taking on a 400k mortgage age 42

[gf4567hfdd]

We are considering moving into a larger family home from a flat which would increase our mortgage from 250k to 400k, sadly house prices in London are so high. A we're both 42, this would extend out mortgage until our mid 60s. I read on here how people hope to be mortgage free by 50 or 60, so would this be foolish of us?

We did this last year. I’m also 42 and there’s a big divide amongst my friends between those who got on the property ladder in their 20s and are of the ‘should be nearly mortgage free in your 40s’ ilk and those who only bought in the last 5 years or so due to circumstances and have accepted paying off a mortgage until late 60s / early 70s. Our mortgage is honestly cheaper than rent and at least it’s an asset that we’re paying towards.

We don’t plan to live here until it’s paid off. We’ll likely sell and downsize in 15 years or so.

Having said that, we live in a country where it’s possible to fix the interest rate for duration. So we have a 30 year mortgage fixed at 1.5%

With increasing interest rates, it’s definitely worth doing the sums to check how much of an increase you can manage on your incomes.

Wise decision if you can afford and will work that long. You get a better family life and of course can then retire with a much more valuable property, and either enjoy or downsize, move from London and enjoy the equity,

Where are these 4 bedroom houses in London zone 2 for 700 grand???

Classic Mumsnet! 🙄

by way of clarification, we currently have about 60% equity in our property and the idea would be to increase it by another 150k in order to get a better property. Not sure what the ultimate plan would be in terms of paying it off. I have a defined benefits pension which should come with a lump sum pay-out. DH the same

What planet do you live on?

I've just commented on the other thread about being mortgaged until you are 70 that this is exactly what we are doing, to be able to move from a flat to a house in London.

It is what it is. We've tried to plan for the various eventualities, but ultimately, if we want to live in a family house and stay reasonably local (and this is the arse end of Z3 - hardly central London) we need to be extending ourselves.

Not foolish at all. Life takes unexpected turns and you have 25 working years in front of you, so I would go for it. I finished paying my mortgage when I was 42 and then due to divorce, I ended up having to take another one. It's fine and In the end, you have to live somewhere!

It depends on what you see as quality of life. Would you rather have peace of mind being mortgage free sooner, with more disposable income, less stress and more holidays etc. or for the vast majority of the next 25 years have a larger home, more space to enjoy and less stress in that way. You could always sell and downsize, and a larger home should increase in value more too. Personally, I would upsize!

so for us the question is basically do we stay where we are in a flat or move to a house. I used to think having a house would be the goal and now am a bit torn. Realistically we wont be mortgage free in our 40s anyhow - I mean we still have 250k to pay off but we could obviously pay it off sooner.

What a load of flappy nonsense.

Ok this isn’t possible for lots of people but it’s a bit off to attack someone who is being financially prudent. A lot of people could be paying down their mortgage in their forties, with a medium term plan to pay it off. Not everyone of course, but some, so I don’t see the need to ridicule someone who is perhaps more conservative in their borrowing/comfort with risk. It’s depressing if it’s that laughable to be trying to look towards the end of your mortgage by middle age. Isn’t that what we all aspire to, even if it’s not actually possible? Not something to mock?

Some of these responses! I was due to pay off my mortgage at 46, but things changed and I decided to split from my exH shortly before I turned 40. This meant I lost half my pension and had to get a solo mortgage of £260k. It's doable (depending on salary) and I still make pension contributions and cover two teens and pre-teen with no maintenance payments from exH.

If you have job security and are able to meet the mortgage repayments then absolutely. My friend is in her 40’s and just bought her first property with a similar mortgage. Everybody’s financial circumstances are different. Plus, in response to a pp, most people I know with mortgages are also paying into pensions, they’re not mutually exclusive.

I wouldn’t, but we want to be mortgage free by 50, so we can retire early. Taking a big mortgage out at that age can have big implications for retirement & work.

This sounds perfectly ok to me. And very average for my local area.

It seems perfectly fine to me. Slightly younger here but we recently tripled our mortgage to buy a much bigger house. We already have good pensions. We can downsize if necessary. We have around 40% equity which is increasing daily. Its a good long term investment.

We live up north tho. If we lived in London we would be living in a shoebox in zone 5.

I should probably have reframed the question as is it better to stay in a flat but with a smaller mortgage or move to a house but take a larger one.

I would say that's completely normal because FTBs are older & houses are so expensive. On MNs though the norm seems to be mortgage paid off at 40 or a tiny one. Realistically no one would be buying houses if that was true.

I wouldn't be at all concerned about that personally but it really depends on your other financial circumstances, future plans etc. we owe £393k and will be paying until we are 68. Realistically I expect to pay it off far earlier because even with significant interest rate rises, inflation over that period means I expect to be able to overpay by more and more as the years go by. And if things change we will downsize.

I'm 45 and have just taken out a 19 year mortgage. DH will be past retirement age by the times it's paid off. We do plan to overpay, but I think the days of getting a mortgage in your 20s or 30s for 25 years and never extending are long gone for many people.

also it depends on income. A 2k mortgage on a 6k plus income with lots of equity isn't really risky.

Utter nonsense.

Its pretty typical to do this

I do think its worth looking at mortgages you can overpay on, if circumstances allow though. Putting in a bit extra if you are able to. Doing this just a small amount can tske off a significant amount of time off the mortgage

DH is early 50s and we've just taken on a 450k mortgage. It all depends on when you want to retire and if you can afford it.

Deoends doesnt it?
What are the service charges?
What do you want?
What are your incones?
What will your pension be?
Is flat in a great location you love?
Too many variables