Homeowners believe they will always be paying something towards a mortgage

When do you expect to have finished paying your mortgage? If there’s no end in sight, you’re not alone. A new report has found that more than four million people cannot imagine a time when they won’t be paying a mortgage, raising concerns about how millions of homeowners will manage to pay their bills if interest rates were to rise.

The shocking statistics show that a significant minority of homeowners can’t foresee a time when they will have repaid their home loan, highlighting concerns about the state of those people “just about managing”.

The research also found that 1.4million UK households are struggling to pay their mortgage and that 2.5million people admitted that they have been forced to make significant cutbacks in order to afford their mortgage.

David Hollingworth from the company that carried out the research says: “The fact that people have been making cuts in order to cover mortgage payments indicates how people feel they are ‘just about managing’ in many aspects of their lives."

The research also found that 2.6 million said that they thought their monthly mortgage payments are too high. This is despite more than half of respondents (58%) never having remortgaged to secure a better deal, with more than a third of homeowners (36%) still on their lender's standard variable rate (SVR).

Not only are SVRs generally higher than other deals but it also means that if interest rates were to rise then millions of people could see their payments rise even further.

Hollingworth adds: “The problem is that although people feel they are struggling, they are not taking steps to manage their mortgage. Our research has found that millions are sitting on the wrong deal, even though seeking advice could potentially save consumers some hard earned cash by getting a better deal - and even enable them to pay off their mortgage more quickly.

“It is really important that people keep on top of their mortgage and take control of their monthly payments by using the current low in mortgage rates to their advantage. It is always worth seeking advice to make sure you are on the best deal and see if there is anything that can be done to relieve the stress of managing high payments. Always ask – could I be on a better deal?”