Had a mortgage too long - it's going, going, gone!

shangaijimmy

Well you lost me so it's definitely a good thing with your good friend excel!

Ali-OK

shangaijimmy wrote: »

Well you lost me so it's definitely a good thing with your good friend excel!

Don't worry, the men in white coats will be here for me soon :rotfl:

Latest Clearscore free credit report email in so checked that - all good there.

Roll on the long weekend

AlexLK

Ali-OK wrote: »

Thanks all

Lil, to move and be MF has its appeals, but it's all relative as £200k would currently buy a 3 bed terrace in a dodgy area that needs modernisation/refurb.

I wonder if all the new houses being built are pushing prices up too - £405k for a 4 bed semi with tiny garden and 1 parking space :eek: They're selling though!

Love this house and will stay put until DS finishes his education at least, after that - who knows!

Fantastic mortgage news, Ali.

£405,000 for a semi with 1 parking space? :eek: Wow. To be honest, I can't really understand why anyone is paying that for such a property.

If you're considering moving at some point, is it worth having an extension built?

Ali-OK

Thanks Alex.

I know some of the purchasers (including the Structural Engineer!) come from further south (Berkshire, South Herts, South Bucks) so in comparison to there, housing here is affordable (I won't say cheap!) and commute time into London is 40 minutes. Makes the area attractive I guess.

Simple answer to extension is yes - makes it more saleable and adds enough value to make it worthwhile.

AlexLK

Ali-OK wrote: »

Thanks Alex.

I know some of the purchasers (including the Structural Engineer!) come from further south (Berkshire, South Herts, South Bucks) so in comparison to there, housing here is affordable (I won't say cheap!) and commute time into London is 40 minutes. Makes the area attractive I guess.

Simple answer to extension is yes - makes it more saleable and adds enough value to make it worthwhile.

To be honest, I'm not sure how a Structural Engineer can afford those prices unless they earn a lot more in the south, assuming no Bank of Mum and Dad / well earning partner. There is not a chance my wife would get a £350,000 mortgage (I am assuming a little off the asking price and a 10% deposit). Of course, I appreciate some will have equity to add but a semi with one parking space is a starter property not something to move on to, in my opinion.

Fair enough if the extension would add enough to make it worthwhile, you'd also be able to enjoy it in the meantime.

CathT

Great financial progress Ali. Hope amended plans are back soon. Isn't it a long process, we have also lost enthusiasm. We are still waiting for pp. In my head when we had architects come round early January to start the process I thought we would be starting the build by June. How naieve I was!

How is your neck now?

Ali-OK

You were up very early Cath! Saw why though...luckily those days with DS are long gone, have the opposite sometimes trying to get him out of bed!

Hope you get your PP news soon, it is well overdue. Still nothing from my architect - I suspect as it's her error and is costing her, she's probably prioritising profitable work. I'll keep saving in the meantime

Neck itself is much better, but it's still lodged in shoulders/upper back area and sometimes down upper arms. Not sure how to release that - discs or vertebrae are sore to the touch between shoulder blades, probably as I poke them to find out :rotfl:

Alex, I suspect there's a mix of people buying the new properties, the ones I know aren't first time buyers. I don't think a 4 bed semi would be a starter home.

debtfreeoneday

We debated moving recently, but same as you - it would mean a refurb and actually, I haven't the energy for that at this point!

AlexLK

I'm not surprised about the architect. I'd probably be calling to ask about progress now.

As for the houses, I suppose different people want different things. Personally, I couldn't live in a semi but am happy to be a drive away from anywhere and no desire to ever visit London. I just can't see how a 4 bedroomed house can work with one parking space, assuming a couple with 1/2 children move there.

I cannot really see how prices in the south east can sustain their current level let alone grow. My reasoning being that many on here, including some living in the south east, seem to think my wife and I have a good amount to live on yet we could not afford to live there. If a semi with one parking space is going for c.£400,000, a house similar to ours would probably fetch c.£600,000. Without help from parents which I appreciate not everyone has, I cannot really see how a young family can spend that amount on a house.

Ali-OK

debtfreeoneday wrote: »

We debated moving recently, but same as you - it would mean a refurb and actually, I haven't the energy for that at this point!

Me neither! Too much to do these days, the thought of sorting, packing, moving and then doing a house up leaves me cold!

Alex - I'll chase architect next week, nothing in today.

It's interesting with 4 bed houses as having learnt from Planning, I had to have 3 spaces minimum (garage is disregarded), so how new builds have got away with 1 is beyond me. Developments have no frontage, wide paths with high kerbs and lay-bys for extra cars - horrible look and cars park up on the kerb as not enough parking. Wouldn't be my choice.

I agree, sustaining this level of price rise doesn't look feasible in the long term. Moving south results in a smaller property, moving north a bigger one. Already problems in cities like Oxford and Cambridge where professionals can't afford to buy, but that puts pressure on places like here where they can and the road networks are good. So it's like a spreading disease really.