June 2010, 80 payments to go............

[Deleted User]

OH dear poor you!! flu is horrible- only properly had it once or twice I think but it absolutely knocked me out for a good week or 2!!
Hope you are on the mend now and can have a relaxing break - good luck on the ebaying and great that up north house will then be done! I forgot what your plans were whether you are planning on moving there full time (or is there a tennant in it?) and commuting or are you gonna keep london pad for a while ?
time seems to be hurtling along to xmas so hope you have a relaxing break! - how did the tea cosy selling go?

CathT

Sorry to hear you have been so poorly, hope you manage to enjoy the Christmas break.

tootallulah

Hi Both, thanks i am much better but taking things V V slowly although my planning is at top speed.

I sold my tea cosies to a stall holder on Greenwich market she sold them all in one week-end, she would have liked me to make more but I am cosied out for this year. I need to plan what I am going to make for next year.

In the background really momentous things are happening. The house in Newark is finally finished except for a few final touches. The London flat will be cleared out and decorated, and all certificates in place to be rented out in March also I am going to make a cheeky offer on the flat next door with the plan of renting both out for the next ten years or so as part of my retirement planning. The flat next door needs gutting, new heating, electrics, kitchen and bathroom but it is tiny like this one so everything can be done for £6k. It will be hairy if it happens but long term it is a good plan I think (really hope). I have dropped my neighbour a letter to see if he is interested in not going through an agent but doing a private sale. We shall see it has been for sale for six months because it is overpriced I have made a full and final offer with a guarantee of completion in six weeks.

I will see how commuting goes over the summer and if it is not doable I will get a Monday to Thursday let in London in the autumn having had the joy of the light evenings etc.

So the potential upside of all of this for my mortgage challenge on this board is that I will end up knocking c £25k off the Newark mortgage as my London mortgage free flat will provide the deposit for both flats and they will both be mortgaged up to 65% on btl mortgages. I want to retire from work mortgage free on the house so I do need a think around that as shockingly retiring is perhaps only six years away...............and I would like it to be sooner!

museumworker

Sorry to hear you've been ill, but good that you've been well looked after. Hope you're feeling better now, it can take ages to recover from proper flu I understand.

Plans for retirement fund/btl sound really exciting!! Let us know if your offer is accepted.

Wishing you a very merry xmas.

museumworker

Just wondering how you're getting on. Hope you're fully recovered.

tootallulah

Sneaks back in whistling nonchalantly with three mortgages not one, and only another 60 months of paid employment to sort out that financial maelstrom. So what happened? well i already had one house and a flat that I live in in London(mortgage fully paid off) and then the chance came to buy the flat next door and rent it out. I decided to go for it whilst I could as rents are so high in London, and managing the flat next door wouldn't be too difficult. Fast forward to re-mortgage on the mortgage free flat, mortgage 1, some small down payments on the house, mortgage 2, and ticking over on the rented flat, mortgage 3. And I am back, back, back on the mortgage free bandwagon targeting mortgage 1 first with the aim of it being gone by 1 January 2014. £314 in the bank for the rest of the month - onwards and upwards.

deedee71

Hi Tootallulah

I love it when people come back. You're so brave in your journey - three mortgages! But you have to take the chance don't you.

Maybe you should start a new thread and use it for motivation, with a link to this old thread so people know the background.

toerag33

Hi Tootallulah

I have just completed reading your diary this morning and I have thoroughly enjoyed following your journey. So glad you're back as it would have been a huge disappointment not to have been able to continue to follow your journey.

Many thanks

toerag33

tootallulah

Bonjour deedee and toerag - many thanks for reading. I am going to stay with this diary as I tried another and it didn't feel comfy, this is home warts and all. Coffee £2.25, bread and ham £1.10. Corporate dinner, free natch and taxi home which I will claim back.£227 in my current account and 25 days to pay day.

museumworker

welcome back toots! 3 mortgages :eek::eek::rotfl:! Does sound like a great opportunity though, to have another source of income. Did you have to do much to get the flat ready for rental? Looking forward to following you on this part of your journey.

Have you done any more crafting this year?