How much would you borrow for a mortgage at 50?

[NorthGirlie]

Hello,
I’m not sure what to do. I’m coming to the end of a divorce and, at worst, will get £125k which is 50% of the family home. I will have to sell the house as (a) it’s too big for what I need now, (b) too many memories here and I want a fresh start and (c) I would need to buy out stbx.
I’m wondering what to do about a mortgage. I really don’t want to have to get a mortgage at my age but it’s looking like I will have to. I have been mortgage free for a few years. We are in the north so house prices are cheaper. I don’t want to end up in some grotty estate so wondering if I should just take the hit and get a mortgage but how much can I comfortably afford?
My current take take home pay is £2250 but will increase to £2500 in August and will rise again, to £2750, in a couple of years. Then I’m at the top of my scale and I don’t want to jump to the next level as it’s be too stressful for me.
My bills are £850 and this includes a £143 a month loan which I’m paying back another three years and, also, car payments of £242 a month over the next 3.5 years. I needed the car for work and days out etc. Without these I could probably get my bills to less than £500 a month but my gas and electricity is currently fixed until August 2023. I don’t receive any child maintenance and, yes, I am hoping my financial settlement figure will be better than what he is currently offering.
I spend £350 a month on top of the above on food and car fuel, then £100 a month on pocket money for my two teenagers. My eldest is 18 and will, hopefully, be working later this year so his phone contract will
be handed to him to pay and I’ll probably stop paying pocket money to him.
How much would you say I could spend on a mortgage over 15 years? I don’t want to live like a pauper until I retire. My pension is also reduced as I was part time for 12 years. I have been back full time since 2016. I like to go to London every few months and have a holiday abroad every other year. And, like to eat out at weekends (just a Costa or something). Would I be stretching it too much to get a mortgage of over £100k at my age?

I would borrow as little as possible or plan on a lodger with the spare room covering the bulk of the mortgage payment. Oop north has plenty of cheap non grotty flats or small houses for minimal spend. I would have a look around before making any decisions while investing in a shit hot lawyer.

Also in the North.

Can’t answer definitively as to how much you should take out, but I got a mortgage 2 years ago for £230k at 50, runs til I am 67. I had £220 equity (houses expensive round here). Income about £50k but I had some business savings as well.

Generally, I think the top recommended % is about 30% of take home pay, could you use that to guide your calculations? My repayments are just under that.

Remember too that mortgage rates are predicted to rise, so maybe check that you can absorb going up to 5% or so as your salary rises.

It does feel like a burden, but tbh I quite enjoy seeing thr mortgage go down each month. I’d never been mortgage free though.

Good luck, I know how tough it is making these decisions.

I am 50, i recently remortgaged.

I worked backwards with the bank. Retirement at 65 🤪 so a 15 year mortgage. This was so I didn’t have to fuck around with projected pension income etc, it just went straight on my current employment.

Then we estimated an affordable payment. I went for 50k as that works out at just over 300/month. So 100k would be nearer 600. Which I think with bills and spending money is too much.

Have you looked at house prices? A two bed in my area you’d easily get a nice terrace or a super flat for 200k.

You could charge your son nominal rent to give you more disposable, but I’d plan for just you in case he moves out.

Or you could borrow the max they will lend on interest only and plan to pay back out of equity when you retire?

Fix it because interest rates will surely rise with 7% current inflation.

I would go by years left to pay and amount you are comfortablepayingper month. When do you want to retire? Started retirement age of 68 means up to an 18 year mortgage if you want to retire rent free. Everyone's outgoings are different so very hard for people on the internet to tell you what to borrow as a percentage of monthly pay.

Where bouts in the North are you OP. My son bought a 2 bed terraced house in Hull for £85k and it is nice. Close to city centre. Parking outside too. It is in surprisingly quiet side street. You could buy something similar mortgage free. But if getting a mortgage just ensure it will be repaid by time you are 67. That way simpler and will be repaid before you retire. Also you should insist you do pension sharing with s2bx. Why won't he pay maintenance for 18 year old. If he is still in education he should pay him directly. Point out your career had to take a back seat whilst you reared the children. You should get slightly larger pot. Maybe 55-45.

I am due to retire at 67. I will get a lump sum when I retire, from my pension, but not too sure how much. I think about £50k. Not sure!

I think £600 a month is pushing it a bit as I’d be responsible for house maintenance bills, replacing furniture etc. I’d prefer £400 ish and then I could probably over-pay (as I did with my first mortgage).

My eldest lives with his dad mostly but is planning on joining the RAF later this year. So, that’s him up and earning his own money.

I think what worries me is the insecurity of paying a mortgage at my age and on my own. I’m really worried I will end up in a lower paid job (my role is quite stressful and I am in a dog-eat- dog environment) or I will get ill. One of my colleagues (at 51) died last year of cancer and another colleague (40) had breast cancer. I feel so much more worried this time around!

I don’t like terraced houses. I’m not snobby but really would only go for semi or detached.
I’m in the Durham area.

I would look at how much realistic life insurance will cost you and factor that in to give you further peace of mind. Then have a look at the price of somewhere you would realistically hope to afford and be happy living, before taking it from there in terms of affordability.

I could get a 3 bed semi for £130k but the area isn’t as nice. New builds available at £170k for a semi and £220k for a detached. Not sure what to do!
I’d like to be closer to the school which is a school bus ride away but I know my youngest will only be there 4 more years (that’s if she stays in for A-levels there like her brother did).

