A Quick Introduction

TheRoders

Good morning

A LONG time lurker but thought I would finally introduce myself.

We currently have a lot of debt through my stupidity when I was younger! It's currently standing at
Lloyds Loan - £7,300 remaining (£320 a month)
Credit Card - £6,900 remaining (£200 a month plus £300 a month overpayment)
Overdraft - £2,000
Sainsburys Loan - £3000 (although this is paid through my business at £96 a month)
Black Horse - £12,000 (£150 a month)

Our mortgage is currently £170,000 (£720 a month) which we took out on an interest only basis in 2004 and was a 100% mortgage (crazy I know). It's a TINY 2 bed house and wanting another child in the future and trying to expand the business, we are bursting at the seams.

We do have a plan however to reduce this to almost nothing this year. We currently live on the Hampshire/Surrey borders and have decided to move back home to family in Wales. As I am self employed, I don't NEED to be in one of the most expensive parts of the country and moving to Wales we can get a lot more for our money. We have just put the house on the market at £270,000 and with the 100K equity we are looking at paying off the credit card and Lloyds loan and then using the remaining 70K (ish) after fees etc to buy a bigger house in Wales with better rates etc.

So with this in mind after moving we should have the following:
Mortgage - £800 a month (repayment mortgage based on a £220,000 house)
Sainsburys Loan - £3,000 (still paid by the business)
Black Horse - £12,000

Leaving us with a disposable income of over £1,000 a month. We will also go from a 2 bed to a 5 bed house with a large workshop/study for my business to allow me to expand. This in turn should help me make overpayments to the Black Horse loan to pay that off ASAP.

I'm really hoping everything goes to plan and that we can finally be rid of some of this debt. It's been the cause of a LOT of sleepless nights over the years and I am REALLY looking forward to moving home.

So that's me. I'm sure I will be around for the long term as it's really helped me to get my budget in order and be strict with myself. My first task is to change my habit of shopping in the shop opposite my house - Waitrose!

Murphy2011

Didn't want toread and run, what a fantastic outcome for you, hope it all goes well!

I'm in a similar situation re the equity but we can't do the move thing yet as my daughter is in the middle of her GCSEs so probably have to deal with it around that timescale but deal with it I will!

Good luvk for the future!!

TheRoders

Awww thank you. Good luck to you too :beer:
It is the perfect time for us as my son will start juniors in September so if we could move over the summer holidays that would be the perfect time. Instead of moving to a school around here I would just move to a school down there.

I just HOPE everything goes ok for us. We have an AIP for a mortgage and we really need some good luck as I think we are plagued with bad luck. If it CAN go wrong, it usually does! :mad:

Dobbibill

Good Morning,

Welcome to the forum (as a poster not a lurker)

Looks like you are ready to get a fresh start which will be lovely for you and your family.

Please don't forget that utilities are likely to rise if you are going from a 2 bed to a 5 bed, which may impact on your disposable income each month.

It certainly sounds like you will be moving in the right direction financially and geographically though. Wales is beautiful place and being self employed means you can relocate alot easier than job hunting through such a big move.

Please come back and keep us updated with your progress.

I wish you all the best.

DB

TheRoders

Well.... You say that but on doing all the quotes yesterday I was amazed!

I have found so far:
House Insurance:
Current - £33.50 a month (I'm sure we could find a better deal on this house but no point trying now)
New - £17.00 a month
Gas/Electric:
Current - £109 a month
New - £65 a month (better insulation and double glazing)
Council Tax:
Current - £125.00 a month
New - £160 a month

So apart from council tax which we have no control over, the rest are looking good. These are only rough figures but the savings are certainly there for he taking.

Even food shopping will be cheaper as we will have other supermarkets on our doorstep instead of what we have available now.

We will also be saving a lot of fuel as we won't be traveling home at all during the month to see family.

I just NEED to get the house sold now. Open House was yesterday with 5 viewing so hopefully will get some feedback tomorrow.

Dobbibill

Glad you filtered the above costs into the budget. Didn't want it to catch you out once you had done the move.

Council Tax is out of your control, true! (something we all have to pay unfortunately )

Check out any savings for your home insurance through TCB or Qu1dco as well. That may help to cut it even further.

Obviously you can only work with rough figures at the moment as you say. It will all start to take shape once you have lived in the property for a full month.

I think most supermarkets would shave pennies off over Wa1trose so that is definitely a positive.

The fuel saving will also be a bonus.

All the is left to say is finger's crossed for a quick sale :T

DB

andyfromotley

Ha, i too have the curse of a wait rose literally on my doorstep!!!

Sounds like you have a firm plan. Is there a sound reason for not paying down the remaining loan?

Also i'm sure i will be immediately contradicted on here but £65 for gas and electric seems pretty low for a 5 bed house no matter how well insulated? I know it won't upset your overall plan but still worth factoring in?

TheRoders

Yes, it's a curse as they have such lovely things there but even one bag of shopping will be over £20.00.

Yesterday I bought a bag of potatoes, a baguette, a pack of 4 slices of ham, squash and Chicken Nuggets and it was £14.64!! Our groceries shopping is well in excess of £150 a week for the 3 of us!!

I believe it will be more than £65 you are right there... Especially as my business will run up a little with my machinery (laser cutter, sander, saws and a few other bits and pieces but hopefully an overall saving even if just £10 is better.

I am paying off the Credit Card and Lloyds loan in full but need to keep the LTV on the mortgage as low as possible to have the better rates so this way has worked out the most cost effective overall for us.