Starting the mortgage free path

bownyboy

So I'm continuing to keep a close eye on the rumblings about interest rate rises (will they / won't they). Still confident that it will creep up slowly, so even if there is a rise before the end of the year (which seems increasingly likely) if I'm on +1.99 BOE then I've got 1.5% rise to go before I get to where I've been for last 5 years.

bownyboy

Payday time again, so monthly update as follows:

• January 2014 - £106,929 / £358 / £11.96
• February 2014 - £105,967 / £355 / £11.85
• March 2014 - £105,002 / £352 / £11.74
• April 2014 - £104,034 / £349 / £11.64
• May 2014 - £103,066 / £345 / £11.53
• June 2014 - £102,088 / £342 / £11.42
• July 2014 - £100,932 / £211 / £7.06

Savings & investments now at £13k so effective mortgage of £87,932

New mortgage rate starts on Tuesday +1.99% BOE. Despite calling twice over the last month (and it being confirmed over the phone) I still haven't received a letter confirming the new mortgage, or how to access it etc, so slightly concerned! Will try ringing again today.

bownyboy

So checked the state of my S&S ISA which I started back in October for the first time ever. Been contributing monthly and after 9 months its produced a grand total of 2.1% return. I've actually earnt more interest on my Satander 123 account!

But I'm in it for the longer term i.e.: 10+ years so hopefully things pick up over time; well I hope so!

gallygirl

bownyboy wrote: »

So checked the state of my S&S ISA which I started back in October for the first time ever. Been contributing monthly and after 9 months its produced a grand total of 2.1% return. I've actually earnt more interest on my Satander 123 account!

But I'm in it for the longer term i.e.: 10+ years so hopefully things pick up over time; well I hope so!

This is good news as you'll be getting more units for your money :T.

(Repeat indefinitely until you actually believe it :rotfl:)

bownyboy

Finally got a letter from Santander confirming our new rate of 2.49%. Annoyingly I've found out that you still CANNOT access it online! They only allow access online for a single mortgage product called e-mortgage which is tied to your current account.

Unbelievable that in 2014 I still cannot access my mortgage online.

bownyboy

So today I log onto Santander internet banking and I see that I have a new section called 'Borrowings' appear on the homepage (after Banking & Savings and Credit Cards), with 'MORTGAGE (ANMF)' appearing below with what I presume is my mortgage account number and sort code. There is nothing under balance, available actions or funds.

Strange. So maybe I will get to see my balance, or maybe they're just teasing me by showing my mortgage name and nothing else!

edinburgher

We had that as well, unless you have one of their fancy modern mortgages, the account name is all you'll ever see. We had a mortgage with them until this April, but it was a 'traditional' one arranged through an intermediary and t'internet clearly wasn't thought to be relevant :rotfl:

bownyboy

So when I got my mortgage has moved letter from Santander I noticed that the balance was £103,098 which was higher than I expected. After calling them up and querying it turns out my last 3 overpayments did not go through (May, June, July) due to the 'mortgage moving'.

Nobody called, emailed or wrote to me and further checking of my account I can now see they were all returned 5 days later in my account (I should have noticed!).

Guy on the phone did say I wouldn't be out of pocket and they will take off any interest owed.

Moral of story is to check your account in more detail!

bownyboy

Its been a few months since I was here, thought it was about time to do an update!

• January 2014 - £106,929 / £358 / £11.96
• February 2014 - £105,967 / £355 / £11.85
• March 2014 - £105,002 / £352 / £11.74
• April 2014 - £104,034 / £349 / £11.64
• May 2014 - £103,562 / £345 / £11.53
• June 2014 - £103,088 / £342 / £11.42
• July 2014 - £102,802 / £213 / £7.13
• August 2014 - £101,828 / £213 / £7.11
• September 2014 - £100,542 / £211 / £7.04
• October 2014 - £99,575! / £208 / £6.95

Big psychological milestone is getting under £100k. Thats £55k cleared off the mortgage in 5 years and 3 months. Phew.

Also under £7 a day now for interest which means more is hitting the capital. Speaking of which finally got Santander to take off the overpayments from the capital as they kept instead amending my monthly payments.

So the plan is to carry on overpaying by £500 a month and hopefully clearing the mortgage in December 2021.

bownyboy

Excitedly checked my online banking with Santander at the weekend after receiving an email saying we've improved your online experience.

I suppose it was too much to hope that I would be able to view and access my mortgage...and I was right. Just looks like a cosmetic makeover. No new functionality at all.