paying off your mortgage or save

[stevewool]

i am lucky to have just a few years left on my mortgage, hard work its been, divorce,and all other crap stuff, but i have managed to get this far, last july i took out a fixed 2 year rate but my mortgage is 3 years, my plan is to overpay and the last year i could pay it in full so not having to worry if the rate goes up, my problem at this moment is do i pay 10% this year and when july comes next year pay it of in full, or dont pay nothing at all this year and pay it all next year, i will be saving around the £300 mark if i go ahead and pay, i wont get that in any savings rate, its nice to have the money in your account just in case anything comes up, but it is also nice to know you only have months left on your mortgage too,

[imagine]

is there tax relief on having a mortgage, i just wondered if there is , how does it balance out by that i mean the savings interest is very low, balance that against the diff in mortgage interest ect

just thought, to pay mortgage off you would also save on payment protection and mortgage insurance too

[grahamw48]

The only thing I WOULD advise is don't sell your property here to finance living abroad.

Perhaps buy a smaller place and use some of the equity, but always better to rent out any house you own here.

If I had done the same I'd have been retired 10 years ago, probably still married AND still be a UK property owner.

[stevewool]

imagine, i will be saving over £80 a month in insurance payments, so that is a incentive to pay my mortgage off quicker, and graham, the house we hope will be rented when the time comes for us to go to the phils, like i have said many times i am looking at around 7 years time before we move to the phils, have to have enough cash, i dont want to come back if i can help it

[imagine]

imagine, i will be saving over £80 a month in insurance payments, so that is a insentive to pay my mortgage off quicker, and graham, the house we hope will be rented when the time comes for us to go to the phils, like i have said many times i am looking at around 7 years time before we move to the phils, have to have enough cash, i dont want to come back if i can help it

seeing those photos and on emmas fb, wow its beautiful, i quite understand you wanting to go live there
mortgage payment protection is a bit of a rip off, if your off long term sick it only last for 12 months, and your still paying the insurance payments during your sick time

[stevewool]

paradise i believe, is where we would like to be, its been a long hard road to get where i am, insurance well do we need it , yes in many cases but try to claim sometimes,

[Rosie1958]

A colleague of mine was in a similar position a couple of months ago when she received an inheritance ...... does she pay off her mortgage or invest? She went to see her mortgage provider to obtain some quotes on the savings that she could make not having a mortgage and on investment income. I'd recommend that you consider doing the same, Steve.

Everyone is different and in her circumstances, it was more cost effective to pay off a lump sum but to keep her mortgage going rather than paying it all off. She was also advised to invest in some ISAs and Bonds but interest rates are not that good at the moment, hence keeping the mortgage on too.

[stevewool]

with having a small mortgage and not many years left and like you say the interest rates at this moment too, i think i will pay the 10% i can pay this year and come next july pay it off completely, that way i will save myself 1 years insurance payments,

[Rosie1958]

I had to take out a new mortage to pay off the ex when I divorced a few years ago. I am currently paying a higher mortgage rate than I need to at the moment too, so that I can reduce the term of my mortgage. It will now be paid off when I am 70 instead of 75, and I am the same age as you Steve! Fortunately, I will have a good pension so should be able to use part of my lump sum to pay the mortgage off when I retire.

Good luck with your plans, I hope that they come to fruition!

[Fitzy]

The only thing I WOULD advise is don't sell your property here to finance living abroad.

Perhaps buy a smaller place and use some of the equity, but always better to rent out any house you own here.

Yes!!!!

Am back buy the way.

Hope you guys are all doing good...

If I had done the same I'd have been retired 10 years ago, probably still married AND still be a UK property owner.

Good advice.
Am 49, and have a great many years left, but am renovating, and extending to make a granny annexe.
Is a great idea if you want to rent your place, and have a little flat at home to live in for when you spend summers back here

[stevewool]

I had to take out a new mortage to pay off the ex when I divorced a few years ago. I am currently paying a higher mortgage rate than I need to at the moment too, so that I can reduce the term of my mortgage. It will now be paid off when I am 70 instead of 75, and I am the same age as you Steve! Fortunately, I will have a good pension so should be able to use part of my lump sum to pay the mortgage off when I retire.

Good luck with your plans, I hope that they come to fruition!

just like you i had to take out a new mortgage but i thought i would have it for only 10 years but with luck its paid of in 5 , alot of going without and paying way over what i should too, but its worth it

[Iani]

Alternative - overpay your mortgage payments now, and if you've just got 3 years left, there's a good chance it can be paid off by the time your fixed rate ends.

Top of my head, average fixed rate is around the 3% range, and you're right, you would be hard pushed to find a savings rate to match this.

Then again, I imagine the interest on the balance is going to by now be peanuts, nevertheless, it's peanuts better in your pocket (And even if it's just over a pound, that will buy you some peanut butter to dunk a banana in)

It's a nice feeling that you have little to pay on such as your mortgage I imagine. Now I am no expert, but I do keep in touch with the financial predictions (I have to). Most "experts" are not expecting anything to happen to the interest rates in the short term, and some even are predicting it will stay very low for a matter of years........perhaps even those two years (But I really wouldn't bet on it).