30 years mortgage

Radsteral

after 2 years trying, i managed to buy my first house in february this year.
when i bought it , we had 270 pounds left in the bank and i couldnt believe my luck when the first morgage bill came in, it wasnt for the end of the month to pay but after 1 and half month... till then we managed to put some fatty on our bank account.

due to my selfemployed status and my vife s visa restriction, we found it hard to get a morgage, and it was sugested 1) make up 25 percent deposit and 2) do a 30 year mortgage term to make it more affordable .
we only had 40 k, and i became the beggar of the town;) and in the end managed to get 22k from friends which with hard work and busines doing well, this money s all been paid off.

now , my question is, since abbey allows me to pay 10 k extra a year, if i do that every year, and when the 3 year abbey deal ends, if let say i go with barclays, can i choose a 20 year term or i cant change this anymore? im 34 thanks

GMS

You can change your term when you remortgage, assuming you fit for the lender on affordability for the requested term.

Gorgeous_George

You can also change the term without remortgaging (but usually only when the fixed term ends). Alternatively, simply overpay (within specified limits set by your lender) and the term will reduce without formally amending your mortgage.

Download locoblade's spreadsheet (here) and you can play with the numbers yourself.

GG

Radsteral

thank you gorgeus gsm .
Was trying to find on terms and conditions etc but could find nowhere. ..was sort of confident on the above but a client i worked for recently, said he d never get a 30 year mortgage as you are tied for life etc.. made me think a bit;)

anyway thanks a lot guys

GMS

You can never be tied to a mortgage. If you take out a 30 year mortgage with a 10 year fixed term and win the lottery the following weekend you are free to pay it off. You would incur penalties and charges but you can get out of it.

A recently qualified doctor for instance may choose a 35 year term (for affordability purposes) on a 3 year fixed. At the end of the 3 year fixed they should be earning substantially more and may choose to reduce to a 20 year term, or less.

Rule of thumb would be to take the shortest term you can afford as this costs less in interest. Mortgages exist which allow unlimited overpayments etc.

A mortgage shoul dbe tailored to the individual, not to the lender.