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Mortgage-free wannabe

Archives for November 2013

Paying off our forever house...
Hi thought I would start a new diary going as my last one didn't go to plan.. We was planning to be mortgage free by next year, but we had to buy a bigger forever house. So won't be morgage free for sometime now. Feeling a bit sad about it all rearly.. Mortgage was down to £12.550 but now it stands at £175.000.:( Hoping to…
A fresh start, a new outlook, onto MFW...
hello everyone. Some of you may remember me popping in earlier in the year. We were having trouble selling our house due to our neighbour from hell. Well here we are, we saved up a whole new deposit after losing £20k in equity on our first home, and we have landed ourselves a great deal! We now own a 3 bed house, just…
Halifax and may be other banks too?
Has anyone experienced this? You take out a mortgage product or remortgage with say Halifax. They send out someone to value the property and it is valued more than you bought it by a small amount. Fast forward a few years later, you want to move to a better product, but Halifax unilaterally have valued your home…
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FAO Barclays/Woolwich Mortgage holders
Please check your bank account direct debit list - our DD to Woolwich has disappeared. According to another member they have been having technical difficulties and although they should reinstate the DDs you may need to contact them if they don't.
Overpayment calculator with schedule of monthly p'ments?
Hi all, I have a mortgage with A&L - flexible at 2.99%, term 22 years and 8 months, balance £27,169. Repayments are £142.11 per month. I have decided to overpay to clear this within four years. I have worked out that if I over pay by £500 per month, it will be clear in 4 years, although I have a lump sum of £3000 to put…
Mini LBM - need to get back on track!
Hi to anyone who decides to read this. Really this thread is for me, to try and stay on the MSE bandwagon! Today I had a 'mini LBM' when I bought a ready meal (!) for £3.63 and it was disgusting so I couldn't eat it. What a waste. Now it isn't like me to buy ready meals but it made me realise how much less I'm thinking…
Apple muncher's number crunching
Time for me to start a diary :j. I work 2 days a week, dd is at school and dh was made redundant in the summer. We are living carefully, although the redundancy money is being nibbled away at of course. We are fortunate to have no debts other than the mortgage, so I would like to get rid of it! We'd also like to have a…
Serious_saver's mortgage free dream
Hi all! My fiancee and I bought our house in February of this year. Now we've been in for a little while I've started to think about paying off our mortgage. I am also ridiculously excited about it! When we were saving up our deposit I liked to think of it as a challenge and would give myself a big pat on the back every…
Pension or overpay?
Hi all, there's bound to be somebody in this section that can help with this one. Because of a change in ownership in an old pension pot, I've been asked if I want to take what's there as a lump sum now (circa £7,500) or leave it where it is and let it be managed by the new pension company. We're currently chipping away at…
Rent or Buy
To fix or remain on a Tracker......
I aim to have paid off my rather large mortgage in 7 years time when I am 55. Currently on a BoE Tracker 1.03% above base rate, but it has a floor at 2%, so am paying 3.03% and this is a Nationwide Lifetime tracker taken out in 2008. I have the option to 'switch and fix' with Nationwide at minimal cost to me, no valuation…
Remortgaging to clear debt
Hi, We have been on a DMP now for 11 years, we have approx. 60k equity in our house, and our debt is approx 17k. We would like to remortgage to clear our outstanding debt and so come out of the DMP completely. Having read through some of the posts on here, my understanding is most high street banks will not deal with us,…
Overpaying Mortgage - Interest Or Capital
Good afternoon, I've recently been approved for a mortgage and all going to plan we'll be moving home shortly. I'm hoping to have the mortgage paid off within 12-15 years, half the term. I have a pretty good income and we're not overstretching ourselves so I aim to pay off at least £150-£200 per month extra on our mortgage…
Allow overpayments to reduce term or monthly payment?
I have been overpaying my Nationwide mortgage for a while, by default the overpayments go towards reducing my monthly payment. Is this the best way to do it or should I ask Nationwide to make them reduce my term instead? My goal is to reduce the total amount I pay to Nationwide over my whole mortgage term as much as…
Captain's log to being mortgage free!
I would so love to be mortgage-free and thought this would be a good help along the way. We bought our house back in August 2006 and took out a £210,000 mortgage (repayment) with Nationwide. So we've been enjoying the 2.5% BMR for a few years now and have been overpaying £500 a month since about 2009. A year or two ago we…
From homeowner wannabe to MFW!
Hi, I'm so happy that I can now join this board. A little about me: I'm 25, living with my partner, our 4 year old son and our 7 week old daughter. We have spent the last 4.5 years renting due to OH's past credit faux pas. Sitting with the calculator now and just worked out that we have paid the best part of £27,000 off of…
Planning to get a mortgage next November please help.
I tried to go for a mortgage this year (part buy part rent) but got declined because of a default I done back in 2010. It was settled on the 03/10/2011 – It was an orange mobile phone bill and the default was £449. I went with Barclays as I have been with them for 20 years and have a really good credit rating with them…
The Saving Starts Today
I am new to this so I am not sure the forma of these things. But as of the weekend I am determined to pay off our mortgage asap. My mother in law has very generously given us £8000. We decided to use it to pay off some mortgage. i called to do it but apparently I am not allowed to pay it till April due to the deal we are…
Paying to come out of mortgage deal before rates go up?
Hello, I have posted very little on this site and today I started two new threads (the other is in the dsavings part of the website)!! My wife and I have just entered the final year of our five year fixed rate deal with Natwest. We have a remaining term of seven years and the balance we owe is £70k with a property value of…

