This is the cost of owning your own home if you don’t have the available capital to buy it outright.
Purely financial it’s not the best use of your money.
Personally, I’m willing to pay the cost in order to own a lovely home where I can raise my sons.
It does help that I’ve previously locked in a low mortgage rate and have overpaid to avoid the interest costs.
It’s either this, rent (and never own your own home) or live off your parents.
Your choice.
Owning a £400,000 house with a £350,000 mortgage in the UK in 2026 means signing a 25-year contract to give the bank around £2,050 a month, in exchange for the right to maintain a building you'll spend another £4,000 a year keeping dry, warm and structurally sound.
At a 5% fixed rate, the total interest over the life of the mortgage is around £264,000. The total mortgage cost ends up at roughly £614,000.
The price tag on the front door says £400K. The actual cost of living in it for 25 years is closer to £750K, before council tax, repairs, insurance and the new boiler.
This is what the country has been calling 'getting on the ladder.'