To sell my house because I want security at this age?

[burnth]

I’m 38. My mortgage is 270k, I pay 1k a month. Single and probably always will be (no desire for a relationship after some pretty awful ones…)

I had the house valued last week and it’s come back at 495k with a suggestion of marketing it at 525k.

I hate owing so much. Current term is 30 years so I will be 68 technically if it’s ever paid off. I will be gifted 50k later this year and may have some other inheritance down the line but who knows.

I want to buy somewhere with my equity and feel secure. All my family are saying it’s a stupid idea, that if I continue overpaying it will soon drop (I overpay 300 a month) and that in the longer run the house will make more money than a smaller one and I can downsize later on with more equity to either use or keep as savings.

I feel so confused. Most people I know don’t have a mortgage by now and this feels huge. Well it is huge. What would you do?

I think misunderstood - OP do you mean most people you know haven’t got a mortgage yet and are still renting - or most people you know have fully paid off their mortgage

I have always been very vague about my financial situation to relatives and friends as I did pay my mortgage off by 38. Of anyone that ever chose to share their mortgage situation and paying it off I only know two who have mentioned it and both were in late forties early fifties.

There is every reason to downsize, you do not need four bedrooms plus your bills and council tax will be lower.

I'd wait until you get the additional £50k later in the year then start looking at what you can get for the combined amount of equity in your house plus the £50k. Mortgage rates are predicted to fall. It might be that you can get a 2 bedroom house with large sitting room downstairs and a downstairs loo or it might mean you could with just a tiny mortgage over say 10 years. Don't rush into anything.

Probably not useful advice op but I am in a similar position but much older - 54 - and am finding the answers here illuminating.

first thing i’d say is you are really young. You say you plan to stay single etc but we never know what life will throw at us. So this means covering yourself financially for all eventualities.

second, as pp mentioned, it is different when you’re single ( in my case single parent) and all the emotional burden of finances falls on you. It can, unless we’re very confident, make us more risk-averse.

i agree with pp who have said that sometimes all we see with mortgages is the number of the debt. It is a debt, but it’s also an investment in our home, which we will eventually own outright.

I’d say all depends on your specific circumstances. Do you love your home? Is it well located for you? Are you happy there? Can you easily manage the upkeep? Would you be sad if you left? If so, try to reframe the mortgage as an investment, rather than debt.

if on the other hand you could be equally happy elsewhere, and you’d put the money saved to good use - savings, investments, pension or similar, or to a vastly improved quality of life - then it’s worth considering. But there is no rush, also as pp said - you are young, every payment builds up more equity, thr market timing is not ideal. You could wait a few years and then make the move.

OP - If your goal is to move to a smaller property mortgage free, why not switch to interest only, reduce your payments and plough money into your pension. Let your house continue to build equity and downsize in 10-15 years when you can move to a house you really like in an area you love.

I never look at my mortgage as a debt. It's an asset.