Mad mortgage sob stories – what am I missing?

[amluuui]

I've seen a couple of slightly mad stories in the paper in the last few days, of people who have owned their homes for decades, yet have been on interest-only details. And now they're suddenly panicking about interest rates.

Like this bloke, who seems to have owned his house for over 20 years, remortgaged to pay for improvements and still has nearly half a million left to pay off.

He says: "We’ve geared our lives around the low interest rates of the past 13 years. I am the only earner in the family. If interest rates hit 6%, I’ll have to find an extra £1,480 per month – well over double what we pay now. That is totally catastrophic for our family, absolutely terrifying.”

Can anyone explain why on earth he thought this was a good idea? What would his rationale have been for doing this? (As a renter who is trying to save to buy, hell no I don't want to bail him out.)

Another woman here, who's owned her home for several decades and is on an interest-only mortgage. Why? It does seem she's had health problems, which is rubbish for her, but how was she planning to eventually pay off the mortgage?

Am still getting my head around mortgages and genuinely want to understand this, if anyone can help. I thought only landlords got interest-only deals?

I did.

And yet you still have no understanding of the complexities of poverty, systemic disadvantage and power structures.

It is funny that people who are rightly proud of "beating the odds" so often don't realise that the continuing existence of people who didn't do what they did are proof of those very odds. That's supposed to be why you're proud. If it really is so easy and everyone else really is just lazy and stupid, what are you so proud of?

More education needed. I'm sure you're smart enough.

Hmmm. I'm in the generation that will but a panini and a nice coffee. My parents are in the generation where they would but a curry and several pints.

Actually, that means my generation is doing the "treats" on the cheaper and healthier side. It's different but not more expensive