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More people than ever are opting for 30 year mortgages rather than the traditional 25 year term. We look at why, how much it costs you in the long run, the advantages and disadvantages and whether you're eligible to help you decide what's best for you.
A 30 year mortgage is a home loan which you repay over three decades. The 30 years refers to the mortgage term. It is the total time you will borrow the money for and the number of years you will make repayments for until the debt is cleared.
For decades, most homeowners in the UK have had a 25-year term on their mortgage. However, longer-term mortgages of 30 years or more are becoming increasingly popular. Research from Uswitch found 51% of mortgage borrowers chose a term of 30 years or longer in 2023.
The best mortgage depends on your personal circumstances. The award-winning expert advisers at Mortgage Advice Bureau will find the right mortgage for you.
Get fee-free mortgage advice from the award-winning expert advisers at Mortgage Advice Bureau.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Please note some branches of Mortgage Advice Bureau may charge a fee for mortgage advice if you go direct. The fee is up to 1% but a typical fee is 0.3% of the amount borrowed. So make sure you use this site, this form or phone number for fee-free advice.
Thirty-year mortgages have become increasingly popular, not least because of rising house prices.
A longer mortgage term reduces monthly mortgage repayments because the debt is spread over more years and this can make the mortgage more affordable day to day.
In other words, your monthly repayments on a 30-year mortgage will be cheaper than on a 25-year mortgage with the same interest rate. That’s because the capital you owe is being divided by 360 months rather than 300.
Let’s say you borrow £400,000 on a five-year fixed rate mortgage at 5%. If you opt for a 25-year mortgage term your monthly repayments would be £2,339. However, the same deal with a 30-year mortgage term would have monthly repayments of £2,148, saving you £191 a month.
However, if you take out your mortgage over 30 years instead of 25 years, you’ll pay more interest over the life of your mortgage.
Let’s take the example above again. If you opted for a 25-year term on that mortgage you’d repay a total of around £701,500 over the term of the mortgage. While someone who opted for a 30-year mortgage term would pay a total of around £773,000 over the life of the mortgage.
Ultimately, the right mortgage term length for you will depend on your circumstances, so it’s a good idea to get expert mortgage advice.
It’s possible in theory to get a 30 year mortgage term when you are 40 – although this will depend on the lender and your circumstances.
The issue is most lenders don’t like a mortgage to continue past retirement. They are worried about how you will afford your repayments when you are living on a pension. However, the idea that we all retire at 65 is out-dated and many lenders now lend up to 70 and beyond.
In order to find the lenders who will offer a 30 year term that would take you past your 65th birthday consider speaking to a mortgage broker. They will know which banks and building societies to approach.
Get fee-free mortgage advice from the award-winning expert advisers at Mortgage Advice Bureau.
If you are weighing up whether to get a 30 year mortgage vs a 25 year mortgage, it’s important to consider the pros and cons before you decide.
Get fee-free mortgage advice from the award-winning expert advisers at Mortgage Advice Bureau.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Please note some branches of Mortgage Advice Bureau may charge a fee for mortgage advice if you go direct. The fee is up to 1% but a typical fee is 0.3% of the amount borrowed. So make sure you use this site, this form or phone number for fee-free advice.
Some people prefer a 25-year mortgage to a 30 year mortgage, because it means paying less interest overall, building up equity in your home faster, and being mortgage-free quicker, while others prefer a 30 year mortgage because of the lower monthly repayments.
However, it is also worth noting that you aren’t tied to your mortgage term forever. You may opt for a longer mortgage term, for example when you are a first-time buyer, if you want to have lower monthly repayments. Then a few years down the line, say if your income has risen and you’ve built up some equity in your home, you may opt for a shorter mortgage term when you remortgage.
If you choose to take out a 30 year mortgage term, you may be able to make overpayments, depending on your mortgage, to reduce the amount you owe and reduce the overall cost of the mortgage.
What’s right for you will depend on your circumstances. Get fee-free mortgage advice from the award-winning expert advisers at Mortgage Advice Bureau.
There are advantages and disadvantages to any mortgage term, so you’ll need to weigh up factors including what you can afford to pay each month, how much interest you’ll end up paying and when you want to be mortgage-free.
It can be a difficult decision to make so you may want to consider speaking to a mortgage broker. They can help you find the best mortgage for you depending on your individual circumstances.
Your age will affect whether you are eligible for a 30-year mortgage. Lenders have a maximum age that they will lend to that ranges from 65 to 80 depending on the bank or building society. If you would be beyond the maximum age when the 30-year term ends you won’t be eligible for a 30 year mortgage.
It isn’t just your age that would affect your eligibility too. If you are applying for a joint mortgage you will both need to be young enough that your age today plus 30 years wouldn’t exceed the mortgage firm’s maximum lending age.
As well as your age, you will also need to meet all the other eligibility criteria of the lender too. This will include passing credit checks, proving you can afford the repayments, having a big enough deposit and have a suitable property. Read more in our guide “How to get a mortgage in 6 easy steps“
Yes. Someone with a 30 year term on an interest-only mortgage would repay the interest on their debt over 30 years and at the end of the term they would need to repay the initial capital they borrowed in order to become mortgage-free and own their home.
This is different to a standard repayment mortgage with a 30 year term whereby at the end of the 30 years you will have repaid everything that you borrowed plus the interest and you will own your home outright.
No. The mortgage term is the overall length of your mortgage. It is the number of years that you will make repayments until you are mortgage-free. If you took out a repayment mortgage with a 25-year term then if you made all your monthly repayments, you would pay back the capital you borrowed and the interest over 25 years.
A mortgage term is different to a mortgage deal. A mortgage deal is the introductory period. For example, you might take out a five-year fixed-rate mortgage deal. That means you will pay a fixed rate of interest for the first five years. You’ll typically be moved onto the lenders standard variable rate if you don’t remortgage when the deal ends.
Get fee-free mortgage advice from the award-winning expert advisers at Mortgage Advice Bureau.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Please note some branches of Mortgage Advice Bureau may charge a fee for mortgage advice if you go direct. The fee is up to 1% but a typical fee is 0.3% of the amount borrowed. So make sure you use this site, this form or phone number for fee-free advice.
Getting a 30 year mortgage at 45 may be possible but it’s likely to be more difficult because you will need a lender who is prepared to offer you a loan you’ll be paying off until you are 75.
However, an increasing number of lenders are increasing their maximum age to 75 or beyond. And what’s right for you will depend on your circumstances so it’s a good idea to get expert mortgage advice.
Back in the day a 25-year mortgage term was the norm. Over recent years 30-year mortgages have become popular, but it is possible to get an even longer term. Some lenders will offer a 40-year mortgage.
30 and 35 year terms are increasingly popular with first time buyers because it means monthly mortgage payments are lower, but it means you will pay more interest overall. You can use this mortgage repayment calculator to see the difference a longer term can make to your repayments and the overall amount you’ll pay. If you’re a first time buyer, what’s best for you will depend on your circumstances so it’s a good idea to get expert mortgage advice.
Life insurance isn’t mandatory for a mortgage but it can give financial security to your loved ones if you die while still having a mortgage to pay off. Find out more about life insurance options when taking out a mortgage.
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