I’d always wanted to be mortgage free by 45 - which I achieved - and it makes my heart sink knowing I could be paying a mortgage in my 60’s!

My perfect home would be a cottage in the countryside or in a village.

@TheSnowyOwl

I would look at how much realistic life insurance will cost you and factor that in to give you further peace of mind. Then have a look at the price of somewhere you would realistically hope to afford and be happy living, before taking it from there in terms of affordability.

Why would you bother with life assurance? The younger child, presumably, would live with the father rather than on her own should anything happen?

Sorry @NorthGirlie but you need to massively adjust your expectations.

You are not going to get what you want without taking out at least a 100k mortgage and that is a massive if on whether anyone would lend you that much.

You need to sit down with a decent broker (not the crappy freebie ones) and look at realistic options and affordability.

You are going to need to cut your cloth.

House expenses are insane and only going to get higher. If you are likely to max out your salary bracket in the next few years then you need to be more sensible over what options are available to you.

@Svalberg Why would you bother with life assurance? The younger child, presumably, would live with the father rather than on her own should anything happen?

Because the OP says:

I’m really worried I will end up in a lower paid job (my role is quite stressful and I am in a dog-eat- dog environment) or I will get ill. One of my colleagues (at 51) died last year of cancer and another colleague (40) had breast cancer. I feel so much more worried this time around!

*You need to sit down with a decent broker (not the crappy freebie ones) and look at realistic options and affordability.
*
Free brokers are not "crappy". Not sure how you've come up with that.

But yes, you do need to speak with a broker. You'll be probably looking at a 15 year term, from the house prices you've given and the deposit you'll have you'll have a decent loan to value ratio which should work in your favour with interest rates. In your situation I'd look at a house rather than a flat or apartment where you have the potential of astronomical service charges.

But if you will get a minimum payout of 125k from the family home, and can get a nice semi in an area you’re happy with for £170, that only leaves you with a mortgage of 45k? Or maybe 55 if you include moving costs, stamp duty etc.

Plus you might well get more payout than that, you say it’s the minimum.

I’d start with a chat with a broker. Find out what the repayments would be for a mortgage for 55k, 75 and 100, over 10 years, 12 and 15. Then decide what price range of house you want to look for, based on what you are comfortable repaying, over which period of time.

I know you don’t want to go back to having a mortgage but plenty of us have done it and it’s not that bad honestly. I’d far rather be paying into my 60s for my own place than having to share with my horrible twat of an EXH.

[quote TheSnowyOwl]**@Svalberg* Why would you bother with life assurance? The younger child, presumably, would live with the father rather than on her own should anything happen?*

Because the OP says:

I’m really worried I will end up in a lower paid job (my role is quite stressful and I am in a dog-eat- dog environment) or I will get ill. One of my colleagues (at 51) died last year of cancer and another colleague (40) had breast cancer. I feel so much more worried this time around![/quote]
If you're dead you don't need life assurance, because you're dead. Income protection insurance maybe.

@Sleepeatrepeat

Sorry *@NorthGirlie* but you need to massively adjust your expectations.

You are not going to get what you want without taking out at least a 100k mortgage and that is a massive if on whether anyone would lend you that much.

You need to sit down with a decent broker (not the crappy freebie ones) and look at realistic options and affordability.

You are going to need to cut your cloth.

House expenses are insane and only going to get higher. If you are likely to max out your salary bracket in the next few years then you need to be more sensible over what options are available to you.

Absolutely, I think OP needs to look at the other outgoings as well, why on earth paying that much per month for a car, then petrol on top. Get a car that you pay for in cash, then its yours. I wouldnt want to be paying mortgage past about 65 and also OP you need to double check your lump sum, I dont have a lump sum with my pension for example and thats a public sector pension

@Sleepeatrepeat

Sorry *@NorthGirlie* but you need to massively adjust your expectations.

You are not going to get what you want without taking out at least a 100k mortgage and that is a massive if on whether anyone would lend you that much.

You need to sit down with a decent broker (not the crappy freebie ones) and look at realistic options and affordability.

You are going to need to cut your cloth.

House expenses are insane and only going to get higher. If you are likely to max out your salary bracket in the next few years then you need to be more sensible over what options are available to you.

She can get a nice semi for 170k ....she will have a minimum of 125k....why does she need a £100k mortgage?? 🤷‍♀️

Because she said she was looking at £220 as a ball park price I thought?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E460&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=200000&radius=1.0&propertyTypes=&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

These are under 200k, 3 bed within a mile of Durham

At 49, I borrowed 100K, which will run till I'm 65 (realistically less as I'll overpay).

I fixed for 5 years before interest rates went up & it costs £460/m.

I have a similar income but get maintenance of £525/m. Paid off car loan with equity from house so I own it outright, only paying for servicing etc.

I'm fairly comfortable, although live in a flat rather than a house (cost £275k as expensive round here).

In your situation I'd look at a house rather than a flat or apartment where you have the potential of astronomical service charges

There’s a lot of pro’s to a flat though, especially if you’re living alone. No worries about building insurance or maintenance, often get more for your money, makes city centre living affordable, can often include concierge and/or gym.

I also felt more secure in a flat on my own. I had a 3rd floor flat so no entry through ground floor windows, and the secure communal doors to get through before my flat, lots of neighbours around. Going away was also better peace of mind.

I’ve always said once the time comes to downsize we’ll look for a city centre flat. No driving, better to lock up and leave for our retirement travels, amenities accessible.

Houses at £170k rarely come up tbh but they do every now and then