Does this financially ring true?

[ManyBooksLittleTime]

We bought our house nearly 20 years ago for 245k. Now, 19 years later, we still have 203k left on the mortgage. I know the first years is basically paying interest , but only 42k in 19 years??? We have had good interest rates too.Also, my husband reckons it will go down to 181k by August next year. Please can soneone more astute with finance let me know if these numbers can be right?

He’s easily borrowed a 100k on it that’s unaccounted for. It could be way more if he did it online without your wet signature.

hes basically stolen from you. Gambling addiction would be my best guess.

Well done, OP.

It's a shock but now you can be clear and take control.

Much easier once you are fully in the picture.

You really need to see the statements!

There's probably an online portal too. I was delighted to discover that I could log into mine, when my Dad suggested that we should shop around for interest rates a few years ago, and I was able to cut our monthly payments SIGNIFICANTLY by literally just picking a different package from the same supplier for a small interest only mortgage we have.

I had always vaguely thought that you needed a mortgage broker to do it - didn't realise that you could manage it yourself.

Definitely access statements. Something seems off and I don't think you'll find it easy getting a straight answer from him.

Money Saving Expert has a calculator which shows how much you’d have paid off at each stage. Based on your original borrowing you should owe £86k now. So somewhere there has been around £120k of additional borrowing. Potentially more because you’re currently overpaying by about £1k a month.

You really need to ask your DH what’s happened here because you’ve borrowed a lot more than you thought.

OP, it sounds like you dh has taken advantage of your lack of understanding of your mortgage. As other posters have remarked, your dh needs to come clean about how much you have borrowed. Check your statements and if you are unsure make an appointment with your lender and they can explain the full history of your mortgage.

Goodness me.

OP asked about mortgages and now her DH either has a gambling addiction, is a fraudster or a lucky-not-to-be jailed thief!!

People can just generally be a bit shit with money, you know.

And back in the low interest, easy mortgage days, adding debt to the remortgage was so simple.

OP hasn't taken an interest,

Her DH could be a criminally, or actually could just be a bit useless. It does happen!

yeah you definitely need a very frank discussion. I’d be seriously concerned but as hard as it is, I’d try and keep the conversation neutral (at least at first) until you know what on Earth has gone on

At least in 8 years it sounds as though the bulk of it will be paid off.

???? How?

I think you need to brace yourself for a shock, OP, when you get to the bottom of this.

It's not necessarily the case that your DH hasn't been fully truthful with you. But it does sound like it.

Sorry.

It doesn’t make sense as if you bought your house for £245k then surely you would have had a deposit of at least 5% so borrowing around £230k?

you need to be very careful he hasn’t raised other monies by forging your signature

Gosh what a shock op. You need to have a frank discussion with him obviously but I don't know what the best outcome here is. He's either been really stupid (sorry) or he's hidden something bad

I remember sitting in the bank in tears after years of financial abuse, after discovering my ex had added £15k to our mortgage. He would tell me any old nonsense and I'd agree to keep the peace. (And because I was 'rubbish with money', according to him)

Don't beat yourself up, OP, but don't stay in ignorance. Get the statements and get some financial advice. How are your finances organised generally?

Which lender are you with as most will allow you to register online and view the account, it won’t show distant past transactions but might help you understand what they current picture is

Can’t you just ask your husband directly how much extra was borrowed on the mortgage? Is he not telling you?

How have you not noticed you have over 100k more than your incomes??

That sounds pretty bad TBH but it's quite likely you've borrowed way more than you remember. I'm amazed that you're not more on top of the numbers, especially as your name is on the mortgage too.

We've never borrowed more but took out a similar £245k mortgage in 2012, have 15 years left and have now have £160k owing. By the time we've 8 years left, I'd expect to have about £110k left so £203k sounds horrendous.

Does £203k stack up? Not for me it wouldn't but I'd really need to know how much additional borrowing has taken place.

We’ve paid of £35k in 5 years, borrowed 10k extra and will have it paid off in 18 years if not sooner. I can’t understand yours unless you’ve borrowed a lot more. On 192k we’re paying £1088 a month.

Borrowing over 100k in someone’s name when they seemingly don’t know or don’t have a good enough understanding of the situation is much more than being “a bit shit with money” though.

That must be one humongous house!
I bought 25 years ago, a 3 bed semi in one of the most expensive towns in the UK. Cost £77k.

Goodness knows what you managed to buy 20 years ago for £245k+

I bet he is!

No it doesn't ring true. You have now borrowed WAY MORE than the original amount of the mortgage and it will not be fully paid off in 8 years at the rate of £1.9k per month.

Have a look at your credit score. It’s easy to set up online (assuming you can answer their initial financial security questions correctly, although I believe there is some flexibility) That should be indicative as to where you are with the mortgage: missed payments, what’s owed and the remaining term I think.

This to me is screaming 🚩 I’m afraid. You’ve said yourself your DH has gone quiet & you hadn’t initially seen paperwork.

Uh oh

OP your current statement should show how much the amount is?

Your "D"H has significantly increased the borrowing without telling you, only focusing on monthly repayments rather than overall borrowed amount.