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I have just turned 30 this year, so I am not worried about having to still pay of my home well into my retirement however long the mortgage is... think I am going to look into some of the longer terms deal now that you have mentioned something I hadn't thought about before.
I like the idea of treating a 30+ years deal as 20/25 by voluntarily paying in extra, this sounds like a safe bet for rainy days... touchwood, I haven't had much rainy days yet so far work wise, so let's hope it stays this way... I work in higher education, and I have just secured funding for my PGCE, so future is looking stable for now. The only time I see myself out of a job is when I have had enough of our students, sorry, I mean customers.
In terms of doing up the flat, worrying about the garden etc etc, due to the very cheap rent I pay, I already do this anyway... so I am used to it. Guess the only difference is I would have to actually pay for things 100% rather than chipping in , fixing things for free to keep my landlady happy.
Thanks a lot for the advice! :-)
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ExTra
Chances are, unless you buy and stay on a tracker or similar that you would be renegotiating your mortgage deal well before the end of your mortgage term. By taking a longer mortgage your repayments each month will be lower and you are right you will pay more interest. However if your deal allows you to overpay you can do that and effectively treat your 35 year mortgage as a 25 year one - the figures would all end up the same. The only difference being that instead of being required to repay (say) £1,500 a month you are required to pay £1,200 and you choose to pay an additional £300 each month. Many deals then let you claw back those overpayments by underpaying in future, allowing you to treat the mortgage like a savings account with a limit on monthly withdrawals.
The main reason you might not be able to take out a longer term is because it might take the end of the mortgage beyond the maximum age they'll lend to.
So, don't worry too much about the term - work out what you can afford to repay, find out what you can be lent (4-5× salary typically - try HSBC for a low number, Halifax perhaps for a higher one) and how much of a deposit you can scrape together.
Then figure out how stable your future might be and see how much leeway you might need on the above figures. If you're working in an unreliable industry where things can change on a whim, you won't get unlimited holidays from mortgage payments. Alternatively you might be on an upwards career path and be earning double what you are now in 10 years, or you might be planning a family or need a heap of cash to redecorate, furnish etc. (can easily be £10-20k if you have lots to do).
Loads to think about and it can get kinda stressful but ultimately it all comes down to you having an extra bill to pay which replaces your rent and a load of juggling to get the interest part of that bill as low as you can. Once you've done it all and got a property and the mortgage, unless you are struggling to make repayments all this calculating and worrying will be a thing of the past and you'll be too worried about paint, furniture, the state of the roof, the jungle of a garden, the local yoot, the lack of a decent local takeaway etc. etc.
Note I am not a mortgage advisor so don't take the above as gospel - I'm sure if I'm way off the mark someone will call me out on it. Don't forget to read up on moneysavingexpert etc.