After watching dispatches last night...........

swampduck

in which discussions were raised on ageism and the 50 plusses being discriminated against ...............(get to the point swampy!!:huh: .........)

There was one guy on there who was 65 (I think!) and was struggling to pay a mortgage. I cant remember all the details but dont the Mortgage companies think about how people will pay mortgages when they retire?
This guy could not get another job because of his age so faced the possibility of losing his home. What limits do the mortgage companies set?
Personally speaking when I set up home with my OH we took out a 15 year mortgage which left us with a few years to save once the mortgage was paid off. But even we - with the current recession have been hit by a lack of work in my OH's self employment business and could come unstuck.
My dad had a mortgage in his 70's but had a guaranteed seamans' pension so could pay his mortgage - but how do other people cope when they may have lost their pensions due to Gordon Browns' interfering or other circumstances beyond their control.
It seems quite scary to think that the oldies/silver generation could lose their homes because of either their own short sightedness or just because GB robbed their pensions and what savings they have are being eroded.

Swampy

feisty1

what happened to people taking responsibility for themselves?
people know retirement is 65, if they take a mortgage exceeding this date and an explanation of how they intend to pay is it still the mortgage company/adviser to blame............Oh nanny state!!!

Wutang_2

swampduck wrote: »

the oldies/silver generation could lose their homes because of either their own short sightedness
Swampy

you said it

Peelerfart

And what would the OP have us do ?

swampduck

I was under the impression that the man in question still had quite a stretch to go on his mortgage which was why I raised the point about whether mortgage lenders put a limit on how long they would have a mortgagee paying once they were retired. Do they actually think about how old someone is when they grant a mortgage?
We tried to plan for the future but the best laid plans and all that - are capable of being scuppered no matter what you plan for and we are not in the fortunate position of being able to go to the nanny state for help because OH is self employed.
The state wont help any self employed people which rather makes a mockery of encouraging people to be self sufficient and enterprising while still expecting them to pay tax and NI.

Swampy.

Peelerfart

swampduck wrote: »

I was under the impression that the man in question still had quite a stretch to go on his mortgage which was why I raised the point about whether mortgage lenders put a limit on how long they would have a mortgagee paying once they were retired. Do they actually think about how old someone is when they grant a mortgage?
We tried to plan for the future but the best laid plans and all that - are capable of being scuppered no matter what you plan for and we are not in the fortunate position of being able to go to the nanny state for help because OH is self employed.
The state wont help any self employed people which rather makes a mockery of encouraging people to be self sufficient and enterprising while still expecting them to pay tax and NI.

Swampy.

I would hope the mortgage lenders expect the mortgagee to carry on paying until he has paid back the money he has borrowed. Does the person applying for the mortgage not know how old he will be at the end of the term ?.

Retirement at a certain age is not a divine right and so this chap must simply carry on working until he has paid his debts.

It's the same for everyone isn't it ?

Rikki

swampduck wrote: »

I was under the impression that the man in question still had quite a stretch to go on his mortgage which was why I raised the point about whether mortgage lenders put a limit on how long they would have a mortgagee paying once they were retired. Do they actually think about how old someone is when they grant a mortgage?
We tried to plan for the future but the best laid plans and all that - are capable of being scuppered no matter what you plan for and we are not in the fortunate position of being able to go to the nanny state for help because OH is self employed.
The state wont help any self employed people which rather makes a mockery of encouraging people to be self sufficient and enterprising while still expecting them to pay tax and NI.

Swampy.

My mother is in her late sixties. She has to pay rent and council tax of over £80 a week.
She only has her state pension and a small pension from my late father. A little too much too claim pension credit.
This will continue to need to be paid until she dies or goes into a home.

Once a mortgage is paid off the person is then able to live rent free.

pixiepie99

As far as I'm aware, mortgage lenders limit the term of your mortgage by you age... i.e. they will only give you a 30 year mortgage term if you have 30+ years to go before you retire.

I'm positive this is what Nationwide told us when we discussed the possibility of taking out a repayment mortgage with them a year and a half ago.

However, it may only be the more responsible lenders that do this. A&L allowed us to have an interest only mortgage with no proof of a repayment vehicle (the reason we went with A&L instead of Nationwide) so it wouldn't really surprise me if they would let people sign up for mortgage terms that lasted well into people's retirement.

Thinking about it, my partner's parents are both retired and still have a mortgage, albeit a fairly small one as far as I'm aware. I don't know the details of why this is though - probably a crap endowment.

spuds_2

Most lenders now ask if the mortgage will finish before standard retirement age - 65 years. I can only think that in the years of reckless lending that they were giving mortgages to people that ended after 65, just like they gave 120% mortgages, 5x salary mortgages etc.

In the past, people could afford to buy a house in their early twenties and look forward to having paid it off by the time they were fifty or so. Now many FTB's can't buy (or choose not to) until their 30's. That doesn't leave long to save between mortgage ending and retirement.

Endowment shortfalls have meant many people have had to extend their mortgage terms or pay larger amounts each month. This may account for some retirees having mortgages, as Pixie says. Also, as with interest only mortgages, there is the expectation that you will sell the property when it comes to the end of the mortgage.

I didn't see the show, but why didn't the guy on Dispatches sell and downsize? If he had had the house a long time, I would be surprised if he was in negative equity. Heart-wrenching as it must be to leave your home, it is only the same as someone getting made redundant being repossessed.

I am wondering if things like MEW and shared-equity mortgages, and mortgages beyond pension age, are going to be the next 'mis-sold' crisis.