Best to overpay or shorter mortgage?

kevcarling

I am going to be buying other half out. But I was wondering whether to get a shorter mortgage and pay more or just overpay and be flexible about it. I might add that I am 54..

Edi81

Not enough info. 

What age are you retiring at? Amount outstanding on mortgage?
personally I’d go as long as possible and overpay. 

K_S

kevcarling said:

I am going to be buying other half out. But I was wondering whether to get a shorter mortgage and pay more or just overpay and be flexible about it. I might add that I am 54..

@kevcarling Very generally speaking https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2014/10/dont-shorten-your-mortgage-term-if-you-can-overpay/

Once you're in your late 50s or within 10 years of retirement, additional criteria comes into the picture with a lot of lenders so you may want to consider getting the longest term you can at this point in time and then just overpay if needed to achieve the same impact as a shorter term.

ACG

My theory on this is it depends on the applicant:
- If you are quite head strong and will stick to it, overpaying gives more flexibility if something goes wrong and you need some extra money. 
- Shorter term commits you to the higher payments so you can not get distracted by holidays/new TV etc.