Cazmanian_minx's new MF diary

Sepa74

It sounds like it's crying out to be a hotel or B&B. It's the most stunning location, I could imagine people coming up for a week or two and just enjoying getting out and walking.

You could be a way station to Orkney - a week on the mainland and a week in Orkney. Bliss!!

cazmanian_minx

Checked with the planning system and I've got my facts wrong - the 2001 application was withdrawn, for whatever reason, the one the current owners put in was never processed because it was an incomplete submission. It definitely won't be the most expensive house in the area, it's not too far from the Castle of Mey and Ackergill Tower, which sold for £5m a year ago (though admittedly, that's a lot bigger!). However, I do agree it's a very different proposition doing it as a project to when we were looking at doing it as our forever home. OH did actually come home from work on Friday and say he'd been speaking to our solicitor about it and asked me how I was getting on with sorting out a mortgage, so I've emailed the Ecology who are the only people who'd touch something like this and will see what they say.

Can't update with my mortgage payment yet, as IF hasn't processed the interest charge yet - and from previous experience, if it's not done by 9am, it doesn't appear until the day after. *sulk*

GDB2222

Can you do some of the work yourselves, Caz? Or can you organise a direct labour force? Would one of the property self-build/renovation TV programmes pay you anything towards the costs? Or do people just go on these programmes out of vanity?

cazmanian_minx

Yes, a lot of it - Mr Minx is fantastic at that kind of thing and wants a project to get his teeth into! Grand Designs doesn't seem to be making a new series and I doubt they'd come this far north anyway - they don't pay you for participating, but it can be used as a price bargaining tool with workmen and suppliers, as it's fantastic free advertising for them to be seen on it. TBH, I think we're going to have to be sensible and face up to the fact that we're not in a position to do it right now If it was a case of selling this place, using the equity to buy the mill and living in a static caravan for a year or two before moving into, it would be a different matter, but I love this house and I don't actually want to live in Watten, pretty as it is - I couldn't live away from the sea now.

GDB2222

It's a cold part of the world to be living in a caravan, anyway.

Is it going to auction again? I'd be interested to hear how much this money-sinking-pit goes for.

cazmanian_minx

It is - 15th December via Wilsons Auctions, lot 38. It's failed to sell the last few times it's been under the hammer, it'll be interesting to see if the price drop makes a difference.

We had a Big Grown-up Chat last night and have decided to leave it, with the proviso that if the price drops again (unlikely, as I shouldn't think they'll be wanting to accept less than they paid) or we win the lottery we'll have a re-think.

Anyway, the mortgage interest has updated this morning, leaving us owing just a smidgen over £125,000 and celebrating paying off over £20k Daily interest is the lowest it's ever been and I'm saving up money owed to suppliers in the offset, so that's looking pretty healthy too. Onwards and downwards...

cazmanian_minx

Happy Friday - a little more cash in the bank, a little less debt to pay. Not much to report here other than I think I've found a project to keep Mr Minx occupied next year. As you may have seen on the news it was a bit windy up here last night (!) and my horse's 18x12 field shelter, which didn't get so much as a splinter in 85mph a couple of weeks ago, decided to shift itself TWO FEET south and start removing its felt roof :eek: Merlin, thankfully, doesn't have a scratch on him, but I've spent nearly an hour this morning trying to re-fit the rubber mats inside and they just won't go down flat - I think the frame has warped, so husband is taking a half day and coming home in daylight to check it out for structural safety. I would shut Merlin out for the day, but it's moved so far that the gate is now stuck behind the post it gets tied to! He's chomping a large pile of hay out of the wind behind the pig pen and seems happy enough.

Anyway, I think the time has come to apply for planning permission (moveable shelters, which mine has just proved it is, don't need it) and get something built from stone with foundations, which is just the kind of thing Mr Minx loves to do.

Sepa74

Yikes! Glad Merlin is OK, and yes it does sound like building a more permanent stable will be just the thing to prevent your DH pining after his castle project!

I come from a part of the world where we have cyclones regularly... in my part of the world we bolt roofs to the rafters every 2 inches, and for every 50cm of wall has a steel bolt that goes all the way into the foundations.

160mph gusts are cyclonic wind speeds... I'm not surprised your 'movable' shed moved! I'm just surprised it didn't end up in Oz!

cazmanian_minx

Happy Friday everyone! I'm celebrating my non-mortgage debt going back under £10k today :j:j:j:j Still a long way to go, but I definitely feel like I'm making some progress. And I'm over half way through paying off the tooth fairy loan as well, just 11 payments left now - having that £250 a month back is going to make a big difference to my finances just in time for Christmas next year

I got stopped out on my remaining open spread bet for a loss of £8, think I'll be leaving that account alone for a while now until I've got savings and investments again.

cazmanian_minx

Cor, aren't Fridays coming round quickly at the moment? OK, it still feels rather like Thursday because I'm having a fit of insomnia and haven't gone to bed yet, but still...

Good news on the mortgage front, there's another £1,000 in the offset account stored from the business account - that £4k is the second half payment to a supplier which doesn't have to be handed over until I receive the goods. They haven't shipped yet and they're coming from Sialkot, Pakistan, so they're going to take at least 25 days by sea followed by another fortnight to get the pallets from Folkestone to the outer ends of nowhere - which means the cash can sit there for at least another month

The non mortgage debt has been nibbled away by another £50 but I'm about to get a big hit in the form of the tax bill at the end of January. I now have the figures from my accountant and I was nearly spot on with my guesstimate (£85 out!) which I suppose is good news, but the bad news is I'm either going to have to dip into my overdraft to pay it or I'm going to have to take extra drawings from the business account, which can't really afford it at the moment either. Bad Minx. I've set YNAB up to budget 1/6th of the amount due at the end of July from Feb 2012 to July 2012 inclusive, so at least I should have the money for the second payment without going overdrawn, even if it means the debt payment slows down.

At least I finally had some luck with the car; it flew through its MOT with no work needing doing :T