Why a 50-Year Mortgage Is a Bad Idea

Stretching a home loan to 50 years looks tempting—smaller payment, less monthly squeeze—but it’s usually a wealth killer. The problem is amortization: you slash the portion of each payment that actually reduces your debt, while super-sizing the interest you’ll pay over time.

Quick example (purely illustrative): $400,000 loan at 6.5% fixed.

• 30-year loan: about $2,528/mo.
• 50-year loan: about $2,255/mo (only ~$273 less).

That small monthly “savings” crushes your equity growth. After 5 years, a 30-year loan has paid down roughly $25,556 of principal; the 50-year loan has trimmed only $6,234. After 10 years? Approximately $60,895 was paid down on the 30-year loan versus just $14,853 on the 50-year loan. You’re essentially renting your money for a decade.

Total interest is the real gut punch. Over the life of the loan, the 30-year pays approximately $510,178 in interest; the 50-year pays roughly $952,921—an extra $ 442,743 for the privilege of slower payoff.

Other pitfalls:
• Longer vulnerability window. With so little principal reduction, a flat or down market can trap you with minimal equity, complicating a sale or refinance.
• PMI sticks around longer. If you start below 20% down, crawling to that threshold takes far more time.
• Retirement mismatch. Carrying a mortgage deep into later life squeezes cash flow when your income may be lower.
• Higher lifetime housing cost. Those “cheaper” payments cost far more overall, limiting future choices (moving, investing, college, starting a business).

Bottom line: a 50-year mortgage trades short-term comfort for long-term cost. If the 30-year payment is tight, consider buying a bit below budget, improving your rate/credit profile, or using a temporary buydown and aggressively prepaying principal—strategies that build equity faster without sacrificing your financial future.