Let’s talk mortgages with Marsden Building Society - £100 voucher to be won

I'm planning on equity release in 5 years time - gifting some to the children and buying my last ever car. That will be my last big purchase as I have nothing else left in the bucket list - apart from a trip to Northumberland and a day trip to Canterbury. I'm easily contented!

I have no need for a new mortgage, I have been mortgage free since my mid-forties through very careful savings and planning when I paid it off and got a divorce. I kept the house, he took his pension and another property he was buying, post split.

I saved £1000 for a deposit for my first house in 1976 and delayed having children until they could be afforded. My largest borrowing for my third house was only £45,000 though; that was in 1985 on a house which cost £65,000 to buy. This is where I still live. The remaining finance to buy it came from profit off previous house sales.

I have since extended my home, again from savings. My highest earnings BTW were only £15,000 per annum so it can be done. I have never been extravagant and am not a drinker or smoker. However, I also managed to have holidays abroad, bought a new car for my retirement and still buy the children and grandchildren nice things even though I only live on the state pension.

I really don't understand what people my age-almost 70, have done with their money if they have nothing to show for it in later life. Property was cheap in our day although interest was high. I have no time for the 'poor me' brigade, I'm a council house kid made good, who received no family inheritance.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

We took a mortgage out for 20 years, we paid it off 4 years early and the feeling is great, knowing that it is all ours and nobody can come and take it off us, It also made life a lot easier now we can go away more without the worry if we can we afford it.

I was very happy when we paid off our mortgage and I wouldn't consider taking out a new one. I think the risk is too great.

I have had several mortgages throughout my life. When I was 65 I moved south to be closer to my children and because of the difference in house prices decided to take out a 9 year mortgage which I subsequently paid off a few years early due to an inheritance.

I took a 25-year mortgage out and paid it off over 12 years. I went without a lot of things during those 12 years but the euphoria once I was debt-free was worth it.

I've never had a mortgage myself, but, for the sole reason of being able to enter the competition to win a £100 voucher, am happy to offer a few general thoughts on the subject.

My better half has recently finished paying his mortgage and says he'd be reluctant to take on another at this time of his life (he is a few years younger than me).

I think it's good that there are lenders out there that would consider giving mortgages to older people if they require them. If I were one of them I would certainly get a magnifying glass out to read and re-read all the terms & conditions (but then I do this as routine anyway - I'd rather be a little paranoid than conned or trapped in an unsatisfactory but binding contract).

In the current climate with so many uncertainties I could see why people, especially older people, may be reluctant to commit to long-term mortgages. Employment seems to have more potential pitfalls these days. So much in society seems temporary by nature. Most mortgages do not allow much scope to adapt if circumstances change. I don't know if having, not having or paying off a mortgage has any effect on people's credit rating....my better half said that, apart from his mortgage, he has never borrowed a penny, not had any loans, used an overdraft facility or bought anything on HP and therefore his credit rating is rubbish - he compared it years ago to that of a friend a bit younger than himself who was, at the time, over £30K 'in debt' (he rented so none of the debt was mortgage related) - the friend had an excellent credit rating - seems whatever the source of borrowing money someone will always be there to profit from it!

Unless something drastic happened I can't see my better half wanting to take on another mortgage. And if ever I were lucky enough to win a sizeable sum of money I would have to buy outright as my health problems would most likely exclude me from being able to get a mortgage anyway.

I’ve just had to take out a mortgage at age 56 as I’m getting divorced.
Not looking forward to having to work until I am 69

I am a 61 in full time work, and have just taken out an 8 year mortgage due to a 'late in life' divorce. The monthly installment is the same as the monthly rent I currently, but if I didn't work, my pension income would just about cover the monthly payments although I would fail the ' affordability test. This is unfair to you g people in same rent trap. Friends in similar positions have struggled to find mortgage products but I used a broker who found me a hybrid interest only/part repayment mortgage. The interest only part is a worry but the sale of the former matrimonial home should be sufficient to pay off both loans . My main concern is when my 'deal' runs out in 2 years and the interest rate will be raised from 1.38% to a tracker rate of 3.25% over bank of England rate. I think I may find it harder to get a 6 year term in order remotgage then as I will be 63, and may at risk of redundancy unless economy recovers, but hopefully sale of matrimonial home will have gone through.

I would be happy to take out a mortgage if I was confident that I could repay it.

