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Original poster

a new 300k mortgage at 40 is it too much

102 replies

moomin18 · 04/12/2020 12:31

DH and I have been meaning to move for a little while and have finally got ourselves together. Found a nice place and got a mortgage in principle for 300k. All great so far but now am all panicky. We are both 40 with 2DC 1 and 3. We need a bigger house and house prices in London are high, but it's a lot of cash to take on at our age. Anyone got any advice or happy stories of it all being ok?

OP posts:
Toomanycats99 · 04/12/2020 12:36

I took out a £250k one by myself at 47. Terrifies me but no choice if I wanted to buy ex out.

It all depends on income and job security.

Loofah01 · 04/12/2020 12:40

45 and 440k, so no you're fine :)

PineappleUpsideDownCake · 04/12/2020 12:43

Depends on your income really and when you think you'll pay it off by.

We couldn't as dont have the income. But if we were 2 london earners I would in a shot!

CoffeeSTAT · 04/12/2020 12:45

Gosh no I don't think it would bother me, as long as I had the income to service it. 40 is still young! You're probably not even halfway through life. Maybe at 60 I would be on the fence. Go for it and enjoy your new home.

GiraffeNecked · 04/12/2020 12:47

We did it at 50...to get a garden. It’s ok, we have a plan to pay it off.

Original poster
moomin18 · 04/12/2020 12:47

Well, our joint income is around 100k so not high for London. And appreciate that all these figures probably sound mad for anyone outside London.

DH thinks am being silly or maybe am just feeling my age. Guess I never expected to still have such little ones plus a massive mortgage at my age. All my friends have ten-year-olds and are almost mortgage free and just looked horrified when I asked for their advice.

OP posts:
AnnieJ1985 · 04/12/2020 12:48

350k here at 40 and 47. 19 year term, but hope to overpay to bring the length down a bit.

alwaysraining123 · 04/12/2020 12:50

I'm 37 and would be fine borrowing a similar amount in the next couple of years. If you have reasonable job security then I wouldn't hesitate. For us our unofficial test was always whether we could afford the payment on one salary.

We have paid off much of the one we had (which was about £300k to start with). We've looked at new houses which require us to borrow the same again and we ask ourselves do we really want to do it. It feels like starting from scratch and we place greater value on being mortgage free (which will hopefully happen by the time we're 40) than moving house but we don't absolutely need a bigger house (ours is small and perfectly formed we believe with a bedroom per child). If we needed to move though we would and would feel comfortable with a £300k mortgage of even more.

Our plan if we can is continue working and perhaps boost our mortgage and plan for retirement. We will continue to save and if the opportunity arises in the future we may still move house.

ILovemyCatsSoSoMuch · 04/12/2020 12:52

You are 40 not 60!!

Salaries, outgoings, monthly payments, job security, affordability, length of mortgage, life and critical illness insurance are all relevant, being 40 is not!

Carrotcakey · 04/12/2020 12:57

We’re planning on doing this later in the year, going from 100k to 250k, not in London. We are both 40. It’s not uncommon.

In all honesty it does terrify me but I think that’s because I generally have a fear of debt and have always been super careful with money. Too careful really as we should have brought our forever house pre-kids and when prices were lower but we were too cautious (thanks mum and dad!) and never borrowed anything like what we could.

Graffitiqueen · 04/12/2020 13:01

We've just increased our mortgage in our forties. Should have over 25 years of working left to pay it off.

Original poster
moomin18 · 04/12/2020 13:02

@Carrotcakey yes, not sure whether am being over cautious or just feeling a bit worn out. My parents always taught me the opposite to borrow as much as you can and it has really worked out for them. We, on the other hand, are really careful about money and now I feel at sea when it comes to taking on yet more debt.

OP posts:
Asiama · 04/12/2020 13:05

It really depends on your finances. What's the length of the mortgage term?

HouseyHouse21 · 04/12/2020 13:05

We're in a similar position OP, and just about to borrow even more for a new renovation project.

The way I rationalise it, London property is (usually) an appreciating asset so by borrowing more you have the potential to make more out of it. And if in a few years down the line you've had enough of the rat race, you can sell up and buy a castle in Scotland with the equity you've built up.

Also, you're not old!

enjoyingscience · 04/12/2020 13:07

This is so interesting- this will possibly be us in a couple of years time. Our current house is too small, but the next step up will be big. If we stick it out here I can pay off the mortgage in 7 years, but o can’t bear the thought of being stuck in our tiny cottage with teens.

I’ve been telling myself that although the debt is big, I don’t actually have to pay it off to zero - can downsize again once the kids are off and away!

tappitytaptap · 04/12/2020 13:07

No it sounds fine to me. DH and I about to take on 340k at age 36, 2 young DC, joint salary around £110-115k. We don’t live in London but house prices reasonably high where we do live. I’ve started it over 25 years but will probably knock the term done over time.

CarlottaValdez · 04/12/2020 13:08

I’m 41 and my outstanding mortgage is about 470k. That represents about 50% of the value of the house though so I hope it the shit really hot the fan we could sell the house and pay off the mortgage.

Nonamesavail · 04/12/2020 13:08

We just took on 300k one and we are edging near 40.

tappitytaptap · 04/12/2020 13:08

Oh and we’ve increased from a current mortgage of about 155k, so more than doubled, but as the term is increased and interest rates are so low, the monthly payment is less than 40% more than the old one.

tappitytaptap · 04/12/2020 13:09

Also agree with @CarlottaValdez, we have enough savings and equity to buy a 300k house outright, which if the shit really hit the fan - we’d do.

mizu · 04/12/2020 13:10

We got out 1st mortgage nearly 3 years ago and I'm nearly 48! £199,000 which sounds nothing compared with yours but our income is much lower.

I just LOVE having our own place.

RaininSummer · 04/12/2020 13:13

I really can't imagine that OP but I am 18 years older, with grandkids and not London. Just make sure you can service the mortgage with some spare for interest rises or a contingency plan.

Original poster
moomin18 · 04/12/2020 13:15

really great to hear everyone's viewpoints. we currently have a two-bed house but that's just too small in the long run as we have one of each and they won't be able to share forever. we should have quite a bit of equity in the house itself. Am probably just panicking for nothing or maybe covid and WFH has messed with my head.

OP posts:
FKATondelayo · 04/12/2020 13:16

Sounds fine to me. In fact pretty normal for London and our generation. If you've got a £300k mortgage on a London property that must give you at least 40-50% equity?

Mortgage lenders are very conservative at the moment, they aren't going to lend it you money if they don't think you can manage it.

FKATondelayo · 04/12/2020 13:17

I know loads of people hitting 40 in London with good well-paid jobs and don't own a home yet (and may never).