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Original poster

Who wins the prize for the biggest MUMSNET MORTGAGE?

251 replies

NotAnOtter · 13/01/2007 22:51

I am in the process of moving and dp and i are debating borrowing the most hideous amount of money - basically over 5 or 6 times earnings.

Anyone care to share ( feel free to name change!!) what horrors they owe?

Go on - make me feel better!

OP posts:
Judy1234 · 15/01/2007 15:39

I think he has been waiting for a house price crash and it just hasn't happened and instead prices are going up.

Original poster
NotAnOtter · 15/01/2007 15:41

Ilkley and harrogate never crash - they just slow the rate of increase

OP posts:
Judy1234 · 15/01/2007 18:35

Yes and surely they want to be in their own home with their children not renting.

Original poster
NotAnOtter · 15/01/2007 18:46

not wise financially to rent - we have lost a lot waiting for the right house after selling

OP posts:
noddyholder · 15/01/2007 18:51

NAO we were thinking of putting our money in the bank and waiting to buy if we can't find somewhere that ties in when we sell.Do you think its a bad idea?

Original poster
NotAnOtter · 15/01/2007 18:54

YES and I say that from experience.. We rented for over 18 months and house prices rose and rose.. I earned sweet FA on what we had put in the bank PLUS got taxed on what i did earn.
Honestly dont do it unless hoping for a crash ...

OP posts:
Judy1234 · 15/01/2007 19:59

I think it's more like 4 - 5 years now with my brother nad he might be right that a property crash will come but in the mean time he's missed out on rises and not had a family home which is perhaps more to the point when he could have bought.

Cloudhopper · 15/01/2007 20:02

Too true Xenia. We waited years before buying in 2001 - oh the benefit of hindsight eh?

Your poor brother though - go easy on him - he must be gutted.

Tutter · 15/01/2007 20:06

i remember when i bought my first property several people advised against it, saying the market had peaked and i should wait. this was in 1997 and i paid £57k for a flat in blackheath (prob now worth >£200k)

since then, by being v ballsy and gearing up like pretty much everyone would advise against, dh and i have racked up a lot of property equity

you see no-one really knows what will happen

as it happens we're out of the market for a year while we rent - a bad idea? well, we're getting 5% interest on our cash and we're waiting before splashing out on the next lot of fees and stamp duty

becaroo · 15/01/2007 21:50

Tutter...good for you We bought a 3 bed semi in 1999 and have just had an extension built and a loft conversion done. I had been hyperventilating at the thought of our "huge" 75k mortgage...but now dont feel quite so angst ridden! Really wouldnt want to be in my sisters position though, Tutter. She is very stressed by it all and now hates the house that she so loved 2 years ago. Dream homes can become millstones, sadly

blossomsmine · 15/01/2007 21:54

Furcoatandnoknickers - village near Colchester in Essex, used to be quite small and everyone knew everyone else at least just to say hello to but in last few years lots of new housing developements so lots of new people. This is fine just wish I could afford to buy one of these lovely big new houses, or one of the small ones that aren't so lovely!!

jajas · 15/01/2007 22:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Judy1234 · 16/01/2007 09:03

Yes, jajas worth hanging on. Can't you increase the income which is what I've always tried to do? Lodgers? Students? Take on a second job? Remortgage to interest only for 30 year term etc

noddyholder · 16/01/2007 09:05

I don't think it is worth it tbh.This culture of owning a house at any cost is a new thing and people are mortgaged to the eyeballs for what?In 30 years who knows where you or indeed all of us will be Better to live now and enjoy life than to endless worship at the equity altar but actually have no quality of life.

Judy1234 · 16/01/2007 09:15

Sometimes renting is more expensive. You need to do your sums. The English have always wanted their own homes/land. Look at the way property was divided in the Middle Ages, the enclosures period too. It's a core human need to want to own land. None of us are communists at heart perhaps.

noddyholder · 16/01/2007 09:19

I have owned and renovated countless properties and have done well out of it but tbh it has been more of an artistic exercise for me but with financial reward as a side effect which I am not complaining about.But there seems to be this mania to get on some imaginary ladder at any cost and people are living half lives with no disposable income just to hang on to bricks and mortar.I am just saying there is more to life and work and more work just to pay the mortgage is not for everyone.I am sure none of us will look back and say I wish I had worked more and had a bigger house but there may be quite a few who could have had more time and holidayys with their kids and partners if they hadn't been paying out huge mortgages every month.

RanToTheHills · 16/01/2007 09:31

well, in answer to the questiom a v scary £390k (interest only), loads of yrs left so yep, it's a gamble, we could go under but we're making the stretch as we hope it'll be worth it in the long run. One of dh's (v senior) colleagues has a mortgage of £2.4m! He's apparently miserable about it but got pushed into it by his wife, poor bugger. Made me feel better anyway.

jajas · 16/01/2007 10:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

becaroo · 16/01/2007 10:19

I agree with noddyholder. I like my house but it is only bricks and mortar. I suppose different things are important to different people, but a house can't love you back guys!!

calebsmum · 16/01/2007 14:15

72k for our mortgage, and we live in a socially deprived area with bad schools. DP only earns 15k a year as civil servant. Really want to move but just can't afford it, don't know if we can afford another child either!

hecciesmum · 16/01/2007 16:17

hmmm - i'm realising that the mortgage I thought was manageable is quite large by most standards. But I also agree it should be an enhancement to your life having your own home - not something you do at all costs. If you can afford it fine. We're lucky in that we could pay it off tomorrow if we really wanted to, but money all tied up elsewhere and earning more than the bank rate - so what's the point?

The problem I guess is that if you want to rent there usually isn't very much that's nice and the prices are so crazy (where we live anyway) that you'd be just as cheap buying it and having the mortgage half the time!

The thing that worries me is that we are all buying as a means of saving for our old ages, but given the demographic shift - when we all retire in 20 - 30 years - there will beless young people trying to get on teh ladder and we will all be trying to downsize and realise our equity.....cue more sellers than buyers...cue crash just when we least need it - in our old age....

Judy1234 · 16/01/2007 16:33

I wouldn't rely on my house as a pension but a lot of people are doing that. But hasn't the Government said we guarantee you £200 a week so either spend all your money now and we will give you that in your old age or save up now and we will give you nothing because you'll have the £200? Great incentive to save there...

expatinscotland · 16/01/2007 16:35

Exactly, Xenia!

Many are in no position to save, anyhow, b/c the cost of living keeps rising whilst wages don't keep in step.

Judy1234 · 16/01/2007 16:40

And we don't know what will happen. Government may decide to levy 40% capital gains tax on sale of homes or impose a percentage propery tax which is common abroad on the value of your house or whatever.

charliecat · 16/01/2007 21:26

check this out...worth a look

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