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MSE News

Ofgem proposes new 'no standing charge' Price Cap – but Martin Lewis warns vulnerable customers need to be opted in or it won't work
Ofgem has today launched detailed proposals for a major shake up to its Energy Price Cap that dictates the price over 80% of homes in England, Scotland and Wales pay for their energy bills.
Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland to cut overdraft rates for millions but hike them for others – here's what's happening and full help
If you're a Lloyds, Halifax or Bank of Scotland current account holder, the interest rate you're charged for using your overdraft could change soon as part of a fees shake-up. The Lloyds Banking Group, which owns all three brands, says millions of its customers will pay less after the changes – but a "few" will pay more.
Warm Home Discount expansion confirmed with millions more eligible for the £150 top-up this winter – here's what we know
Around 2.7 million more low-income households, including 900,000 families with children, will become eligible for the £150 Warm Home Discount this winter, as the Government has confirmed it will remove the existing 'hard to heat' eligibility criteria. The extension has only been confirmed for winter 2025/26, with further changes possible for future years.
Martin Lewis: At last a chance to fix Council Tax flaws impacting millions – debt collection, difficulty challenging your band, discounts and more
Major flaws in the Council Tax system in England could finally be fixed in future, as the Government has launched a wide-ranging consultation to review hideous debt collection practices, the difficulty of challenging your band, the overly complex and horribly-named Severe Mental Impairment discount and more. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis, who has long campaigned on these issues, shares his response and analysis.
Energy complaints to be dealt with more quickly and Energy Ombudsman to get new powers under Government plans
If you have a complaint about your energy firm, it may be resolved more quickly in future, as the Government has announced a raft of proposals to strengthen consumer protections in the energy market. The planned changes include giving the Energy Ombudsman new powers to force firms to comply with its decisions – but it's still very early days. Here's what we know so far.
Warm Home Discount expansion confirmed with millions more eligible for the £150 top-up this winter – here's what we know
Around 2.7 million more households, including 900,000 families with children, will become eligible for the £150 Warm Home Discount this winter, as the Government has confirmed it will remove the existing 'hard to heat' eligibility criteria. The extension has only been confirmed for winter 2025/26, with further changes possible for future years.
Base rate held at 4.25% – here's what it means and when it might be cut next
The Bank of England has held the base rate at 4.25%. Below we explain why, when it might be cut, plus what it means for your mortgage and savings.
Applied for South West Trains 'boundary fares' compensation? Act now to claim it
If you applied for compensation from South West Trains before the deadline in January 2025, you now need to provide your bank details to the claim administrator so it can be paid to you. Here's what you need to know.
Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payment this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.

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