>> That's sensible.  Also bear in mind, though, that if you do a 30-year
>> term, most people don't stick with that term.  They refinance when the
>> interest rates go down, sometimes adjusting the term (in the US, it's not
>> uncommon to start with a 30-year term and then later to switch to a 15-
>> year term, or to just refinance with a new 30-year term).
>
> Can you actually do that?
>
> Obviously, I've never had a mortgage. But from other loans I've had, if
> you try to pay back more money or pay it off early, they charge you very
> steep penalty fines.

Once you're out of any special offer or fixed period usually you only 
pay a very minor early repayment charge (like under £100) to pay it off 
completely. If you are moving to a new provider often they will pay that 
fee for you.

Also a lot of mortgages allow you to pay back extra up to a certain 
amount (it's £500/month on mine) without any fees, even during the fixed 
period. It's surprising how just doing that for a few months can take a 
year off the length of the mortgage!

> I had assumed that the value of a property can only go down, never up.

http://www.moneyweek.com/~/media/MoneyWeek/2009/090309/09-03-11-MM2.ashx?w=450&h=362&as=1

> I mean, think about it. The longer I have the property, the older and
> therefore less desirable it becomes. The green fields around it get
> built on, reducing the value. The surrounding properties get cheaper so
> the wrong sort of people start moving in and making the neighbourhood
> undesirable. And so on.

If you really do believe that then surely *buying* a property rather 
than renting one is a very stupid thing to do?

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