Last year 70% of first time buyers took a 35-year mortgage but to suggest that this means we'll be paying off mortgages into our 80s is a bit far fetched says Michael Sullivan, president, Independent Mortgage Advisers Federation

WE can't get away from the fact that the longer the mortgage term the greater the amount of interest that you will pay over that term.

That aside, I don't think longer term mortgages signal are a cause for concern, they're simply a sign of a new attitude to debt.

People won't be paying mortgages into their 80s. You must have your mortgage paid off by your 70th birthday. If someone is aged 30 they can get a 40-year mortgage but if you're 40 the bank will only lend you a 30-year mortgage. So there's a bit of misunderstanding about these products.

But people's attitudes have changed and buyers taking out a mortgage now have a different concept of home buying and house ownership. Previously people bought when they married and lived with little or nothing until their middle years. They bought with a view to paying off mortgages aged 55 or 60 and then retiring. But that's not at all the aspiration or profile of buyers today.

When first time borrowers come to me, the first question they ask is 'what's the maximum amount I can borrow?' They don't ask 'how much will it cost?' . . . that's the second question. When I show them the repayments over 30/35 years, they'll go for the 35-year term if the repayments are at a level that is comfortable for them.

They accept that on paper they've to pay more interest. Their desire is to get on the property ladder and if that means a 35-year term, they're not phased.

They demand products that facilitate what they require and that's the way it should be. It shouldn't be the banks dictating how you repay. I believe what we're seeing is how lifestyle requirements are now part of the decision all borrowers make when looking for a mortgage. I think the attitude is more one of borrowing for lifestyle rather than borrowing for life.

Younger people have it all at home with their parents and they want to replicate that when they buy their first home. They want a good place in a good location. They want wooden floors, plasma screen TVs, everything their parents aspired to. The only difference is they're prepared to pay for it now on credit.

In reality most people who take a 35/40-year loan envisage paying it off before that. They will make the necessary changes as their lives progress. They say that to you quite openly, they say 'I will be due an inheritance'. They factor in pay rises as their careers progress and many take on a longer-term mortgage with the knowledge that as their circumstances improve, they'll pay off more or reduce term back down. It's more part of a getting on the ladder strategy rather than a long term strategy. Longer mortgage terms but it doesn't necessarily mean paying off mortgages into much later life, and if it does, those that choose it are comfortable with it.

Essentially this means that people can get a better balance in their lives in terms of deciding what they want to do. It's part of the work hard, play hard, culture. People want it all now and they're prepared to borrow for that. So the view that people are being chained to a life long mortgage as a result of longer terms is just part of an outdated approach to looking at borrowing.

And it's not just first time buyers taking a new approach. Middleaged buyers trading up are starting to do so using interest only mortgages and older people with insufficient pensions are also looking at how they can access the huge rise in the value of their houses. The entire market is starting to respond to the new products, the fear of borrowing is gone. There are more options and more people taking them up in order to live for today.