Mortgage free now - but thinking of getting new one!

Lovelyjoolz

Hi Guys
I wasn't sure where to post this at first, but figured you guys are the best to ask!

Me and OH are currently mortgage free. I'm 38, he's 48. No kids, two cats. The mortgage was paid off last summer. Great you say, how fantastic not to have a mortgage to pay. And I would agree with you but for one thing...I hate the house and the area we live in. It's a generously sized 3 bed end terrace house, but there is no off road parking, no garage and no garden. Just a yard the size of a decent double bedroom that is built into a hill and on several tiny levels. I long for a bit of decent outside space. Not acres - just enough to put a bit of garden furniture outside, have a bbq and grow a few salad leaves or something! We're also driven mad by the lack of parking. It's very annoying coming back from the supermarket and having to lug your shopping from the only parking space you couold find, three streets away.

Anyway, a similarly proportioned house that ha a driveway, garage and a scrap of garden in a reasonable area will cost us around 75k more than the value of our current house. I reckon that if we took out a 15 yr mortgage that allowed overpayments, we could pay it off within 10 years easily, less if we have a few less extravagant holidays.

So, from the perspective of a someone striving to pay off the mortgage, am I insane to be considering this??

I would love to hear your thoughts.

J
xxx

Lois_E

Hi Lovelyjoolz and welcome to MFW.

No, you're not insane, and if you go for it, you'll be very welcome on here if you fancy any support along your journey to paying off your new mortgage. People on here have a wide variety of circumstances - it's a very accepting place. The only thing we have in common is that we're not content to pay just the standard payment and remain tied to the mortgage until the end of the original term.

I've bought a big house that I love, and am just about to start a long journey towards mortgage-freedom as soon as I've finished paying for a bit of building work I had done once I moved in. I could have been MF by now if I'd bought a much smaller house, but I don't regret my decision. Others are trying to OP their mortgages and save for a move or extension at the same time, or trying to get their mortgages down so they'll have more equity and get a better deal when they come to move somewhere bigger. Other people have decided to stay in a smaller house because they feel a bigger/nicer house wouldn't be worth the extra mortgage it would entail. One or two have reached mortgage-freedom and decided to start again on a bigger property. Have a read of some diaries and you'll see how varied a bunch we are.

You just have to weigh up how badly you hate the house, and how much sacrifice it will be to have less spending money for the next ten years while you pay off the new mortgage. Nobody can answer that one for you, but we'll cheer you on whatever you decide.

Lovelyjoolz

Oh, what a lovely reply Lois! Thank you for the welcome

I shall read the diaries and reassure myself of my sanity!

x

wynnvegas

Hi Lovelyjoolz,

I feel your pain. We're in a very similar position although it's made harder by the fact that a) we don't hate the place we're in and b) we do want acres to play with. If you really dislike the place you're in just now and don't need to scrimp and save to afford the new place, I say go for it. The security of being mortgage free is amazing but we, like you, are looking to use that to propel onward - even if it means taking out another mortgage...

Mind you, it would be easier just to retire now!

Cheers,

Billy

SAMMYE_2

You've done it before so you can do it again.

Challenges in life and striving for something better are what makes life worth living....

If I were you I'd definitely go for it although a very good thought out plan and plenty of savings should be made before you set out on this new path :-)

spidystrider

We've done the exact same thing. We became mortgage free in January 2007 but I couldn't feel excited about it as I wasn't happy in the house we were in. In November 2009 we took on a new mortgage and I love my new home. The only way we will ever move again is if we decide to downsize when the kids leave, but that won't be for years.

I really don't like having another mortgage and can't wait to see the back of it, but to have remained in a house I wasn't happy with made no sense. If you are unhappy now, it's unlikely to change as it doesn't sound like the problems with your property can be improved.

If you can afford to go for it, you should. Just make sure you join in here with the rest of us mortgage free wannabes and you'll be surprised at how quickly you will knock the years off.

Good luck

stedwell

Gosh this thread is interesting! I thought I was the only mad person who had taken out another mortgage.
Lovelyjoolz, I remember my friend looking at me in horror when I told him I had taken out another 110,000 mortgage. He said that quality of life (Eg. holidays and eating out) was more important to him. However, for me my home is my quality of life. My house is only slightly bigger but has a better outlook and is close to my children's schools. We have been here 16 months and I have already taken 9 months off the mortgage so it can be done. The only thing I would say is look to the future and make sure you can afford it come what may. Will you want to retire early? My hubby is older than me too and will now have to retire later to pay the mortgage. I think it all depends on how much your house means to you.

Sepa74

I don't think you're crazy, and in fact, isn't the freedom to make this decision what being mortgage free is all about? If you hadn't paid off your first mortgage so quickly you would be stuck in a house you hate, but because you were so disciplined you can move to somewhere that suits you better. You just need to be sure of your priorities - you can only spend the extra money you have because you're mortgage free once, whether it is on holidays or a new house, but as long as you're clear that's what is important to you, then do it!

I hope that makes sense, it's a little garbled!

dimbo61

Get searching for your dream home!
Try and buy under the £250K mark as you pay 3% stamp duty over this but if you want a garage and off street parking plus a garden then move.
Its a good time to buy IF you can get a mortgage which in your case should be no problem!
Double income and no kids plus plenty of equity
Consider an offset mortgage and I would be tempeted by a 5 year fix OFFSET at less than 4%

originalmiscellany

If you can afford it, go for it! You will have a great loan to value, if this is the house you're going to live in forever, I'd go for the 10 year fix with Chelsea at 3.99 if your LTV is under 70% which I guess it could be? Absolute bargain! Also as you've experienced being mortgage free, so that really should be all you need to do to get focussed

And yes, 75 over 10 years seems very manageable I would say.

DVardysShadow

The reason for becoming mortgage free is to have control over more of your money. Being mortgage free is not an end in itself.

So, if you have become mortgage free that gives you money which you can choose to use on another mortgage so you can get a house where you can grow salad leaves or whatever. There is no breach of principle - if you had not become mortgage free in the first place, you might not now be free to make the choice to get what you want with another mortgage.