To get a new mortgage at slightly older ages?

[Cranberry2020]

We paid off our mortgage in our late 30s/early 40s. We have lived mortgage free for about 6 years. It’s been lucky as one of us were made redundant during Covid. However we’re both in jobs now. We would like to extend as we need a bit more space for us as we now work from home and our growing child. We have a detached bungalow and the extension of choice is around £75k. It will give us a lot more space. We are now 45 and 50 years old, are we mad to consider taking this on? We’d plan to have it paid by 65 for the oldest one. Our mortgage would be around £575 per month so much less than we paid whilst overpaying to pay it off.

Hubs and I are 46 &49 and just taken a second mortgage on to move into a different house - its nearly £2k a month total and will be paid off in 20 years (but sooner we hope) however we can afford it - its about that really, what you can afford.

Thanks yes we can easily afford, both higher rate tax payers etc. Just for some reason our ages felt a barrier 🤷‍♀️

We are in a very similar situation to you but older and our extension would be £150k. We are in the early states and not sure if it would give us the extra we want/need. If it was £75 and it gives you everything you need I'd do it.

Well I took on a £450k mortgage at age 50, so I don’t really see the problem, but I guess I might be in the minority.

If you can easily afford it, it's a no-brainer surely. That’s a tiny mortgage if you are higher rate payers. You aren’t old. My perspective probably shaped by being around your age and almost 10 x the mortgage!

I took out a new mortgage at 48 when I split from ex. I'm now 60 and will pay it off in about two years.

With two of you working, I'd say that's quite a prudent & not unreasonable thing to do.

Thank you all. It’s reassuring to know we’re not the only ones taking out more /new mortgage at our ages. It is really a no brainer yet I felt unsure if it were sensible!

Took on £150K mortgage when 52 although our repayments were double yours. Got £18K left to pay will probably pay off later this year

Just be sure the extension will give you what you need, mark it out with string etc. Would moving be within your reach if extension does not give you what you want

I've recently separated, taking on a 18 year mortgage of £120k at age 50. Not where I'd want to be, and the plan is to overpay anything I can - so if I've money left at the end of the month half will go in savings and half to the mortgage. And I'm hoping I can get it down a few years by doing that.

Yes we might move either before or after extension in due course but currently dd settled in school so not sure we want to uproot significantly yet. In the area we’re in we’re happy where we are. If we moved, we’d want it to be in a new area…

Do you really need the extra space and are intending to stay in the bungalow long term - children grow up and leave and it may be just the two of you and not need a big house in later years? Are you borrowing the whole amount for the extension? What percentage of the house value is the sum you are going to borrow? The lower the better. 60% or below is good. Do you have any money put by for contingencies? (Rhetorical questions.)

It is easy to get a mortgage at any age, even if you are retired, subject to financial position. Consider getting one that is flexible so that you can pay it off early if all goes swimmingly or you can extend the term if things go haywire and you need to bring down the monthly repayments. Many lenders have raised the upper age limit for paying off the mortgage to 80 or 85 or in some cases, have no upper age limit, so there is greater flexibility to cope with changes in financial circumstances.

You're trading 15 years of your life for some extra floor space!

Don't do it.

You can't ever get that time back.

Start applying, if you can be accepted for one that suits you, job done. Good luck.

are we mad to consider taking this on?

Not mad but not sensible.

You want to go into a huge amount of debt for "a bit more space."

Nope.

My mum took out a small mortgage (£30k) when she was 65 in order to do home improvements. It gave her the chance to enjoy her house for longer, and she paid it off easily. It’s really not about age, but whether the extension would be used and worth it. I would consider a shorter term and higher repayments though; surely as higher rate tax payers you could pay back at £1kpcm and clear it in half the time, but still have plenty of disposable income leftover?

We took on a new 300k mortgage at 50 after being mortgage free. We wanted a garden after living in a terrace and bought a house that needed renovation.

we will have paid it off before retirement . If you can afford it, do it.

We're 47 and 50. Just about to extend and to do so we need to increase our mortgage to 262k. This will give us the room and reconfiguration we need to live in our home until we die.

Sometimes it's a more cost effective option than moving.

Sometimes it's a more cost effective option than moving

I'm not suggesting they move for a "bit more space."

Make the existing space work for you, OP. Save up and buy an outdoor office.

Redundancy can happen again, especially with the state of the economy.

@TheSparkofCreation it's not a huge amount of debt it's £75k!
They're both higher rate tax payers and the monthly payment is £575

I absolutely would. Bungalows are like gold dust in my area. You'll get more when you sell.

You could do interest-only and pay off when you move?

I’m nearly 60 and on one income am paying more than that for my mortgage - my aim is to pay off by 64/65
75k for an extension sounds like a bargain

Of course not, lots of people aren't even able to get a first mortgage until their forties!

You are not mad and I would probably do it in your situation, provided I was confident I would get my money back on a sale.

I would. That’s nothing to be paying, we’re late 30s and just taken out a 30 year mortgage it’s £2k a month. You are very lucky to be in your position