My husband and I have had various mortgages over the years - together and individually. We have both been married before and got together in our late 40s. My husband had an acquantance who was a "financial adviser", who persuaded him to change his mortgae to one with an apparently low interest rate, then disappeared with his commission from several such deals, after which those who had taken the deal found their payments shot up after the first three months. The acquaintance was pursued by law enforcement but don't think he was ever caught. My husband ended up with an interest only mortgage for years as that was all he could then afford. We had the chance to pay off our mortgage when I inherited half the value of my mum's house . I think that may have been the wise thing to do, but we were both having issues at work, so it saw us through a tough time when my husband retired due to ill health and I left my work as I couldn't accept what I considered to be the dishonest way certain things were being done.
I commuted some of my pensoion to take a higher lump sum and paid off our mortgage when I retired and we had just moved home due to basically being flooded out of our previous one! We now manage fine on our pensions but are not particularly well off. I still think paying off the mortgage was the right decision though.
I would be very reluctant to take out a mortgage now, but might consider it in two scenarios:
* if it were the only way my stepdaughters could get onto the property ladder. My own three already have their own homes and kids ( but were helped financially by their dad and parents-in-law).
* if one of us died and the other didn't have enough income to live on ( it would be very tight!)

I would need to carry out a lot of research before choosing a company to take out a mortgage with though.

I would not like to take out a mortgage in retirement as my income is now fixed. Would be more likely to downsize and get some capital hopefully.

We finally paid off our mortgage 2 years ago after struggling every month since I was 18!!! We are both self-employed and the relief at finally owning our home is indescribable. I realise equity release could be suitable for some people but it sounds like a terrible idea to me.....

My mortgage is paid off and it is great having the extra cash each month. I always imagined I would "downsize" if I needed money - but I might consider a mortgage from a reputable lender.

We paid off the mortgage when my OH retired. Neither of us would consider taking a mortgage out at the moment but we have a reasonably big garden that may get too much as we get older in about 10-15 years time. In that case we may need a bridging loan instead of a mortgage but we would need to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Personally I would not like a mortgage in old age, but appreciate for some people - needs must.

I am a about to take out a small mortgage. Why, I made a mistake moving from the area I had lived in all my life to release some cash. It worked but I hate where I moved to. I have an offer on mine and have had an offer accepted. So I am off. To do a few jobs I need an ROI lone of £10,000 I will then still have some savings..I am 80 with no close family.

Because of a divorce I ended up single and in my 50s having to move to a smaller house and take out a large mortgage. I could only afford interest only at the time. I am still left as a pensioner with a large mortgage and the only way I could keep my house was to get a repayment mortgage with my son-in-law added to the mortgage and providing the multiplier.
I have decided to give up the struggle now at 69 years as the mortgage is now on a standard variable rating and with that, council tax and bills, I am left living off my fast disappearing savings and so have no choice but to sell up and live off the equity.
The only thing I have left in my favour is that I have a credit score of the highest and that is due to my being frugal.
I have no idea what the future holds but I still remain optimistic and it’s got to be better than this huge debt hanging over me.

Sadly many people say that they own their home not accepting that they only own a portion until the mortgage is paid off. It was really hard at the time but so glad now that we made the huge effort (both frugal & physical) to make sure that we were debt(mortgage) free at the earliest opportunity.

Not a fan of the idea of retirement mortgages - many people struggle to pay off an existing mortgage so they don't carry that debt over into retirement. I would like to see multi generational mortgages become a thing - a lot of us would like to see our children benefit from our hard work in paying off a mortgage on a property and these kind of mortgages can lead the way to that

I also would not want a mortgage in retirement. When we returned from living overseas we bought a small property outright rather than have a mortgage which would tie us down for years.

We had an endowment and all the problems with the policy not paying out enough to clear the debt. We tried to get some compensation without any luck so we paid it off when my Mum died and left me her house, It was wonderful to not have that weight. I would not want a mortgage in retirement.

I paid my mortgage off some years ago now and the way things are going in this country job wise I am pleased I no longer have this to pay now I am retired.

We were in the generation that were given endowment mortgages and as we moved, eleven times over the years, ended up with ten endowments. Only one of them paid out the expected amount and the others had shortfalls amounting to £60,000. We sold them and tried to pay the mortgage off but in retirement we’re left with a substantial sum.
We have just taken out a lifetime mortgage to pay this off and it’s such a relief to know we won’t have it hanging over us anymore. Hurray!