Mortgage free: Homeowners reveal how they paid off their mortgage decades early
MORTGAGES can be one of the biggest regular outgoings a person has, should they take out a mortgage in order to purchase land or property. What does mortgage free mean?
Nationwide Building Society explain what a mortgage is
The average mortgage term lasts 25 years. That said, the term can be shorter or longer, and there are some borrowers who will end up paying off their mortgage sooner rather than later. Mortgage free is a situation which many people may talk about in relation to the topic of mortgages - but what does it mean? A definition of mortgage free is a person or persons who had a mortgage and have paid all mortgage payments in full.
As a consequence, they now own the legal deeds to the property, and are thus free of a mortgage.
Some people who are now mortgage free have shared the news online, such as on Mumsnet.
Commenting on threads on the website, many homeowners have summed up how they achieved mortgage free status.
For one person, who goes by the name “Wellieswithaholein“ on the website, this was through making overpayments.
While some borrowers may be able to afford, and opt to, make mortgage repayments, it can depend on the mortgage product as to whether there are any restrictions.
The Mumsnet user told readers: “We're overpaying by £120 p/m an will be raising this to £260 soon, plus paying off a lump sum this month to be mortgage free in a couple of years.
We got rid of our first mortgage 14 or so years early by paying off lump sums, whenever we had some spare available
“It was easy I just rang up and it was set up there and then.”(sic)
It’s not the first time that this homeowner has overpaid on their mortgage, having become mortgage free on their previous property 14 years earlier than expected.
“We got rid of our first mortgage 14 or so years early by paying off lump sums, whenever we had some spare available,” they wrote.
In another Mumsnet thread, a different user explained that keeping a close watch on their outgoings had been helpful to them.
And for “Hecketyheck”, their thrifty lifestyle meant that they had paid off their mortgage in full.
“We’ve just paid off our mortgage due mainly to DH’s amazing money-management skills and my lack of spending,” they wrote.
“I’m feeling like I should be delighted with this but more feel like it doesn’t make a huge amount of difference - we now have to focus on a pension or something else equally tedious.”
That said, they did have plans to develop their property with an extension, meaning the amount that they owed could increase again.
What was their top tip? “Generally not increasing our standard of living when we could afford to,” they revealed.
This article was first published on Tuesday August 20, 2019.