To think having a house with a mortgage is not 'owning your own home'

[easternuts]

We had a mortgage for 30 years before paying it off recently on our modest home. Now we consider ourselves home owners.

Dd rents because she doesn't want to pay the bank more in interest than the cost of her rent is. Yes her rent can go up but so can your mortgage.

I've had friends of mine make snide comments that dd is going on another holiday when she doesn't own her own home. This is as opposed to their own children who have recently bought with 95% or 90% mortgages in a part of the country where a 3 bed house is less than £150k.

AIBU to think that you don't own your own home just because you have a £15k down payment. DD has far beyond what is needed for a deposit but it makes zero sense in central London at present.

must be all the easter eggs

Exactly. Seriously- are people really this stupid??? My house land registry has MY name on it not the bank's name. Yes, my mortgage shows as a charge on the property, meaning, I cannot sell it and just choose not pay the mortgage lender back the amount I borrowed (or actually the amount still owing as a lot has already been paid off), but the property is mine. As the value of my house goes up (it has actually tripled in value since 2006) the percentage of its value that I need to repay the bank has therefore gone down very significantly. Which means it has been an amazing investment. A return of hundreds of thousands of pounds that I could never have achieved via renting.

This is no judgment on people who choose to rent at all, but anyone saying renting is more worthwhile than buying is choosing to be deliberately obtuse and ignorant.

Almost everyone starts the journey to home ownership via a mortgage.

Ah but things can change very quickly. I bought in 2019 with a 5% deposit with a 40 year term, have just remortgaged with a 65% LTV (area has become very popular and we’ve renovated a lot) and 25 year term, which we will reduce again. If we were to rent our house it would cost 100s more per month…

If someone can take the thing away from you at any time then yeah, you don't own it. Until you've paid off the debt, the bank owns it. But people need to call themselves owners so they can sleep better at night and not scrutinise the system too much. This isn't me being smug, I needed a mortgage to buy property just like everyone else, but I'm under no illusion that I own anything (yet).

Of course, UK also has leasehold flats, which is a different form of not-owning. If you have a mortgage on a leasehold property you are twice the not-owner.

Nearly all landlords have interest only mortgages so no, when you rent a property you are not helping the landlord buy it.

Why people are so concerned about landlords finances I have no idea 🙄

If the bank "owned" your property then you would have to ask their permission to redecorate, re- do the garden, refit your kitchen or bathroom, have pets, etc etc

Equally, if the bank owned your property, at any point they could come round and inspect it to make sure you are looking after it properly, they could also potentially suddenly decide that they want to sell it (even if you arent behind on any payments) because it would benefit them in some way financially to have that asset- after all, its "their" property, right? They could suddenly decide to turn it into an office for their company for example. You'd also have to sign something acknowledging the above (akin to a tenancy agreement).

But they cant do any of those things because they dont fcking "own" it. Good grief.

What mortgage a landlord has is neither here nor there in terms of whether its being paid for. They are still owners of the property (for those in doubt still) and paying the mortgage is part of that ownership and asset building

LIke anyone with an interest only mortgage, they'll either have another product which will settle the balance or they'll remortgage over time to repayment.

So of course rent indirectly purchases the property for the landlord.

You should have seen the Easter party one. Kid didn't want to do the egg hunt; general consensus was that he didn't need to do the hunt but he should still turn up for the party and be sociable. Someone demanded to know whether people would say that if it was a BDSM party.

What the hell kind of Easter parties do these people hold? What would Jesus say?

Spit out my tea laughing this has been quoted in so many other threads today.
I want to know what they're smoking, gonna need some of it when I get back to work tomorrow

Oh god!!!!

But people need to call themselves owners so they can sleep better at night and not scrutinise the system too much.

They call themselves owners because that's what they are. That's literally how it works under "the system". If you don't understand that, you're the one who hasn't scrutinised the system enough. Dear God.

I'm under no illusion that I own anything (yet).

But you do. You do own it. You're not enlightened. You literally don't understand the agreement you've signed.

you don’t own it at the start but as time goes on you do. Plus you have control, and over time house prices tend to go up. I can’t think of many positives to renting.

OP has a point but at least you can't be given 2 months notice by your landlord to move out or have unforeseen rent increases imposed on you. I'd rather own with a mortgage any day than live with that uncertainty.

But people need to call themselves owners so they can sleep better at night and not scrutinise the system too much

LOL no. It's because I know the law. And I slept perfectly fine when I was a renter too.

If someone can take the thing away from you at any time
Such hype... The bank can only foreclose on your mortgage if you stop repaying the debt. Just like your landlord will issue an eviction notice if you stop paying your rent.
Surely you know this, or do you really spend your life on a knife edge, thinking the bank can send the bogeyman round whenever the fancy takes them? 😵‍💫

What in the fresh gatekeeping hell is this post?!

Everyone knows that if you're named on the deeds, you own the house. I don't give a shiny shite if you have a mortgage or not, you're a homeowner.

Actually the majority of landlords sell up to pay off the mortgage, either when they retire, or economics/politics make it too difficult for the business to be economically viable.

They're also obliged by FCA conduct rules to discuss your situation and suggest solutions. Including a payment holiday and going interest only. Besides that, it's also not in the lender's interest to repossesses as it will result in forced sale, usually at a loss.
Despite what people think the bank doesn't just swoop in with the bailiffs the minute you miss a mortgage payment. It can take up to a year , and that's with no payments being made at all.

Well thats a choice they make, it doesnt mean that an asset isnt being purchased in their name. Otherwise theres little point

You might as well say no one in this country really owns their house because it could be compulsorily purchased at any point by the government. "Freehold" means we hold it free from the obligations of having to do knight service for a feudal overlord but all land is owned subject to the Crown. But you wouldn't argue that had any sort of meaningful impact on whether or not home ownership was worthwhile unless you were very stupid.

So do I agree in the current climate. People are selling up and downsizing as they can’t conjure up the extra coast needed to pay the bank. Precisely because they don’t yet own their home.

Tbh, I’d feel less concerned about interest if I was NOT a mortgage payer and rather a renter atm.

Everyone knows that if you're named on the deeds, you own the house.

They clearly don't!

Surely you know this, or do you really spend your life on a knife edge, thinking the bank can send the bogeyman round whenever the fancy takes them? 😵‍💫

Right? I’m really worried for people that think this. They are so gullible they could so easily be scammed or conned. If someone comes round to their house pretending to be from their mortgage lender and tells them they’ve changed their minds and want “their” house back would they just meekly hand over the keys and say oh well! It is yours after all. It was nice while it lasted! 😳🙄😳

Extra CASH*