Sandstone VS Mortgage!
Sandstone
Forumite 105 Posts
Greetings all!
I expect the next few years to be quite an adventure, and I hope some of you will share it with me. I've been reading many of your MFW diaries and they're incredibly inspirational!
I've only recently joined this site so please be gentle. I think this diary might be a bit unusual, because it's the first day I've had a mortgage, in my life.
I've lived simply, and managed to stay debt free until now, apart from a student loan (still being paid off), but since yesterday morning, I became indebted to the sum of a quarter of a million pounds.
:eek:
The story so far:
Early last year I found the property I wanted to buy. Unfortunately it had already had a nice big "sold" sign in front of it.
Not wanting to give up until every possible option has been exhausted, I spoke to the estate agents and asked them to keep me on file, in case it became available again, or if any other property on that road became available. A few months later I got the call. After a few viewings, I agreed to pay the price that had been agreed by the original buyers, who had dropped out for unknown reasons.
A few months after that, the mortgage was in place, the surveys were complete, the searches were clear. But due to the unresponsiveness of the sellers, our enquiries went unanswered for weeks, despite constant prodding. Eventually we were told that if we didn't exchange within a week, the property would be placed back on the market! Even my solicitors agreed this was bizarre, considering the delay was caused by them, not us.
It later transpired that the sellers were in fact a hedge fund, so who knows what crazy and arcane rationale was operating behind the scenes.
After much stress and frustration, we did exchange exactly one week later, and finally, over 6 months since having our offer accepted, we completed the transaction a few hours ago.
Over the last year, a lot has changed in my life, and in particular, my career. Essentially, I have been working towards professional qualifications and last week, I was offered the job I was hoping for. By some poetic coincidence, today was also the day I signed on the dotted line of my new employment contract; the start of a new career and a new life!
The new job also comes with a hefty pay rise, and I think many of you will be thinking the same as me at this point: Overpayments!
More details to follow tomorrow, but for now, I have a lot of thinking to do, and a loved ones to celebrate with.
:beer:*
*I don't actually drink alcohol, but this conveys the general sentiment.
I expect the next few years to be quite an adventure, and I hope some of you will share it with me. I've been reading many of your MFW diaries and they're incredibly inspirational!
I've only recently joined this site so please be gentle. I think this diary might be a bit unusual, because it's the first day I've had a mortgage, in my life.
I've lived simply, and managed to stay debt free until now, apart from a student loan (still being paid off), but since yesterday morning, I became indebted to the sum of a quarter of a million pounds.
:eek:
The story so far:
Early last year I found the property I wanted to buy. Unfortunately it had already had a nice big "sold" sign in front of it.
Not wanting to give up until every possible option has been exhausted, I spoke to the estate agents and asked them to keep me on file, in case it became available again, or if any other property on that road became available. A few months later I got the call. After a few viewings, I agreed to pay the price that had been agreed by the original buyers, who had dropped out for unknown reasons.
A few months after that, the mortgage was in place, the surveys were complete, the searches were clear. But due to the unresponsiveness of the sellers, our enquiries went unanswered for weeks, despite constant prodding. Eventually we were told that if we didn't exchange within a week, the property would be placed back on the market! Even my solicitors agreed this was bizarre, considering the delay was caused by them, not us.
It later transpired that the sellers were in fact a hedge fund, so who knows what crazy and arcane rationale was operating behind the scenes.
After much stress and frustration, we did exchange exactly one week later, and finally, over 6 months since having our offer accepted, we completed the transaction a few hours ago.
Over the last year, a lot has changed in my life, and in particular, my career. Essentially, I have been working towards professional qualifications and last week, I was offered the job I was hoping for. By some poetic coincidence, today was also the day I signed on the dotted line of my new employment contract; the start of a new career and a new life!
The new job also comes with a hefty pay rise, and I think many of you will be thinking the same as me at this point: Overpayments!
More details to follow tomorrow, but for now, I have a lot of thinking to do, and a loved ones to celebrate with.
:beer:*
*I don't actually drink alcohol, but this conveys the general sentiment.
Saving money for everything and everyone.
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Replies
Many congratulations on not just your new home but also the new job that you have clearly worked hard to attain.
I think you'll find we are a friendly bunch here so you'll find lots of helpful support and tips and plenty of people to use as a sounding board if you need one.
Also, I've noticed many newcomers this week which is often the case at the turn of the year so you are in good company
Good luck with your plans
Regards
ATT
Original Mortgage o/s £187,643 / £71,904 (-115,739)
Repay o/s £92,661 / now £55,900 (-36,761)
Int Only o/s £94,982, now £16,004 (-78,978)
Total daily interest £1 [a) £0.77 b)£0.23
Total OP's:2018 target £TBC YTD £1,995
Good luck with the overpayments.
My very beat wishes to you :beer:
Tilly
2011 £309k 10 years - MF March 2021.
Achieved Goal: 28/08/15 :j
I've had to work this weekend so there hasn't been time to post the continuation that I was hoping to, but I just wanted to say that I've been reading some of your diaries over the last few weeks (especially ATT's) and I'm really impressed and inspired by the whole community here.
Got to explore those spreadsheets, etc. in more depth too.
Happy weekend everybody!
MFW 2020: 1 Jan £92903.90 ~ OP £536.80/£500
MFW 2021: 1 Jan £89281.21 ~ OP £404.62/£500
MFW 2022: 1 Jan £85579.20 ~ OPs on hold.
Hi Sandstone, thank for the mention, I'm blushing
I can see you have responded on my thread too so I'm just off to reply
Regards
ATT
Original Mortgage o/s £187,643 / £71,904 (-115,739)
Repay o/s £92,661 / now £55,900 (-36,761)
Int Only o/s £94,982, now £16,004 (-78,978)
Total daily interest £1 [a) £0.77 b)£0.23
Total OP's:2018 target £TBC YTD £1,995
So I know the usual thing to do is one of these SOA things, but things are still a bit messy at the moment because I'm actually on a project in Asia at the moment, and I've been here for a few months now. Trying to do both the exchange of contracts and the completion itself while out of the country is not easy! I'll spare you the details, but let's just say I wouldn't recommend it. Thank goodness for my friends and family, who helped me beyond measure.:A
So, the SOA will have to wait until I get back to the UK in a few months. Same for the target MF date.
As some of you know, being posted abroad by your company sometimes comes with benefits. Generally they try to compensate you for extricating you from the abovementioned friends and family, as well as the other difficulties in moving to a strange new country. The good thing is that it's been an amazing experience so far, and, best of all, I managed to save quite a lot over this period too.
I was ready to purchase the house back in July 2011, so, even just my basic salary would have formed a decent amount of savings since then, but it's been helped even more by the foreign stipend. Before any of you mention tax, I'm still being employed in the UK, paying UK taxes, so at least I don't have to worry about that.
So, a grand total of £15000 has now been overpaid, before the first mortgage instalment has even fallen due. :j
That leaves £235,000 of debt, and, according to my spreadsheet, has saved me £11,000 of interest already, over the term of my mortgage (14yrs).
Obviously I won't be able to do that very often, but I think it's a good start.
:beer:
Keep us posted how it goes.
K_K
Back on with £71,000 July 2014
Current Balance £58402