Pulaski

True, but the OP needs to understand the reality of "now", not what it should be, or what would be "fairer".

Downton Gabby

"are you really going to have to take out a mortgage in your mid 60's?"

I'm angry because THAT statement is clearly indicating that the poster is incredulous at the idea that someone in their 60's would not be in a position just BUY a house. Yes, some people in this world do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars available to buy a house outright and therefore require a mortgage for some portion of the cost for some period of time. The comment comes off as condescending. Further, this poster seems to be exhibiting AGEISM by saying I couldn't get a job at my age. It's so ridiculous.

Downton Gabby

I agree, and the truth - facts- are what I want to hear.

rebeccajo

For every fact, there is an equal and opposite fact. Anywhere in the world. And no matter the fact, it might not suit what we are looking for in life.

A UK example:

The weather is mild. Oceanic. Temperate. What this means is it never roasting hot, it is rarely humid, and it is rarely deeply frigid. It means it rains a lot. Which means clouds. It means gray days. Wind speed can be high especially in springtime. Also because of the further position of the islands from the equator, length of days is very different than in the US. In the winter, you can expect less than 8 hours of daylight. In the summertime, the sky might never get as dark at night as what you are use to. Think blue velvet.

Those are all facts. As you can see, some are positives and some are negatives. Whether or not living in this type of climate suits a person cannot be determined by the facts alone. In the case of climate, being satisfied depends on what the person is able and willing to adapt to.

Pollyana

And ageism is alive and well in the UK (as in many other countries) when it comes to jobs - it is harder to get a job when you are older. Thats not an ageist statement. Thats fact. Same as its a fact that the nearer you are to UK retirement age, the harder it is to find someone to lend you the money for a mortgage.

SanDiegogirl

Wow, I did not think I would get a reaction like this one - probably I should have expressed it better as being concerned that, on top of moving to another country with all the stresses that can bring, one would need to take out a mortgage at (in the UK at least) a reasonably mature age.

I'm not incredulous that someone in their 60's would not be in a position to just buy a house ....... however, in the UK, house prices (in any decent area) can be considerably higher than in the US and since the crash of 2008, mortgage lenders have been far tighter on how/when they issue loans. Unless one has a great deposit and/or a good income stream obtaining a mortgage might be difficult and unlike in the US (unless things have changed since I left the UK some 15 years ago) most UK residents do not have mortgages running into their 70's and 80's.

Unfortunately too, there are plenty of people on the forum of all ages who have found it difficult to find work, so ageism has nothing to do with my comments.

So, apologies for upsetting you and good luck on your move.

Jerseygirl

I thought the length of a UK mortgage ended at the age of 65. Therefore if you took out a mortgage at the age of 50...it would be a 15 year mortgage. Don't know if that is still the case.

Editha

Some lenders will give mortgages to borrowers ending later than 65.

But, I think the main difference between a UK mortgage and a N.Am mortgage is that in the UK, the term date and the redemption date are usually the same. So, if it is a 15 year mortgage, that's how long it will take to pay off the loan.

quiltman

You MAY get a short term mortgage - 5years or so - if you only want a small one AND will have enough equity in the property to pay it off if you die before the term. However, any Bank or Building Society will want to see you have regular income to pay it off. you can get a mortgage which extends past retirement age but it costs more and the income criteria is strict.
Regarding jobs. Yes, once you reach about 50/55, unless you are in a specialist field it is VERY difficult to get a job, other than say, working in B&Q or similar, where they positively look for more mature people.The pay is poor though.
Being self employed is a different matter - you can work until you've had enough! Again, tho' to get any kind of mortgage , or loan, you'll need a couple of years certified accounts to prove income. Good luck to you , but regretfully life for us more mature folks in the UK is becoming a right pain.

BristolUK

Royal Family aside the US has it's class system too, they just use different names.

Money orientated, yes, though not necessarily wealth.

