Starting the mortgage free path

bownyboy

Been reading up on combi boilers vs system boiler with hot water cylinder.

We currently have a 40 year old back boiler in chimney and copper tank in the kitchen. We replaced our rads and added TRVs a while back, but are desperate to put a new boiler in so we can rip out the 1970s fireplace and put in a wood burning stove.

Originally the only plan was a combi in kitchen as not enough room for cyclinder (need space in kitchen) But looks like we might have space in 2nd bedroom in eve space we created. Gasman checked and said it looks fine.

Everything I read about combi's says you can expect them to fail within 5 years as all the electronics involved now. Apparently there is less to go wrong on system boiler plus benefit of higher pressure and stored water.

So time to start saving, reckon on it costing around £3.5k at least and ideally have it done before the end of summer.

bownyboy

Have been reading with interest the about the fee free 5 year fix at 2.74 with Britannia. We have just over a year to go until our 5 year fix with at 3.99 with A&L finishes. Need to dig out the ERC figure to see if its worth ditching our fix.

Sounds like a great deal, but still not sure what to do when our fix eventually finishes.

Have never remortgaged before, is there anything involved apart from a lender valuation?

bownyboy

Today has been a difficult day with expenditure, after many days of NSDs (lots of packed lunches) the one weakness I have is technology and I've been avidly following the progress being made with gesture based interaction. I don't know if anyone else has is aware of Leap Motion and MYO?

Well I've now got them both on pre-order for $69 and $149 respectively. Gotta have something to keep you going after working all day!

Check them out at: https://getmyo.com and https://www.leapmotion.com the videos are fascinating to watch. I can see this becoming a huge sector.

bownyboy

Saw Martins tweet yesterday about being able to spread council tax across 12 instead of 10 months. Quick call to the council and all sorted from April. Also asked if they had the new bills ready - apparently I can expect another 2% rise this year.

We pay an eye watering £220 per month as it is for a 3 bedroom semi in Surrey.

Brings tears to my eyes, especially as the local roads are full of pot holes, bins have gone fortnightly (feeling a Victor Meldrew rant coming on!)

bownyboy

Its the first of the month so time for some updated stats:

• Number of months remaining: 65
• Number of months saved so far: 61
• Percentage owned: 25.36%

Two more months to go and I'll have saved more months than I have left to go! (its these little milestones that keep you going!).

bownyboy

I don't know about everyone else but I'm desperate for a holiday. So with my MSE hat on I contacted a friend whose parents have a gorgeous 2 bed apartment overlooking the beach in Normandy. Couple of emails later and we are booked on a ferry in 3 weeks time for a weeks stay. We've stayed there many times before, it's very relaxing, and they charge us a nominal amount to cover electrics.

We'll head down to Portsmouth in the car straight after work on Thursday to get the overnight ferry to Le Harve complete with 4 berth cabin. It's then a lazy 40 minute drive along the coast to Deauville.

Best thing is, no TV, no Internet, just long walks, good food and fantastic wine and calvados!

bownyboy

Just posted my first update to the MFIT-3 thread my target is to reduce my mortgage from £125k in December 2012 to £68k in December 2015.

December 2012 - £125k

March 2013 - £116k

This doesn't include my ISA savings for this year (currently £1,500) which means I'm at £114.5k however as its not strictly taken off the mortgage yet I've kept it separate.

It's good to have these mini targets throughout the long haul.

Barbeduk

Hi Bownyboy, just had a read of your thread. We had a system boiler with tank fitted last summer and it's been fab, but did come in around £4k. The hot water cylinder is HUGE though, luckily ours is in the cellar.

Could I (nerdily) ask you which mortgage app you use? Think I need that one to play around with!

bownyboy

Barbeduk wrote: »

Hi Bownyboy, just had a read of your thread. We had a system boiler with tank fitted last summer and it's been fab, but did come in around £4k. The hot water cylinder is HUGE though, luckily ours is in the cellar.

Could I (nerdily) ask you which mortgage app you use? Think I need that one to play around with!

Hi Barbecuk,

Boiler
Thanks for popping by. Regarding the cyclinder how many of there are you and how many bathrooms? I've been reading up online and it suggests if we were to get a cyclinder then we'd be looking at 150L for 2 people with one bathroom who shower once/twice a day and rarely have a bath. That should be about 1m tall and 0.5m diameter.

I'm hoping that would fit under the Eve's storage we've made in 2nd bedroom and therefore give us more space in kitchen.

Mortgage App
I currently use this one
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mortgage-mentor-mortgage-calculator/id409695797?mt=8 it's simple to use and does the job. Haven't check for a year or so to see if there is now anything else. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

bownyboy

4 years ago this week we put our offer into the house we're currently in. We had to go in at full asking price and the vendors made us wait a week until they came back with their response. It was between us and another couple who also offered full asking.

Turns out they liked us more and could see we would enjoy ourselves in the house and have a happy life here (it was a probate sale and we made sure we got to know the two daughters who were executors of the will).

Its flown by and can't believe we've just got over 1 year left on our 5 year fix.