Home » Uncategorised »
7 million over 50’s still paying mortgage
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Roughly seven million over 50’s are still paying off their mortgage, according to new research carried out by the Saga Equity Release Advice Service.
Dreams of owning a nice car and going on luxury holidays are becoming a pipe dream for many older homeowners, with one in three still having a mortgage past the age of 50. On average, property owners need to stump up £50,000 to become mortgage free.
Working woes
The majority of those in their early 50’s have many years of working to come to slowly whittle down their debt but one in seven people in their 70’s are faced with using their pension to pay off the remainder of their mortgage.
Surprisingly, over in three over 50’s say that they have never tried to renegotiate their mortgage terms, with many wrongly suggesting they would not be able to get a new deal because of their age.
One in ten over 50’s expressed their concerns about their lenders’ maximum borrowing age. However, just one in fourteen (7%) of over 50’s said that they had been prevented from moving their mortgage to a better deal because of how old they are.[1]
7 million over 50’s still paying mortgage
Abandoned
Alex Edmans, Head of Retirement at Saga Personal Finance said, ‘millions of older homeowners have found themselves abandoned by mortgage lenders and stuck in uncompetitive deals because of the unfair age restrictions that many lenders have in place.’ He feels that, ‘if these people had access to a better deal they wouldn’t have to pay as much back each month which would leave them with more money to enjoy their retirement.’[1]
‘For those in retirement struggling to meet their monthly mortgage costs it may be worth considering a lifetime mortgage to help ease the burden of the monthly repayments. This may not be suitable for all, so it is well worth speaking with a specialist adviser, who would consider all alternatives and review whether any state benefits could help provide some relief. It is also extremely important that people discuss their options with their family or loved ones and we advise our customers to do this before taking out a lifetime mortgage,’ Edmans added.[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/7-million-over-50s-still-paying-off-their-mortgage.html
