Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Money matters

Find financial and money-saving discussions including debt and pension chat on our Money forum. If you're looking for ways to make your money to go further, sign up to our Moneysaver emails here.

What do the money savvy think about maxing out mortgage?

21 replies

Hoolahoophop · 30/09/2024 10:38

Couple, mid 40s. Savings and equity in current house of 1.2M Joint income 140k. Bonus and investments per annum anywhere between 25-100+k

So could buy house worth 1.2M mortgage free (buys something nice but not spectacular in our area)
Or could max out mortgage 500k? and buy place for 1.7M really quite nice in our area.

DH fancies a doer upper - so I guess that would suggest reducing mortgage.

Kids but no private schools, not massively expensive hobbies. Enjoy nice holidays, free spending and dinners out.

OP posts:
Twoshoesnewshoes · 30/09/2024 10:40

At your age I would suggest upgrading and having an affordable mortgage, so far property has been the best investment in the uk.

Janedoe82 · 30/09/2024 10:47

500k mortgage in your 40s and on 140k? I personally wouldn't. We our similar age and income and I wouldn't want a 2k a month mortgage payment for the next 20 years.

Janedoe82 · 30/09/2024 10:50

Sorry would be 3k out of a monthly income of 8k? quite a lot. What if you didn't get a bonus?

MidnightPatrol · 30/09/2024 10:57

I’d max it out.

Sounds like you can afford it without sacrificing too much, and have a healthy LTV.

OldTinHat · 30/09/2024 10:57

No.

I was mortgage free by 46 and my DC had left home. I now have a 3 bed cottage and no way would I want to upsize and have a massive loan over my head.

The freedom of being mortgage free gives so much security. I'm 53 and have friends who rent, friends with mortgages. I'm so happy that I'm out of that circus.

JumpinJellyfish · 30/09/2024 11:00

Wow you’ve got good savings and equity for that income.

I think in your position I’d probably get a mortgage but a smaller one - would give you a bit more freedom and flexibility but still a bigger house.

CleftChin · 30/09/2024 11:08

I have never regretted pushing my finances until they squeaked - albeit with an eye on what will happen if everything goes to pot.

a 1.7M fixer-upper could be quite something - but bare in mind everything you'd have to do on it will also cost more - how quickly would it be until you were back fairly flush with cash if you pushed yourself? I don't like being more than about 6 months away from being back to having minimal liabilities (mortgage excepted - not that I have one of those right now - but I'm winding myself down towards retirement in my late 40s.)

Hoolahoophop · 30/09/2024 11:11

JumpinJellyfish · 30/09/2024 11:00

Wow you’ve got good savings and equity for that income.

I think in your position I’d probably get a mortgage but a smaller one - would give you a bit more freedom and flexibility but still a bigger house.

We are very lucky, a mix of some inheritance helping with our first house purchase. And average return on investment + bonuses has taken us closer to a joint £220k per annum. Not guaranteed, but fairly reliable.

We are currently mortgage free. But have so much spare cash we need something to use it on. Not just save. Kids have some money to set themselves up and we would still have 500k in savings and pension.

OP posts:
Hoolahoophop · 30/09/2024 11:14

I should also say, business owner. So will still have a reliable income in retirement, or a lump sum from sale of business unless it all goes tits up.

OP posts:
Janedoe82 · 30/09/2024 11:53

I would buy a holiday home. Spread the risk over two properties.

Hoolahoophop · 30/09/2024 12:01

Janedoe82 · 30/09/2024 11:53

I would buy a holiday home. Spread the risk over two properties.

This would be an excellent idea.....but prove even more difficult decision wise. I mean, at the moment we are looking at houses in a 5 mile radius and cant decide. Imagine if we could choose anywhere in the world!

OP posts:
Yetanothercrazycatlady · 30/09/2024 13:27

I’d go for the mortgage if that extra £500k gives you something that you can really benefit from. Second homes can be a pita if you can only get to them in the school holidays. You can downsize from the £1.7m property in10-15 years. You don’t have to pay it all off or stay in it. Good luck!

Another2Cats · 01/10/2024 22:19

There seem to be quite a lot of complex, inter-related, issues here which may affect your final decision.

"DH fancies a doer upper - so I guess that would suggest reducing mortgage."

But do you fancy it as well?

That really is the big question. Both partners have to be onboard to really make it work. But, if you are, and (critically) you have the DIY skills to do at least some of it yourselves then this could be a very rewarding decision.

In contrast, if you weren't both in the same place with regards to this then it might not be such a good idea.

Likewise, if it's just a case of employing builders to do all the work it may no longer make financial sense these days.
.
.

"But have so much spare cash we need something to use it on. Not just save. ... I should also say, business owner."

Could you use any of that cash to expand your business in any way? But there again do you actually want to expand the business or are you happy with it the way it currently is?
.
.

"This would be an excellent idea.....but prove even more difficult decision wise. I mean, at the moment we are looking at houses in a 5 mile radius and cant decide. Imagine if we could choose anywhere in the world!"

Personally, I wouldn't discount the idea of a holiday home.

We are around 15 years older than you (late 50s) and when we were your age, back in the late 2000s, we bought a holiday home in Mallorca. It's up in the mountains near Soller (there was even snow there one winter, but we usually have oranges in the garden every year).

When we bought it, it was very much a "doer-upper" and, back in those days, it was a very reasonable price.

Over several years we put in a lot of work ourselves to do some basic things and also employed local craftsmen and builders. Today, it's a very idyllic place to visit.

