Mortgage advice

[Lsgandhi]

I am in my early 50s. I am looking to to buy a 1 bed flat never having had a mortgage. Salary is around 100k . A few health conditions but have got tired of renting for 20 odd years. I pay 1800 pounds a month in rent. What are the pros and cons?

The main pro is not paying rent when you retire. This means when you are on a fixed income you won’t have to find £££ to pay someone else’s mortgage

Your rent will go up every year, but inflation will mean that in 10 years time your comparative mortgage cost will be much less. Hopefully you will have paid off the property by retirement so won’t have to pay housing costs from your pension.

Any work you want doing to the property you’ll have to pay for not the landlord- although that will mean you can have it done to your timescale and spec

Check the terms of the lease and any management fees

Thanks. Any advise on lenders I can look at . Concerned about my age

I used the Mortgage Advice Bureau, they were great, helped me with all my options and held my hand all the way through

London and Country are great. And free

It’s also an appreciating asset. You don’t say where you are but, if you are buying in a higher cost of living area, once you have retired you can take advantage of the price differential to sell your flat and buy another one somewhere cheaper. This will give you a lump sum to play with.

I've been looking at buying a flat for a while.
The main issues I see are no outside space, charges for maintenance and ground rent.

There seems to be a massive difference in each flat in terms of charges. Some flats the charges come in at around £1000 per year where as others are over £2000. You then still have to pay council tax as well.

I'm also looking at houses as well just because I don't see any value in the flats with the added charges.

I've also noticed that when it comes to selling flats people seem to struggle so I'm wary of buying a flat then being stuck with it if I decide I want a house.

A garden or a patio would be nice. I am based in Kent

Definitely use a broker to ensure when applying you are likely to be accepted under their terms.