Older First Time Buyer

TBagpuss

As others are saying, the main issue is the length of any mortgage term. I know when I last moved house my new mortgage was for 24 years and 6 months, rather than 25 years , because of my age. However, I could have got a longer term if I had gone with a different lender (and it was 9 years ago and I think there are more lenders wiling to go past 65 / 67 now)  In my case it didn't matter ( I was always planning to pay it off faster, the length was more to give me wriggle room s I am self-employed so my income can vary)

I think many lenders will now lend up to your 70th so if you were 45 you could still get a 25 year mortgage 

Obviously if you have the mortgage over a shorter period then this means for the same amount of borrowing, your monthly payments will be higher, which has a knock on effect on affordability, so you may be offered less than if you were younger. It shouldn't affect interest rates, though. 

[Deleted User]

crmiles01 said:

Hiya, a newbie, here. I've already gained so much from browsing the forums. 

However I wanted to ask if there were any other 40ish first time buyers out there. I'm 45, and only now starting to think about buying.

I'm single (so will be buying by myself) I don't have much in savings (family can't help financially) good 40k job, and a little bit of debt (working on that) and would be looking at shared ownership, but I'm worried about my buying options because of my age. 

What are the implications of getting mortgage at 45+ (higher rates, higher deposit required). 

Has anyone been a similar age/position got any success stories of getting on housing ladder. 

Hope you can advise/inspire me. 

Similar situation. Around here it's fairly hopeless, and I earn more than you. You may be lucky if your area is cheaper, but if you are talking about shared ownership then I'm guessing it's not.

The problem with shared ownership is that the rent you pay reduces the amount you can borrow, and the amount you can put towards staircasing. Unless you can staircase to 100% ownership you will have issues selling, because the other owner has to approve the buyer and probably won't be keen to give up their lucrative rental income.

At 45 if you want a 25 year mortgage you will be looking at retiring when you are 71. That's not unrealistic these days, with the pension age likely to go up to at least 68, probably beyond. Pensions aren't what they used to be so even after that date a lot of people will likely be forced to carry on working.

You also have to factor in that life insurance will be higher for you. By age 45 most people have picked up at least one existing health problem that they will need to report to any insurer. Check for exclusions.

Since you are single, if you don't have too many other ties them consider emigrating. It's not quite as easy after brexit, but still possible. Ireland doesn't need a visa, you can just turn up and start working there, and parts are fairly cheap and nicer than the UK.

Good luck.

newsgroupmonkey_

crmiles01 said:

Hiya, a newbie, here. I've already gained so much from browsing the forums. 

However I wanted to ask if there were any other 40ish first time buyers out there. I'm 45, and only now starting to think about buying.

I'm single (so will be buying by myself) I don't have much in savings (family can't help financially) good 40k job, and a little bit of debt (working on that) and would be looking at shared ownership, but I'm worried about my buying options because of my age. 

What are the implications of getting mortgage at 45+ (higher rates, higher deposit required). 

Has anyone been a similar age/position got any success stories of getting on housing ladder. 

Hope you can advise/inspire me. 

I wasn't quite a FTB, but I'd not owned for a number of years (lost everything in my divorce). I was 48.
Now, I am remarried, but the wife's income wasn't really much to talk about and frankly, I could have got the mortgage on my own.

I think it makes little difference to your age, but clearly, you don't want to be planning paying off the mortgage beyond 75 (I think that's the max for both). As it happened, we felt we could afford more, so got the mortgage over 20 years. When we moved again last year, we upped it so that it now finishes by the time I'm 66. We hope that by the next time we need to fix it in a couple of years, the mortgage rates might have dropped and we can afford to bring it down to my 65th birthday.

We got the same rate at the time that anyone of 18 and above would have got.

theartfullodger

gwynlas said:

With the pension age being 68 for the majority at the moment you should not have a problem with a mortgage ending at 70. I would advise that you look at a standard purchase rather than shared ownership as you would still be subject to rent increases and if staircasing subject to valuation at the time

I've got a mortgage ending my age 80. Currently I'm 75....

Understand you get them ending even later - depending on your income, pensions, assets  etc etc etc

TBagpuss

IT does depend a bit on your financial situation generally - for instance, if you get a 25 year mortgage you may still be able to pay it off early - over paying even small amounts adds up over time, and of course you may be able to increase your income whether through career progression, getting a lodger,  occasional side gigs etc. 

