uzubairu's Mortgage Free Journey

CathT

Had a quick catch up, you're doing brilliantly!

uzubairu

Some good news!

1. OH got offered the permanent postion that he applied for, so that is quite a relief because there were several applicants. :beer:
2. Quidco is due to pay out £89 next week. :T
3. £1400 overpayments made for January.
4. Mortgage balance - We are out of the 60s and into the 50s!
5. One more piece has been added to the fridge magnet jigsaw puzzle, with just 8 more pices to go. :j
6. Received electricity statement and we have a credit of £45. Currently paying £38 per month, so we will look at it again in 3 months time and see if we need to reduce the monthly payment.
7. My 2005 (5yr) and 2007 (3yr) SAYE contracts have matured. At the current share price the 2005 has nearly doubled , but the 2007 has gained just £125 .
8. Had a good month selling stuff on eBay and managed to upgrade a couple of consumer electronics at very little cost (new 32" TV in main bedroom and Home Cinema AV receiver for the lounge).

And some not so good news

1. My personal Virtual Sealed Pot (into which my cashback payments go) is at over £200 already, but I am going to have to use it on Friday to pay for front brake pads for my Mini.
2. My car is going to be checked on Friday and only then will I know if it will cost £189 or £310.
3. I saw an Audi A1 whilst driving to work yesterday, and it looked gorgeous. I [STRIKE]want[/STRIKE] need one.
4. I've been asked to work on another department in store (that has issues) and manage a new set of people. I'll be going from managing 22 people to 70. Wish me luck.

[Deleted User]

Hey there
looks like some great stuff happening and well done for getting into the 50's!!
sorry to hear sealed pot going towards car but safety first with things like that! - can relate to cars being a black hole swallowing money sometimes tho...lets hope its the cheaper price!
good luck too with new job challenges -maybe a fresh face/approach will help iron out some of the team issues- is it a permanent move for you or just temporary?

determined1_2

Hi uzubairu

I'm going through the process of applying for a first direct mortgage and have a question if I may as I know you have one.

It is one of their conditions that you have a current account with them. Do you know if you actually have to use this account. I'm very happy with my present current account provider so would ideally like to stay with them.

Thanks for any help.

Determined

originalmiscellany

I think you need to have a current account where a set amount of money gets paid in, for example 1500 a month rings a bell.

I was with Smile and changed to FD to get the mortgage, and I've not looked back, they're brilliant! Smile and First Direct both top the charts in terms of customer

uzubairu

determined1 wrote: »

Hi uzubairu

I'm going through the process of applying for a first direct mortgage and have a question if I may as I know you have one.

It is one of their conditions that you have a current account with them. Do you know if you actually have to use this account. I'm very happy with my present current account provider so would ideally like to stay with them.

Thanks for any help.

Determined

Initially we were going to stick with our old bill account but we were please with the service we got during the application process that we changed our bill account.
Depositing £1500 a month gets you the £100 freebie.

The only requirement is that your mortgage payment comes from the First Direct current account. So you can continue to maintain accounts elsewhere as your main, so long as you transfer enough money to the FD current account to cover the monthly payment (i.e set up a standing order).
I had that info confirmed when I was enquiring for a friend last month and phoned FD.

uzubairu

Deleted_User wrote: »

Hey there
looks like some great stuff happening and well done for getting into the 50's!!
sorry to hear sealed pot going towards car but safety first with things like that! - can relate to cars being a black hole swallowing money sometimes tho...lets hope its the cheaper price!
good luck too with new job challenges -maybe a fresh face/approach will help iron out some of the team issues- is it a permanent move for you or just temporary?

Yes.
The replacement for my job starts next week, and I will be training/supporting them at the same time (as they are stepping up).

RosieTiger

Congratulations on hitting the 50's !!!!!!!

Hoping to be there soon too so still chasing you!

Good luck with the new role.

uzubairu

uzubairu wrote: »

1. I saw an Audi A1 whilst driving to work yesterday, and it looked gorgeous. I [STRIKE]want[/STRIKE] need one.

Went to a showroom last week and saw one in the flesh.
It looks nice in the front, but even I felt claustrophobic in the back, and I'm only 5ft 7ins.
Gone right off it.

I've found out from the Mini garage that the 2009 Mini Coupe concept car that was shown at the Frankfurt show in 2009 is going into production and will be on sale in the UK within the next year.
I definitely want one of those.
I will keep chipping away at the mortgage for another year or two and that will be my treat to myself when we start to get close to the finishing line in 2012.

Treated my Mini to an upgrade - a multi-function steering wheel.
It wasn't cheap, but I think it was worth the expense.

The Home Cinema AV amplifier bargain (£150 off) had to go back because it wasn't compatible with the complicated set-up that my OH insists on having (audiophile snob).
The correct receiver is £210 more, so after chosing an alternative receiver that I managed to get a price match on, I got the OH to have a listen.
He was very impressed with the improvement in sound quality, although not a refined as his current set-up for music, he agreed that it was a good compromise.
So we are downgrading our lounge HiFi/AV equipment.
We are keeping the speakers (he wasn't prepared to skimp on those).
2nd hand values are very good and some bits and pieces (e.g. mains cables) sold within minutes of being listed.

We hope to get about £1500 for all the parts we have for sale, and £500 of that will go into mortgage overpayments.
Lots of watchers and loads of questions already.
Most of the stuff is between 5 and 8 years old and was 2nd hand when we bought them (but lovingly cared for by previous owners), so the losses are minimal, even after all that time.

New job - A lot to do, but I have a plan and will be taking my time to implement it.

uzubairu

January & February overpayments
Phoned First Direct this evening and the mortgage is:- £70,657.24

Reg Savers / Jan / YTD
Northern / = £250 / £2,130
Northern / = £250 / £1,880
Cheshire / = £150 / £1,550
Cheshire / = £150 / £1,300
Saffron / = £200 / £1,400
FDirect / = £400 / £900

January overpayments were:- £1400, due in part to a little bit of eBaying and downgrading the HiFi.
I still have a few bits to sell and my estimates of what I thought I would get were a little on the low side.
I've opened up another Regular Saver with HSBC to accomodate the extra money.

At the moment the February overpayments are:- £1,750, but I still have a few eBay auctions left over the next week and they should generate another £350.
I may just put that directly into the mortgage account, since it is just a one off at the moment.

Reg Savers / Feb / YTD
Northern / = £250 / £2,380
Northern / = £250 / £2,130
Cheshire / = £250 / £1,800
Cheshire / = £250 / £1,550
Saffron / = £200 / £1,600
FDirect / = £300 / £1,200
HSBC / = £250 / £250

I need to start thinking about what to do with these Regular Savers when they start to expire (June, July and August), and if rates are still low, look for alternatives.

Fixed Cash ISA = £2,000

Total Overpayment Savings = £12,910.


Direct Overpayments to mortgage account
Month / Amount / YTD
Dec / £000 / £150

Mortgage remaining = Mortgage - OP Savings = £70,657 - £12,910 = £57,747

Received £20.60 from Quidco and £5.00 from my Halifax Rewards account, which is paid straight into my VSP, which is slowly recovering from last month's unplanned expenditure.