Mortgage Free - Why?

madeupname1

WGG1848 wrote: »

Where's the benefit of living in a mortgage free house and not have a penny to turn too?
:j

To be fair, I don't think that is what most people on the board are doing. Most are trying to pay down their mortgage whilst still maintaining an acceptable quality of life and putting by savings for a rainy day.

From my own point of view, there is no way I could support my current mortgage at the age of 67 on a pension and I don't want to have to downsize / downgrade from where I currently live. Therefore, for me, sensible financial planning means reducing my debt to a manageable level (well preferably nothing). So far, making overpayments (together with the reductions in interest rates) have already reduced my monthly payments by £1,000 per month. That's £1,000 I have to spend on other things (mostly more overpayments) ... each month!

de1amo

WGG1848 wrote: »

Hello de1amo, you are correct, the property is now worth a sensible £800,000.:beer:
I have been sensible in my borrowing for house purchase, the maximum my mortgage has been is £36,000.
I have used the availabilty of mortgages over the years, at times the rate has been as high as 13%.
My post is genuine as is my good fortune to live where I do.
I also cannot believe that fixed term mortgages are not popular.
To go to sleep at night not having to worry what might happen to your mortgage over night, must be welcoming.:j

keeping it sensible is the key term--keep it within your budget and dont over extend yourself. i have always kept it that way!-when rates were 13pc i was well within my budget and there werent such things as fixed mortgages i dont think! Svrs were the norm and it has just come full circle to today-- for fixed rates on smaller mortgages the fees that are currently offered dont seem to offer good value(coupled with the higher rates on pcs) so the banks arent attractive for me- but i have had fixed rates and they served a purpose at that time--i keep watch but dont lose sleep not being tied in!

WGG1848

Sensible is the operative way in all things. I only borrowed what I could comfortably pay back. 2 1/2 times salary or 3 on 2 wages. I also used endowments to repay the capital, not being seduced by the low-cost method where the withprofit part was so low that never in a million years were they going to repay a loan.
It boils down at the end of the day to being sensible and being seduced by figures from commision hungry salesmen and the lenders relaxing the rules, have brought misery to thousands of honest , but not neccesary sensible people.