The Ultimate Mortgage Calculator discussion

Tickle71

Can the calculator be updated to only show the years that your regular overpayment was within the 10% limit.

gman1001

I have used the calculator and it advises that it is better to keep money in savings rather than to overpay. At some point in the future saving interest rates may fall and at that point it may be better to overpay.
The calulator assumes no changes like above over the term. I wonder if it is better to make overpayments early in the mortgage term for greater impact and it the calculator considers this scenario?

hairywalrus

lord.ford said:

I'm sure this has already been covered but I'm confused as to the 'overpayment vs savings' approach of the the tool.

I'm with you.  My savings rate is somewhat higher than my mortgage rate, yet somehow the tool concludes I'll be better off making overpayments.  The saving from overpayments is £20k but the "gain" from stashing it in savings is £17k.  Now totally confused what I should be doing.

Interesting2me

Would be great if you could enter allowed penalty free overpayment and the tool then apply up to maximum of that value per year. Then it would be clear as to when the real end date is and what is the actual saving is. Even smarter if for example unused amount is reported for each year so you can see how much would be available to pay off as lump sum in a remortgage scenario perhaps

KneadDough

Hi, is there a way of seeing what the monthly payments would be if an overpayment was made, but the term stayed the same? My mortgage provider will allow me to overpay so it reduces the monthly amount without decreasing the term of the mortgage. Thanks 

Mr_Miser

I only found this (Oct 2024) after having used an offset mortgage for nearly ten years and I haven't read all of the many pages of previous comments, so apologies for any duplication.
Resulting from a test calculation, I found that the offset mortgage was paid off after 20 years, compared with the target 25 - that's all good but unless I misunderstood, the full-term calculation looks worse than it should because from the point that the offset savings equal the value of the remaining mortgage, then all (mortgage payments + any additional savings) should then be going into a savings account that earns interest because no further benefit accrues in the offset account (you are just missing out on interest and compounding), so the financial benefits are artificially diminished by comparison with a conventional mortgage. For a full comparison, from the break-even point (when savings = outstanding mortgage) the mortgage payments, plus any additional savings/overpayments should be saved at the same rate of interest as in the case of the 'normal' mortgage up until the end of the term e.g. 25 years. This would give you a more accurate comparison of the financial benefit over the full term, as well as the knowledge that the mortgage has been paid off several years early.

Cnadz

Just had a look at your Ultimate Mortgage Calculator and found there is no way to calculate a Fixed Term (of 2 or 5 years) with the same mortgage company/bank within the period of a mortgage i.e. 15, 20, or 25 years. I understand that I would, in efect, be starting a new mortgage after the fixed term is up, however, the total length of a / the mortgage remains the same. To be able to change interest rates within the total life of a mortgage, 15, 20, 25 years would be a great advantage. here's hoping.