Although, even when we were mid renovations, we were still happy to be there as it's a lot easier renovating a property when you aren't living there full time (we always knew we had a nice home to go back to in the UK).

We bought it when the DC were young teenagers/tweens and it's been a great holiday home over the years. We've used it at Christmas, Easter and over the summer.

Over the years we've got to know other people who live there. Some, like us, have holiday homes (although they mostly seem to be German or Dutch - I've tried to learn some German but all the Germans just say to me "Why bother learning German? Everybody speaks English" - I don't know if this is a good thing or not!).

Others we've met live there permanently, a mix of Mallorcans and foreign nationals who have settled there.

We have a great place that we can just fly off to whenever we want (we've never done AirBnB etc, it's just for us) and Easyjet and others have cheap prices throughout the year.

The DC have made friends there from different countries and have got involved with sailing and other water sports in Palma. They really do seem to have gained a lot from mixing with different people from different countries. If nothing else, I think this alone would have made our purchase of the holiday home worthwhile.

Temporaryname158 · 01/10/2024 22:27

why do you want to move? Do you need to move or is this just an idea to get rid of some of the money you have which you state you are struggling to spend

why not put it in a pension?

if you truly want to move, why a doer upper. I’ve done 2. They are hugely time and money consuming. Is that what you both want?

suburberphobe · 01/10/2024 22:33

Kids

Save money for them. You never know what life brings.

Scary news right now.

Tel12 · 01/10/2024 22:36

I've always gone for the best that I could afford. I'd probably max out in your shoes.

Hoolahoophop · 02/10/2024 08:53

Temporaryname158 · 01/10/2024 22:27

why do you want to move? Do you need to move or is this just an idea to get rid of some of the money you have which you state you are struggling to spend

why not put it in a pension?

if you truly want to move, why a doer upper. I’ve done 2. They are hugely time and money consuming. Is that what you both want?

I don't like our current house. The garden is too small for our needs and there is not enough parking, I don't like the layout. It's smaller than the houses and gardens both myself and DH grew up in and we would like to give the same to our children that we had. Our current house was never the forever home, but a stepping stone when we had children. I LOVE houses, spend half my life on Rightmove dreaming. Now I'm in a place where the lower end of the fantasy spectrum could become a reality. We are not interested in cars or new things, so our spending is well within budget and we are saving monthly. So I guess the answer is we want to move because we both want to live somewhere different to we live now.

We both have pensions - not massive but we have them.
One of us also part owns a business that should give an income in retirement. - Business is successful enough to fund its own expansion and development.

We could give everything to the kids. But I think we have enough still to come that we can do both.

I do not really fancy a doer upper as I work hard, manage the family and am tired. But I can see it make sense as we can add value, and make it our own. So what we can afford now we may make into the dream house in 5 years with expansion and addition of the much dreamed of exercise pool etc.

OP posts:
Hoolahoophop · 02/10/2024 08:56

@Another2Cats your holiday home does sound tempting. Having a warm bolt hole to fly off too whenever we need a break!

OP posts:
MichaelandKirk · 02/10/2024 09:06

So in your situation I would max out the mortgage. You have lots of leeway should something come from left field. However it seems key as to what you actually buy. I am presuming London (I know it well!) and you have to think if you buy a do upper just how rentless it can be having work done when you are living in the house. If you know a fab builder you are half way there but around here - (not London) good builders are in great demand and are booked months in advance

I know £1.7 sounds a huge amount but in certain parts of London i.e Chiswick, Barnes it will not go as far as you think but they are great areas.

What about something that just needs decorating and maybe a new kitchen or bathroom? A little dated but not overwhelming. Having said that we sold my Fathers house a few years ago and it was a complete do upper and we got many many over asking price offers.

Do keep an eye on your pension though. When I retired from my last role I took the 25% tax free amount and very useful it was too - we paid off the small mortgage and did some home improvements including a little extension at the side of the house.

Viviennemary · 02/10/2024 09:11

I might take out a 15 year mortgage to upgrade. Depends if you would get a much better house for the money. I wouldn't be inclined to take on a house that needed a lot of work. Improvements yes. Major restoration no.

Hoolahoophop · 02/10/2024 09:38

MichaelandKirk · 02/10/2024 09:06

So in your situation I would max out the mortgage. You have lots of leeway should something come from left field. However it seems key as to what you actually buy. I am presuming London (I know it well!) and you have to think if you buy a do upper just how rentless it can be having work done when you are living in the house. If you know a fab builder you are half way there but around here - (not London) good builders are in great demand and are booked months in advance

I know £1.7 sounds a huge amount but in certain parts of London i.e Chiswick, Barnes it will not go as far as you think but they are great areas.

What about something that just needs decorating and maybe a new kitchen or bathroom? A little dated but not overwhelming. Having said that we sold my Fathers house a few years ago and it was a complete do upper and we got many many over asking price offers.

Do keep an eye on your pension though. When I retired from my last role I took the 25% tax free amount and very useful it was too - we paid off the small mortgage and did some home improvements including a little extension at the side of the house.

Outside of London, but commuting distance, takes us about an hour 20 to take the kids to the science museum! Less for work commute. So high prices here, but not so steep as London and we have space.

I'd say finding a decent builder would still be difficult.

I think we are short of a decent pension pot. But have always assumed business will still be there so pension is not so important. DH has mentioned buying an investment property to spread the risk.

Where we differ as a couple is DH wants to maximize our finances, spread the risk and invest.....I want a nice pretty house to live in, a gym to exercise and a large garden so I never have to go out!

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread