To state the self-evident: there’s a lot to think about when it comes to getting a mortgage. Firstly, how much can you afford to borrow? Should you choose a fixed-rate mortgage, or opt for a lender’s standard variable rate deal? And should you get a long term or short term mortgage?
“The last question is a vital part of getting any mortgage — but it’s often overlooked,” mortgage adviser Jo Jingree says. “The thing is, the term of your mortgage will make all the difference to your monthly repayments in the short term. But it can also define how many years you’ll be paying your mortgage over, too” Jo says. “Which is why it’s important to give it some thought.”
What is a mortgage term?
There’s often a lot of misunderstanding around mortgage jargon in general. And when it comes to ‘mortgage terms’, it’s just the same.
The term of a mortgage refers to the total length of time over which you’ll pay off your mortgage loan.
But this phrase sometimes gets confused with a ‘fixed-term mortgage’. The latter refers to when the interest rate and monthly payments on your mortgage remain the same for however long you fix for. So, generally speaking, this might be for two years, or for five.
Times are changing
According to the banking trade body UK Finance, 10 years ago in 2015, the average first-time buyer mortgage term was 28 years. But now, in 2025, the average mortgage term stands at 31 years.
“With the average home in England costing up to 7.7 times a person’s average earnings, often the knee-jerk reaction is to opt for the longest mortgage term to keep monthly repayments as low as possible,” Jo says. “But this might not be right for every homeowner.”
Some lenders offer long 40-year mortgage terms, while most offer 35-year or 30-year term mortgages. But there are 25 or 20-year mortgage terms available too. “On the whole, lenders allow you to take any term you like — whether that’s a five year term or a 15.5 year term,” Jo says. “It’s not as rigid as you think.”
The benefits of taking out a long term mortgage
Long term mortgages, which span across 30 years (or more) can offer many benefits to homeowners. For example:
- Your monthly repayments will be lower: It can be more affordable to spread the cost of your monthly repayments across a longer term, like a 30 year term, than a shorter one, like a 20 year mortgage term. “This can be a huge advantage at a time when rising interest rates can make repayments unaffordable,” Jo says. “Or it might be of interest to those who are in a temporarily expensive period of their life — as they are paying for child-care costs or have gone part-time to help raise kids.
- You could boost your affordability: When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will assess your ‘affordability’ to see if you can afford the repayments. Seeing as a 30-year mortgage term will have lower monthly repayments, you are more likely to pass the affordability test. To get a rough idea of what you can afford, check out our mortgage calculator.
The disadvantages of taking out a long term mortgage
- It can be more expensive in the long term: The longer the mortgage term, the more interest you could end up paying back. That’s because, if you’ve taken out a 30-year mortgage term, you will be paying interest for 10 years longer than you would with a 20-year mortgage term.
- Equity will build at a slower pace: Seeing as you’ll be paying off less capital each month, your equity (the amount of property you own outright) won’t build up as quickly as with a shorter mortgage term.
- You’ll have debt later in life: The longer the term of your mortgage, the older you’ll be when it comes to finishing repaying your mortgage off. “This could affect when you are able to retire,” Jo says
Mortgage terms are subjective
Mortgage terms aren’t set in stone. If you’ve taken out a fixed-rate mortgage, a good mortgage adviser will get in touch with you before you roll onto your lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) to conduct a full mortgage review. This will include reviewing your term to see if it’s still the right fit for your current circumstances.
“Most lenders will even let you overpay a percentage of your mortgage during the fix,” Jo highlights. “This means in the months or years when you can spare the cash, you could repay a little extra on top of your usual monthly repayments to help reduce the overall mortgage cost.”
Therefore the mortgage term you chose five years ago doesn’t have to be the one you stick to now.
At the end of the day, it’s a matter of personal perspective. “It all depends on what you want, what you can afford, when you want to be mortgage free, when you want to retire and what suits you now (and later),” Jo says.
Keen to talk mortgages? Multi-award-winning mortgage adviser Jo deals with first time buyers, remortgages and has a wide range of experience in helping those who are self employed onto the property ladder.
She offers a free 30 minute no obligation phone call. So, whether you’re coming to the end of a mortgage deal or are looking to buy your first home, do get in touch.
There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances, but we estimate it will be £399.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Please be aware that by clicking on to some of the above links you are leaving the Mortgage Confidence Ltd website.
Please note that Mortgage Confidence Ltd nor HL Partnership Limited are responsible for the accuracy of the information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.