Should be happy with our lot, but we're not.

teb_2

Justie wrote:

If you like where you live inside then it at least makes the outside stuff more bearable.

i did read all the replies when they were written but was too busy feeling sorry for myself at the time, to reply anymore.

we decided Justie was right and we made a list of what needed doing and what we wanted to do to make the house more suitable for the way we live. we agreed that if we were sat in a nice room we could just shut the curtains on the outside and play cards or something. :rolleyes:

we got an estate agent out to see if we could spend some money on the place (moving doorways/ making rooms bigger/ putting in a shower room etc)but he's advised us that because of where we are, if we do any more than just decorate, we wont get it back if we sell as these houses have a ceiling price and they're not worth improving that much.

we also phoned a couple of mortgage companies and they've said (provisionally) they would lend us more than we first thought but if we did that we'd have no life as all our money would go on paying the mortgage.

still dont know what to do, but i'm not fed up about it all anymore. thanks for listening to me moaning before. :beer:

btw, do people spend most of their money on paying the mortgage? is it normal to have a nice house but be skint?

Justie

glad you're feeling more positive and in control Teb

sorting out the house doesn't have to be big things it can just be having a really good sort out, finishing off all those jobs that are half done and slapping a new coat of paint on.

If you can maximise your income and pay off a bit more mortgage or remortgage onto a lower rate then you may feel like you're getting somewhere too.

And don't forget that if there are things you WANT to do to the house and you're going to live there for a while you'll benefit even if it doesn't add value to the resale. (obviously spending £50k on a new kitchen may not be a good idea though )

and it's worth seeing an IFA if you're going to remortgage they're worth the money...

and yes the mortgage feels like a weight even though ours is less than when we rented it still seems like we have less money now...

bunty109

We spend a lot of our money on the mortgage. We moved last year and tokk a huge leap up in the size of our mortgage but I am glad we did. I've managed to get some extra hours at work and that pays for some of hte extras we used to like and (touch wood) OH should get a pay rise soon and we can chuck a bit more at the mortgage if we want.

Thing I have found is, that for a while the mortgage can seem like a huge millstone, but once you've got used to budgetting and pay rises and/or changes of jobs occur, then they get more manageable.

I still balk at the thought of the size of our mortgage, but it's been worth it, and it is (slowly) getting smaller!

Clive_Woody

teb wrote:

we also phoned a couple of mortgage companies and they've said (provisionally) they would lend us more than we first thought but if we did that we'd have no life as all our money would go on paying the mortgage.

Speak with an IFA rather than the mortgages companies directly, they will be able to discuss your circumstances and tell you about the best deals on the market. They will be able to talk through different senarios. A mortgage doesn't have to be 25 years, if you are still young you could consider 30 year mortgage if it gave you the funds you needed to escape.

You don't pay the IFA, he gets paid from commission from the mortgage lender, he will complete all the paperwork for you and generally I have found them to be a great help.

I am sure there must be IFAs on here who could at the very least give some basic advice on what you might be able to borrow and if you decided it was right for you then they could help you through the process.

We had horrible neighbours in our last house and it was driving my poor wife potty. We had a look around, found out roughly what we would get for ours, spoke with our IFA and then started the ball rolling. It was a lovely house in not a bad area, but the folk next door (and their kids) were a nightmare.

ailuro2

If you don't make the effort to make the house you are in at the moment nice, then you will not get a decent price/quick sale etc.

Once you have decorated it using 'selling' as your reason to find your 'get up and go' then,hopefully, you may find you like it a little more...

I like the area we are in, the house is alright, but we would still love a little stone cottage with an open fire....maybe one day when I'm too old to be carrying logs for aforementioned fire..:rolleyes:

emma_b_4

me and hubby also feel like you sometimes, we want to move, want new car, etc etc but then i think we have got soo much going for us, and at least we are on the property ladder!
sometimes i think its just that we will never be satisfied, thers always something else we'd want!! mainly its me whos always wanting to move, and im sure we will in a couple of years. im always on rightmove having a nosey at houses!

ness_w

We were in this boat a few years back. We owned a starter home that was in negative equity (anyone remember that) and were renting a horrible house literally next door to heatrow airport where our children were afraid to go out into the garden because of the aircraft noise.

Wht we did was upsticks completely and move to a much cheaper part of the country, it's not quite so cheap now, but still much cheaper than where we were. We were lucky enough to get a firly run down five bed place that we have been doing up over seven years. We have been able to increase our brood to six, and now live in a really lovely place where we know our neighbours etc.

It was tough for a long time, as we had to sort out the negative equity debt and everything, but it was worth it, and it can be done!

Ness.

teb_2

I hope no-one takes this the wrong way, but i like hearing about all your house problems. dont get me wrong, i got loads of sympathy for anyone who doesnt feel happy and settled where they are, its just that it makes me feel not quite so bad, lol.

im fed up seeing kirsty and phil finding lovely homes for rich people, that just makes me feel worse. :rolleyes:

we need out. we thought the other day that we could put up with things but its bothering us even more than we thought. we've been drawing up a budget over the last few days so we could work out what to spend on what to redecorate and do a few bits that need sorted and we felt ok but last night and the night before we couldn't relax because of things that were going on outside. we realised last night that we havent felt relaxed and settled for a long time as we're just waiting for things to kick off one way or another.

we live in one of the cheapest areas going, so moving to a cheaper part of the country isnt an option, we cant downsize so we'll really need to look into how best to sort the finances out to see what we can do.

someone suggested we look for a small bit of land and build as you can get really cheap kit houses and it would cost a lot less than an existing house the same size. we dont want to go for any kind of grand design job, just a basic house and land our way is still reasonable and not the daft prices it goes for elsewhere but it doesnt come up very often.

we're wondering if it would be daft to write to all the farmers in the area asking if they would consider selling us a small corner of their land?

Claudie

teb I know exactly what you mean - once you have the itch it is just waiting to be scratched

I think if you are thinking of moving in any way, shape, or form, you should start making the house as sellable as possible. Your street may have a ceiling price but a good presentation can make a sale far quicker and easier imho. Justie's idea was a good one. If you look at your house with a buyer's eye what do you see?

We are just getting ready to put our house on the market and I am really amazed at what a coat of paint and a good de-clutter has done. It cost us about 0.25% of the asking price to tidy it up and I am sure that will help somewhere along the line.

There is a load of info out there for self build -

http://www.buildstore.co.uk/?AffiliateID=0000000067&ProductID=BP&lpsrc=google&lptxt=sb9&lpkey=build%20home&lpcat=selfbuild&lpgrp=selfbuild

Good luck.

Justie

teb wrote:

we're wondering if it would be daft to write to all the farmers in the area asking if they would consider selling us a small corner of their land?

not if you want to move in the next couple of years... what you need is land that already has planning permission or you'll be stuck in red tape. Have a look in the local papers and find the agents that deal with land - farmers papers can be really good too but ask around and talk to as many people as you can about it. Check out self build schemes in the local area - you may not need to look for land in a rural area and if there's a scheme up and running you'll get support as well. Also look at new build and consider buying off plan - if you get in early you could end up with a bargain... all these things will take time though.

First thing is go and see an IFA and get your finances sorted and work out how much money you've got to spend. Yes building your own can be cheaper but if you don't know what you're doing it can be a complete waste of money so research it thoroughly.