Wrong side of the tracks; Preppy; Blue Collar, Ivy Leaguers; Burger flippers; Trailer Trash; Hillbilly; Country Club; Welfare moms; Soccer moms....all denote some kind of class ranking.

Editha

After David Cameron was forced to admit that his family had used overseas tax shelters, an ex-chairman of the Conservative Party defending him, mentioned that Cameron 'went to a good school' (Eton), and 'came from a good family'. Cameron is descended from royalty, and also from slave owners; in fact, the use of morally dodgy but just legal methods to make wealth is entirely in keeping with his family history.

The Conservative panjandrum's views might seem antique, but an Institute for Fiscal Studies report a few days later confirmed that people who have had a private education earn 20% more over their working life than their peers who went to the same university and got the same qualifications.

So the British class system is alive and kicking. But unless you are someone aiming to reach the upper echelons of your profession, it doesn't impinge on your life.

yellowroom

That was the case the last time I took out a mortgage - ie the terms of the mortgage were up to your expected retirement age. It seems the market is relaxing slightly, but I don't know how easy it is in practice, especially if you are a new resident without an established UK credit record.

How to get a mortgage if you are an older borrower | money.co.uk

Could this be the end of ageism in mortgage lending? | This is Money

Getting a mortgage when you’re older - uSwitch

Moses2013

On a positive note:




Probably difficult, but compared to other countries/locations and depending where you want to move to in the UK, I doubt it's harder to find a place with a dog.








Getting a mortgage would be a lot harder in other countries, but the older you are the more difficult it is (as people have said).








Obvious class system? Well, if you've been to LA and compare Hollywood to Skid Row, or maybe Sandhurst vs. Diepsloot in Johannesburg then it's not that bad.








Weather awful? Well it's an oceanic climate just like you'd find in most of France, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland, parts of Germany, Northern Spain. People live there and get on with their lives and every location in Britain will have different micro climates. No Tsunamis, no Hurricanes, extreme drought rare etc. Doesn't sound bad to me.

MoshiMoshi

Mortgage aside, these are pretty much the same problems we faced moving to the US. 'Monumental project' is a exaggeration, but a lot of the practical/ bureauocratic stuff is a pain in the arse and counter-intuitive when you're new to a country. Having pets and no local credit rating always limits the properties you can rent.

Rather than looking for reassurance on these 'negatives', I think you should just brace yourself for quite a lot of initial frustrations and minor struggles, because IME they're inevitable when you're relocating. It's very draining to waste anger on them or (especially) take them personally.

I think you either misread or over-reacted to SanDiegoGirl's post. If you weren't already aware that it's not straightforward to get a UK mortgage in your mid-sixties and beyond, then that's an important point.

yellowroom

Agreed - especially if you have never lived abroad before, so many assumptions that things are the same as your home country can trip you up, and after lots of mental pratt-falls it gets quite wearing.

I admire the OP for taking on such an adventure at a time in life when many of us would expect to be making life easier for ourselves, especially doing it on your own without the support of an employer transfer or a spouse or family sponsoring the move.

Downton Gabby, it's natural to get cold feet but maybe think about ways in doing this that minimise your risk and maximise your flexibility. Don't worry about mortgages now - if you've never lived in the UK then your ideas about what is a nice place to live may change drastically when you get here.

Something you may not have considered for example: houses are constructed, wired, plumbed, and heated very differently to the US. Even something as simple as blowing a fuse/circuit left me struggling in the US - how people managed before Google I have no idea!! As a tenant at least I knew if anything serious went wrong then I could call the landlord's agent, but if it was my responsibility as the owner then I would be struggling as much of what I learnt about UK house maintenance was simply not applicable in the US.

Look for short term rentals first, yes it will be more difficult with a dog but not impossible - again it depends on where in the country you are going to be. But even this will be different for you - as a tenant in the US I found that I was responsible in for maintenance tasks that in the UK were the responsibility of the landlord for example.