You may also think about moving when you retire, particularly if you live in an area where property prices are higher, moving somewhere a bit less expensive may be an option when you retire.

And if you pay into a pension then you might be able to take a lump sum at some point and use that to clear / reduce the outstanding mortgage. Obviously all those things depend on your personals situation both now and as you approach retirement age, but taking out a mortgage now which is not expected to be paid off until you are 70 or 75 doesn't necessarily mean you will *actually* be paying it at that point .

Obviously you need to be clear about what you are taking on, but in a worst case scenario, if you were to buy and then ended up selling when you reached retirement age, you'd likely still pay less over the next 20-30 years than if you were renting, and with any luck will build up some equity as well.

user1977

[Deleted User] said:

crmiles01 said:

Hiya, a newbie, here. I've already gained so much from browsing the forums. 

However I wanted to ask if there were any other 40ish first time buyers out there. I'm 45, and only now starting to think about buying.

I'm single (so will be buying by myself) I don't have much in savings (family can't help financially) good 40k job, and a little bit of debt (working on that) and would be looking at shared ownership, but I'm worried about my buying options because of my age. 

What are the implications of getting mortgage at 45+ (higher rates, higher deposit required). 

Has anyone been a similar age/position got any success stories of getting on housing ladder. 

Hope you can advise/inspire me. 

You also have to factor in that life insurance will be higher for you. By age 45 most people have picked up at least one existing health problem that they will need to report to any insurer. Check for exclusions.

The OP doesn't suggest they have any dependants, so no real need for life insurance (at the moment anyway).

[Deleted User]

theartfullodger said:

gwynlas said:

With the pension age being 68 for the majority at the moment you should not have a problem with a mortgage ending at 70. I would advise that you look at a standard purchase rather than shared ownership as you would still be subject to rent increases and if staircasing subject to valuation at the time

I've got a mortgage ending my age 80. Currently I'm 75....

Understand you get them ending even later - depending on your income, pensions, assets  etc etc etc

You need a decent pension for that, unless you plan to work until you are 80.

Decent pensions are largely no longer available. Extreme house prices make putting more into a pension difficult for many, especially on £40k/year.

You need to be very careful before deciding to do this.

ManuelG

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

crmiles01 said:

Hiya, a newbie, here. I've already gained so much from browsing the forums. 

However I wanted to ask if there were any other 40ish first time buyers out there. I'm 45, and only now starting to think about buying.

I'm single (so will be buying by myself) I don't have much in savings (family can't help financially) good 40k job, and a little bit of debt (working on that) and would be looking at shared ownership, but I'm worried about my buying options because of my age. 

What are the implications of getting mortgage at 45+ (higher rates, higher deposit required). 

Has anyone been a similar age/position got any success stories of getting on housing ladder. 

Hope you can advise/inspire me. 

I wasn't quite a FTB, but I'd not owned for a number of years (lost everything in my divorce). I was 48.
Now, I am remarried, but the wife's income wasn't really much to talk about and frankly, I could have got the mortgage on my own.

I think it makes little difference to your age, but clearly, you don't want to be planning paying off the mortgage beyond 75 (I think that's the max for both). As it happened, we felt we could afford more, so got the mortgage over 20 years. When we moved again last year, we upped it so that it now finishes by the time I'm 66. We hope that by the next time we need to fix it in a couple of years, the mortgage rates might have dropped and we can afford to bring it down to my 65th birthday.

We got the same rate at the time that anyone of 18 and above would have got.

That's my cunning plan. If interest rates go down, shorten the length and in the meantime b overpay whenever I can

lookstraightahead

Op, you shouldn't have a problem based on age.

Get your mortgage then you can look at overpaying if you wish, but also look at work which will give you an income until later in life, but which you will enjoy.

it's getting increasingly popular to work longer but enjoy your work, rather than hating your job and crawling towards retirement.

look at your pension / take out other  investments. 

crmiles01

Thanks everyone for your comments and posts it was really encouraging to hear. And have taken note of the advice, I will take everything on board, but its definitely left me feeling more optimistic about the situation.   Thank you.