Washington ? Malcolm Buckey would be 97 years old when the 30-year mortgage on his dream home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., is paid up.

Walter Molony of Annandale, Va., would be 84 when the last payment comes due on his 30-year loan.

For many middle-age homeowners, taking advantage of low mortgage rates will have an unintended consequence: As retirees, as they live on reduced incomes, they will have mortgages to contend with.

Experts say these people should carefully think through their financial game plan when opting to take out a 30-year loan rather than a 10-year or 15-year loan to finance a new home or refinance the home they already own.

“You could have a significant financial problem if things don’t go as planned,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com.

People of average financial means probably should try to avoid being saddled with mortgage payments when they are retired, financial experts said. Nonetheless, it can make financial sense to take out a longer-term 30-year loan now, they added.

There is a tax break to consider, said Greg McBride, a financial analyst with Bankrate.com, an online financial service. “By taking out a 30-year mortgage, you are paying down a lot less principal in the longer term, getting a larger tax deduction through the interest you are paying,” McBride said.

That trend has been heightened in recent years as millions of homeowners have moved to refinance their home mortgages to take advantage of the lowest mortgage rates seen in four decades.