AtHomeWithSarahBeenyAutumn2016 - 50

LIVING LONGER One way in which the property ladder may become more achievable for Generation Rent is that, as medical science improves and we all live longer, so the length of a mortgage could increase. Once, a 20 to 25-year mortgage was as long as you could realistically expect. After all, as recently as 1990 the life expectancy in the UK was around only 75-76 years. These days, life expectancy is more than 81 years - and still rising - and 35-year mortgages are becoming more common. In 2007, the proportion of first-time buyers with a 35-year mortgage was 16%; by last year, that figure had risen to 26%. But is that really a good thing? In theory, it sounds great. After all, the longer the length of your mortgage, the less you have to pay each month. But extending the term of your mortgage brings with it problems of its own - not least that the actual cost significantly increases. A £200,000 repayment loan over 25 years at 3% would cost, over the full term, around £284,000. Increase the term to 35 years and, although the monthly rate drops, the total paid rises to a whopping £323,000 050 | OCTOBER 2016 (assuming interest rates don't go up which, as they're extremely low at present, appears likely). FATAL FLAW Another problem is the longer the mortgage runs for, the more likely it is that the borrower will experience problems making the payment. Losing your job when you're in your 50s is bad enough, but if you've still got 15 years to go on your mortgage and can't get alternative work, it could be catastrophic - even fatal. Little wonder, then, that according to the 2016 Generation Rent report from the Halifax Bank - an annual investigation of the state of the HERE IN BRITAIN, HOME OWNERSHIP IS STILL WHAT MANY PEOPLE ASPIRE TO. BUT THAT'S NOT THE CASE IN EUROPE housing market for first-time buyers - a third of people (34%) aged 18 to 45 expect to be paying off their mortgages beyond age 60, which causes them anxiety. Some 44% of those surveyed are worried they won't be able to pay their mortgage in retirement - and one in two (51%) is worried that paying their mortgage will hamper their ability to save for and enjoy their retirement. However, the report reveals that home ownership aspirations remain as strong as ever and the number of first-time buyers has actually recovered strongly in recent years with 300,000 doing so in 2015. LEGAL PROTECTION But is buying your home really the best option anyway? Here in Britain, home ownership is still what many, THE Finnish way In Finland, there are simply not enough tenants - and that applies not just in rural areas but in the largest and fastest-growing cities, too. The current market situation is more favourable for tenants than for owners. Less than half of private landlords increase their monthly rents, despite the rise in housing costs, to prevent losing customers. if not most, people aspire to. Indeed, it's seen as an admission of failure if you don't own your own home. But why? That certainly isn't the case elsewhere in Europe where long-term renting is normal in many places. While just 13.3% of people in the UK privately rent (with social housing, this rises to 32.1%), this compares with 51% in Switzerland, 40% in Germany and 32.8% in Denmark. European countries also provide much greater legal protection than in the UK. Here, landlords can typically boot people out of rented flats with two months' notice once a fixed term has elapsed. In countries such as * Professor Paul Cheshire, professor of Economic Geography at the LSE, argues that house prices will rise 23% by 2020 - an estimate supported by the Office of Budget Responsibility. ** Estate agent Hamptons International aimed at helping people with small deposits to buy a house. Through Help to Buy and NewBuy buyers with a deposit of between 5% and 20% can purchase property using either special mortgages or using an interest-free Help to Buy equity loan. Whether you will be better off with an ordinary mortgage or using one of the government schemes will depend on your individual circumstances. An adviser will be able to talk you through your options and help you find the best deal. But, Which? admits, to get the most competitive mortgage deals on the market, you will usually need a deposit of 25% upwards - and some of the best deals require 30% or even 40% deposits. And that's a lot of money. 'Even now, you can earn twice the UK average wage and have little or no chance of getting on the property ladder in the capital,' says Which? Another report** earlier this year found the average first-time buyer has to save for 13 years to raise a big enough deposit to buy a house in the UK. In London that length of time increases to a mind-boggling 46 years (although you can reduce that by about 10 years if saving with a partner). And, of course, the longer you delay, the more expensive it gets.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AtHomeWithSarahBeenyAutumn2016