Jump to content

Mortgage overpayments advice


sishyplops
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi all, I'm now in a position to make a regular overpayment on my mortgage, it's still got 14 years left to run and I overpay £125 a month, I asked why a lump sum I paid (£1k) had made no difference to my monthly cost even however small it would have been and was told by the chat person that amounts under the equvelant to 3 months payment would come off the term not the monthly amount, also my overpayments will reduce the term,.

 

So the question to those who may know is , is it better to have this come off the term or the monthly amount ie is there any advantage to either or is it all academic

 

Thanks in advance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Making overpayments on your mortgage is a great idea. It is one of the most sensible financial decisions the boss and I made.

 

When ever we went on holiday, what cash we had left went straight off the mortgage, when we had any cash left at the end of a month, we paid it off, when childcare finished when the kids started school full time, we didn't cash in, but used the money to make over payments.

 

I don't have a mortgage. First house bought age 26 and all paid off by 40!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a heady mix of stability of income, interest rates, property prices and risk.

 

A few years ago I had the choice of paying down an existing mortgage or taking that extra money and rolling it into buy to lets - firstly because I saw pent up demand in the market and secondly because no one makes any money in one / their own property because you can't sell it, you have to live in it.

 

Paying down borrowings when borrowing is at an all time low interest rate wise doesn't make sense. Yes I appreciate rates can go up but you can fix at f-all for 5 years.

 

Another example I put a client onto a commercial lend of £100k at 16% pa for 1 year with an option to go to 2 and with decent (charged) security. That is getting redeemed this month and the client is netting a cool £30k (22 months borrowed). That's far better use of money. The client had the cash on hip, but even if he had borrowed the money at 5% he'd make £20k splitting the difference.

 

£150 a month could get you £50,000 (ball park) interest only. Is there something you could do with £50,000 that could spin you a better return than the interest rate on your mortgage?

Edited by Mungler
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a heady mix of stability of income, interest rates, property prices and risk.

 

A few years ago I had the choice of paying down an existing mortgage or taking that extra money and rolling it into buy to lets - firstly because I saw pent up demand in the market and secondly because no one makes any money in one / their own property because you can't sell it, you have to live in it.

 

Paying down borrowings when borrowing is at an all time low interest rate wise doesn't make sense. Yes I appreciate rates can go up but you can fix at f-all for 5 years.

 

Another example I put a client onto a commercial lend of £100k at 16% pa for 1 year with an option to go to 2 and with decent (charged) security. That is getting redeemed this month and the client is netting a cool £30k (22 months borrowed). That's far better use of money. The client had the cash on hip, but even if he had borrowed the money at 5% he'd make £20k splitting the difference.

 

£150 a month could get you £50,000 (ball park) interest only. Is there something you could do with £50,000 that could spin you a better return than the interest rate on your mortgage?

As with the threads on inheritance, you've got to take a rather morbid view on some of these bigger personal finance questions.

 

It's all very well being rich in assets, but, as someone said earlier in this thread, equity doesn't pay the bills.

 

Mungler makes a good point, and you could certainly make that money work harder. We're about to do the same - remortgaging an existing property to enable us to use the equity (and the remains of the existing mortgage) on a cheapy little flat elsewhere in town.

 

You can't take it with you.

 

BUT, if the thought of owning your own home is making you moist, then go for it. :good:

 

LS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am paying off early for the very simple reason, I do not intend on "needing" to work when and how long my outgoings decide. My (and like many others) there mortgage will be there biggest monthly bill.

I owe nothing to anyone, including credit cards, finance (apart from my bins) apart from my mortgage, once thats gone I see it as everything I have is mine and, nobody can take it away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Dougy and was one of the reasons we moved to Norfolk. It means I don't have to work and if I do it is out of choice not necessity. What Mungler says is correct but it depends on what your objective is. If you want get the best returns then using the capital for other investments makes sense. However, if you want the emotional comfort of not having a mortgage then it doesn't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a juggle and you have to have the mind set for it. I am actually quite risk adverse when it comes to lumps of money and the only reason I got involved in property was because of low and fixed interest rates - you know exactly where you are for 5 years.

 

In the South East, it's all about capital appreciation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The wife and I overpayed from day one of our 25 year mortgage. Even small amounts make a huge difference. There was a limit on our mortgage on what we could overpay , if we were under the limit we would top it up to hit the limit.

It was hard going being a young ish couple on pretty poor wages but we managed to get rid of it in 10 years with my wife being 30 it was a thing we were proud of.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The curve ball is an offset mortgage, keeps the cash available while reducing either repayment or term depending how it is set up.

We have enough to nearly pay off the mortgage I a savings account which offsets our mortgage interest. I kept repayments the same so am effectively overpaying. When we want to move house we will look at things but it means we will have more cash available so may not need to extend the mortgage etc. if we don't move we have the money to put into another buy to let. In the meantime the interest we are charged is about £20 a month and we effectively don't pay tax on savings as it in theory doesn't pay interest

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My business partner wants to move and he has been sensibly and busily saving up money.

 

The problem is this - say in 2012 he had £165,000 in savings and was just accumulating money for the next leap on the property ladder.

 

If he bought an investment property locally in 2012, £165,000 would have got him a 3 bed mid terrace rental property.

 

Alternatively, 3 years bank / building society interest on £165,000 from 2012 to date would be what, maybe £15,000.

 

Whereas that same 3 bed house is now £295,000 and delivers a rental income of £1200 per month, so like for like over the same period (and for ease of calculation ignoring tax) the property delivers up capital growth and rental of £130,000 plus £43,200 (a total of £173,200).

 

So that's £15,000 -vs- £173,200 over the same 3 year period.

 

Also, the same property that my partner wanted to buy and move into to live back in 2012 is now probably worth 25-40% more than when he was looking back in 2012.

 

You can't chase that curve just by saving and paying down a mortgage early.

Edited by Mungler
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So many options to consider.

Tax rates, life plans, chance of divorce, pension, other investments and so on. It's nice to drop the mortgage but what else could you do?

Every time I paid off my mortgage I found something else that would have been a better option.

 

Even my daughter prefers student debt where finance is cheap rather than using her savings to pay for her course.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...