The road to homeownership is not always easy. Here's another challenge: Once you reach a certain age, it can be harder to secure a mortgage. Especially when you hit 70. That's according to new research from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Can a 70-year-old choose between a 15- and a 30-year mortgage? Absolutely. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act's protections extend to your mortgage term. Mortgage lenders can't deny you a specific loan term on the basis of age.
No age is too late to get a mortgage. The lender doesn't need you personally to literally pay it off over 30 years. If you die or sell the property, they will still get their money. If you have the down payment and the income to pay the monthly amount, you can get a mortgage.
"If you want to find financial freedom, you need to retire all debt — and yes that includes your mortgage," the personal finance author and co-host of ABC's "Shark Tank" tells CNBC Make It. You should aim to have everything paid off, from student loans to credit card debt, by age 45, O'Leary says.
An unmortgaged home was once a retirement perk
Mark Iwry, nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. But that pattern is changing. In the Michigan study, researchers found that the share of retirement-age homeowners with mortgages rose from 38% to 51% in a generational span of about 25 years.
But with nearly two-thirds of retirement-age Americans having paid off their mortgages, it means that the average age they have gotten rid of that debt is likely in their early 60s. Stats from 538.com, for example, suggest the age is around 63.
When you're in your 50s, buying a house might cut into your retirement savings significantly, if it pushes your living costs up much higher. Maximizing your retirement contributions may ultimately net you more money than the cash you'd save by paying off a mortgage in the 15 or 20 years before you retire.
Summary: maximum age limits for mortgages
Many lenders impose an age cap at 65 - 70, but will allow the mortgage to continue into retirement if affordability is sufficient. Lender choices become more limited, but some will cap at age 75 and a handful up to 80 if eligibility criteria are met.
According to some experts, the optimal range for home-ownership is between 10% and 30% of your net worth. Rental properties and passive income: Rental properties are another common and attractive form of real estate.
Borrowers receiving Social Security benefits can use that income to qualify for a mortgage, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Lenders will evaluate your gross Social Security benefit because they use your gross income to qualify you for a loan.
Mortgage debt remains uncommon among homeowners age 65-plus relative to their younger counterparts; in fact, the fraction of homeowners age 65-plus who had a mortgage in 2022 (34 percent) was less than half that of homeowners under age 65 (70 percent) 3.
It's a loan that allows homeowners aged 62+ to tap into some of their home equity for additional cash: Without having to sell the home. Without having to make monthly mortgage payments (keeping current with property taxes, insurance, and maintenance required)
You need to be at least 18 years old to take out a residential or buy-to-let mortgage with us, and it must finish before or on your 80th birthday.
Yes, age won't impact whether a lender accepts your application. However, this doesn't mean that being older lacks importance. Think carefully about whether you want to take on debt in this phase of your life.
Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, lenders can't discriminate against applicants because of their age. As a result, seniors — like people in other age groups — can get mortgages if they meet a lender's approval criteria.
Your deposit should be at least 5% or 10% of the price of the home you'd like to buy.
A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured against the value of your home. You retain ownership, can still live in the property, and it doesn't need to be repaid until you die or move into long-term care.
Age doesn't matter. Counterintuitive as it may sound, your loan application for a mortgage to be repaid over 30 years looks the same to lenders whether you are 90 years old or 40.
The typical age of a first-time homebuyer is 35, according to 2023 data from the National Association of Realtors. If you're well under that, you're ahead of the curve. Many reasons for waiting, according to NAR, are due to limited inventory and high prices.
It's not always better to make a large down payment on a house. When it comes to making a down payment, the choice should depend on your own financial goals. It's better to put 20 percent down if you want the lowest possible interest rate and monthly payment.
At What Age Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage? There is no specific age to pay off your mortgage, but a common rule of thumb is to be debt-free by your early to mid-60s.
Homeowners are struggling to afford their mortgages, and the problem is only getting worse, according to new data from Freddie Mac. Single-family serious delinquencies surged in September, while multi-family serious delinquencies also saw an uptick for mortgages.