if you don't pay you can lose your home (the bank can repossess it). I guess with a mortgage you don't risk a landlord deciding to sell or increase rents becuase it's not financially viable, but you are responsible for your house and repairs to it. If you own outright clearly you aren't at risk of losing your house or having to pay rent/ mortgage.

If I couldnt' pay both my energy bill and mortgage I would speak to my lender and ask if I could go on a mortgage holiday or interest only for a period. Lenders have obligations to work with people who are in financial difficulties before they take action to repossess (this is especially the case if there are children in the property).

We have a mortgage and good savings currently. We both work in well paid jobs. We are ok and are unlikely to have to choose between eating and heating, but I am still quite concerned. It will definitely have an impact on our disposable income and the lifestyle. That said I know I am lucky that that is all I have to worry about, and I have a huge amount of sympathy and concern for people who have to make much tougher choices than me. Renting or owning (with mortgage).

Dh & I are early 60's, mortgage paid off. Both retired and both receive occupational pensions total £1500pm. State pensions not for a few more years.

We have a cushion of savings now no mortgage, up to now could save a couple of hundred a month usually.

I think if we cut down on heating, no tumble drying etc we could break even each month in winter when bills are highest. But I can see that some months we'll have to eat into savings when unexpected bills pop up, as they do.

I do a spreadsheet to budget for a whole year ahead. Every penny accounted for.

When we bought our house 12 years ago we were in a very different place financially and honestly the price hikes that we're seeing now would have terrified me. we had a relatively low mortgage but childcare bills were double the mortgage and we needed the childcare to work. We wouldn't have been able to cut that bill at all and would have had to prioritise that and the mortgage which probably would have meant other bills going unpaid.

Thankfully our circumstances have changed, we still have the low mortgage (£440 a month), we no longer have the childcare bill except during summer holidays and my salary has quadrupled so while bills are going up, they are not going to go above what we can afford and I feel very lucky that we are in this situation. I have also been able to stash away 6 months salary into various savings accounts over the last few years so in the event of redundancy I would be fortunate enough to get a decent pay off and with my savings have about a years grace to find a new role.

OP
Same question to you - what would you prioritise? Rent or utility bill?

Surely as a renter you would lose your home if you didn’t pay the rent?

Mortgage or rent - your home either way. Wouldn’t everyone pay that first?

I've had a mortgage for a few years. Low earner. Nothing has needed repairing. If anything big did from say the roof falls off in a storm, I have building and house insurance. If something big did break like the boiler, I would use a few thousand savings from the pot for emergencies of all kinds. If little things break like specialist light bulbs they don't need replacing straightaway because you can do what you want. I find it liberating and much better than renting and reporting things to an unreliable landlord

I rent and I'm not worried about bills. I live in a council flat so it's cheap and I've got secure tenancy. It would be nice to own a house for the future but I'm a single parent and can't afford to buy. At least I know I'd never be homeless, if I lost my job benefits would cover the rent. My flat is small 2 bedrooms so I don't think the bills will go crazy high, we are both out all day me at work and DC at school. I'm paying £170 at the moment so will probably go up to £250 in October and maybe £300 in January. Awful but not as bad as the £600+ I'm seeing. I wouldn't want to be running a large house at the moment.

This is us. Every single word

No, that's why I was asking.

I have a mortgage. I didn't stretch my budget to get it, so I've been able to significantly overpay the last few years. It's going to go up when my current deal ends in a few months but I can absorb that cost. For me, it'll generally be a case of not overpaying as much when various bills go up. What I'm really worried about is the effect a recession would have on my job security. If I was made redundant, I'd be fucked (single parent) and I have no idea how quickly I'd get a job during a recession.

@gotelltheoldmandowntheroad

Worse case = being unable to pay essential bills once the mortgage has gone out the account. Or having rack up loads on credit cards to pay those bills, and then being unable to ever clear the debt.

Socially housed, and been in arrears, It would take ages to evict us, months, even years. But they don't do that unless you flat out refuse to pay.

Our rent is £325/month. I could cover that with my income alone if needed. Husband is on a full-time wage and pays all our bills. The gas/lecci currently is £150 and we already owe them debts. We just keep in contact and pay what we can.

I would prioritise rent as my home is secure for life and I want to keep it that way.

We have a mortgage and are low earners. DP earns 23k and I'm a student so live off my student finance.

Definitely worried about costs.

I live in a council flat so it's cheap and I've got secure tenancy. It would be nice to own a house for the future but I'm a single parent and can't afford to buy.

Honestly if your current home is nice, I wouldn't part with it! You have maximum security and no maintenance headaches.

I've never worried about employability to be honest. There are jobs everywhere it seems, even lowest paid jobs, adverts everywhere up here, NW.

Maybe your job is specialist? This has always been something of a security blanket for me; knowing I can always walk into a job within hours.

Of course we're worried. We private rented for years and have had a mortgage a few years now. Different pros and cons:

Private rent -
No DIY or electrical etc... costs but high rent - we paid 1300 euro a month for a house in a small regional town in Ireland. That rent is now 1700 euro. Obviously much higher than most mortgages. Also had the uncertainty of the landlord selling.

Mortgage -
Need to pay all costs at home e.g. we just bought a new washing machine - can be pricey. But... our mortgage is a lot less than rent, even with interest rate increases. Also, we are not at the whim of a landlord. In 20 years, the house will eventually be ours.

So, weighing everything up, I prefer a mortgage. Of course price rises are affecting us though. Forget about social housing. Even if you're poor and vulnerable you'll be waiting 10 years minimum.

Tell me about it. Husband aspired to own a home but it seems currently that would be entirely precarious. I love my home, it's wonderful. We have a large garden and nice neighbours.

True even if you can afford it you don't want to spend all.your savings etc on the gas bill.

Very worried, single, earn 28k and my flat took everything I had. If I lost my job my home will be repossessed-if I rented benefits would cover it. I am very lucky to own but it’s times like these I wish I had a partner to share the load.