Pixelwife MFW - Overpayment Diary

cotswoldaccountant

Glad you've had a good day Pixelwife! Very impressive if you can manage to clear the arrears in such a short time. Although we obviously both have Very Big Mortgages, I feel that (once the initial shock of having such a large amount of money to find each month had subsided) that it's just a number. As long as we continue to work hard and generate income, the mortgage gets paid. Before we moved here (and took on our big mortgage), we lived in a normal-sized house with a normal-sized mortgage, and being frugal by nature stuck loads of money in a savings account each month. But we always wished for that "dream" house, which we now have - so despite the underlying niggle of the large figure that we owe to the bank, we have achieved our dream. Rather than worrying about the debt, I'm now excited about paying it off - and of finding this wonderful forum of like-minded people!

pixelwife

Just thought I would check in with a quick update.

I'm still way behind with one mortgage but up to date on the other two. However, we've been working really hard and I think I can clear all the arrears on our house this month! No mean feat, so woohoo for that!

Paid *our* last mortgage payment on BTL2 and from now on it's over to our tenants to cover that mortgage with a bit more on top which we will either overpay against the same property or help us pay BTL1 and give us a little less pressure!

The last few weeks at work have been manic and full of stress but how quickly this positively affects cashflow - I just can't believe how far we've come!

Looking forward to switching from arrears clearing to overpaying again imminently.

I hope everyone else's journeys are all going well.

gallygirl

Great news :T:T:T.

cotswoldaccountant

That is good news indeed - hope all continues to go well for you!

toerag33

Hi

I'm what is described as a lurker but I read the diaries and find that extremely supportive. Like others I'm stunned by the size of your commitments!!!! Not in the same financial league but BTL's have meant we have been in the same position of trying to sort out flats. We have now handed it all over to an agency and feel their charges are totally justified for the peace of mind it gives us. We tried managing the properties ourselves but it was just one problem after another. Managing a relatives property and preparing it for sale, sorting out the problems the tenants had left, two other BTL's trashed - all requiring painting and cleaning in one year. Our family home also needed to be made habital after builders had been in. Never again. We pay the fees to the agency and it has been brilliant as there have been problems with tenants but they deal with it all. Peace of mind dictates we overpay on the BTL's so the monthly payment will be less if the flats' are empty.

Lodger's income help's with the family home and we are now beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Last week we managed to have half the kitchen floor tiled and will now save for the next half but we have the tiles!!! Progress.

I think you are winning - keep it up.

Toerag33

pixelwife

Time for a long overdue update from me!

Well I've finally caught up on the main mortgage which at one point was £17k underpaid - oops! Running a business and having lots of property has certainly been challenging the last couple of years but it was fab to pay the last few grand today and know we will end the year up to date!

Am also awaiting an annual mortgage statement from BTL2 any day as I don't have access to that account online to monitor it so my figure on the signature is at least 6 months out of date if not longer I think I could have some good news there.

Feeling very determined to keep on top of things a lot more in 2013. I have a tax rebate due so that will allow me to make a bit of a dent in one of the mortgages so that's something to look forward to.

I hope you've all had a successful year with your mortgages and their overpaying. And more importantly I wish you all health, wealth, happiness and no early redemption fees!

Pixelwife

pixelwife

Not posted in absolutely ages mostly because financially we've been having a very difficult time and it's meant the mortgages have gotten seriously behind. We are finally making inroads but have certainly not overpaid in the longest time.

Today however was a small victory to see our own house mortgage dip below £400k at long last! Our business has picked up of late so hoping to really start smashing this soon!

Any motivational words always welcome.

Pixelwife

pixelwife

Oh no, no replies!

Is this because I've been terribly naughty for not posting in months and months?

Am setting a target to pay another £10,500 this month off the mortgage which I can hopefully do using a dividend, being self employed.

I could really do with some moral support at the moment as the last 6 months have been a huge source of financial stress!

Pixelwife

MallyGirl

Hi there

I am another MFW with biggish debts and an aggressive payback plan. I have a sharesave scheme reaching it's 3 year term in September so that will make a decent dent in the balance. Amazingly it has actually made enough for me to need to do something clever with some of the shares to avoid paying CGT. Option price of £4.85 and current price is £12.10 so I am very glad I went for it and put in £250pcm for the last 3 years. I have signed up for the next 3 year block as well since I don't notice the money going direct from salary and my underperforming endowments reach full term in 3 years time. I might use them for a nice meal out as that is pretty much all they are good for :mad:
I am joking - they are rubbish but even I couldn't eat that much!

pixelwife

Thanks for the reply Mallygirl.

Sounds like you have been very shrewd. Savings have completely fallen by the wayside for me and it's all I can do at the moment to play catchup on the mortgage but I'm really hoping we are turning things back in our favour at the moment.

Do you do any other non-work activities to up your income? I work full time long hours and have a young child so my only options are comping (in the hope of a big ITV win!) and selling things I already own.

I'm also considering, despite my dire circumstances financially, buying a couple more BTLs as the regular monthly income is what'll really change our circumstances and on small low value properties, rental quickly earns back the initial investment (by quick I mean 5-10 years).

Pixelwife