Back to basics with pavlovs_dog: the £6k sprint

pavlovs_dog

I still cannot believe that I've been there, seen it with my own eyes and taken these photos. By far the most 'other worldly' location I've ever visited.

need to make a start on the mountain of things to do today. nice forecast today so shall get the first washload of the year onto the line and stroll to the beach later.

mothership being a PITA. Parenting your parents is the pits

pavlovs_dog

So remortgage investigations are under way. I'm expecting a call back from London&Country tomorrow to see what they can come up with but I've been doing my own research using comparison websites etc this evening.

A quick phone call to our mortgage provider suggests that, contrary to the information on their website, they do not offer loyalty discounts to existing customers unless you are taking on additional borrowing. This puts them out of the running as there are more competitive deals to be had.

HSBC (our bank) currently look quite attractive, as our bank account affords us lower product arrangement fees on what are already quite competitive rates.

We've leaning towards another fix as:
*we envisage starting a family in the next few years and want the security of set outgoings
* the costs associated with remortgaging to the most competitive discounted rate now, followed by having to potentially remortgage again in a few years when rates start to rise (by which point I may well be on maternity [STRIKE]pittance[/STRIKE] pay) stands to negate a lot of the savings we would make.

current musings

1) Loughborough building society have a 3yr discounted rate of 2.09%. This appears to be fee free beyond the legal necessities.

2) HSBC 5yr fix at 2.69% (£499 product fee)

3) OP some £ss to take us fully into the 60% LTV bracket so that we qualify for the 5yr fix at 2.49% (£499 product fee)

4) First Direct have a tempting 10yr fix at 2.89% for a £950 fee

We've bought a house we can grow into and have no designs on moving any time soon. By re-mortgaging over 25 years it will free up £ss for OPing, and make the mortgage much more affordable when on maternity leave.

Thoughts, musings and wise advice welcomed, as ever :beer:

edinburgher

Not usually a fan, but that 10 year fix actually sounds ok. I can hardly believe that we were paying nearly 5% a year ago :eek:

If you do need to pay a product fee, just remember to pay it up front so that you don't pay interest on it for 25 years

If you're nearly at 60 LTV, I don't think you need to worry so much about set outgoings. I doubt interest rates will shoot up any time in the next couple of years, maternity leave will only be for a year or so?

Goldiegirl

I loved your pictures of Iceland. I've been there in the summer and it great, but the winter scenery is awesome

pavlovs_dog

edinburgher wrote: »

If you do need to pay a product fee, just remember to pay it up front so that you don't pay interest on it for 25 years

We've been using the principle of paying ourselves first every month this year to squirrel away money towards the cost of remortgaging, legal fees etc. We should hopefully be able to cover these costs without having to dip into savings.

edinburgher wrote: »

If you're nearly at 60 LTV, I don't think you need to worry so much about set outgoings. I doubt interest rates will shoot up any time in the next couple of years, maternity leave will only be for a year or so?

Fair comment, as whilst I'm on normal pay our built in OPs offer a healthy cushion against rate rises. Mentally, we're used to committing £812/month to the mortgage. We could afford more by trimming the 'fat' in other areas.

3% would cost £507
5% would cost £626
7% would cost £756
9% would cost £898.

However basic maternity pay and child benefit would be less than £600/month. As I earn more than OH (in a more secure job), rates going above 5% could affect how long we could afford for me to take off with the babba. Given the way that teaching is heading at the moment, this would be non negotiable for me. If I were to go part time once we have sproglets, we could afford the mortgage if it is below 5%. We would struggle on a rate higher than that.

food for though as ever Ed, thank you :kisses3:

pavlovs_dog

Goldiegirl wrote: »

I loved your pictures of Iceland. I've been there in the summer and it great, but the winter scenery is awesome

Thank you Goldie :beer: plenty more where they came from... I took 1000s

Gullfoss (quite possibly the coldest place I've ever been in my life :eek:)



Church at Pingvellir



Geysir's little brother Strokkur in action

pavlovs_dog

still waiting for a call back from L&C. So much for Tuesday between 9 and noon :cool:

Trying to force myself to do some marking. It isn't going particularly well

Ayeshalush I see you lurking in the shadows. Don't be shy, we're a friendly bunch, if a bit barmy :hello:

skint_spice

I went to that land in January and didn't see them either! Was fab though, did you go to the beach at Reynisfjara? Was gorgeous there.

Alchemilla

Glad to have you back safely.

I have just got the stuff through for exam board moderation. Same team leader as last year which is ACE.

pavlovs_dog

skint_spice wrote: »

I went to that land in January and didn't see them either! Was fab though, did you go to the beach at Reynisfjara? Was gorgeous there.

Yes I did. Any excuse to show off more pics