Building my dream home and then paying it off!

PurpleFairy26

Yes we'll be living in during the extension hoping it won't be too disruptive as we're not doing anything to the kitchen (in phase 1 anyway) and by the time e do the kitchen in phase 2 well already have all the extra space created by the first extension IYSWIM.

I called the builder back but got a foreign dial tone so will try again this week. Mortgage appointment 11th so hopefully by end of next week will be much further forward. Have you a start date yet?

DFB35

PurpleFairy26 wrote: »

Yes we'll be living in during the extension hoping it won't be too disruptive as we're not doing anything to the kitchen (in phase 1 anyway) and by the time e do the kitchen in phase 2 well already have all the extra space created by the first extension IYSWIM.

I called the builder back but got a foreign dial tone so will try again this week. Mortgage appointment 11th so hopefully by end of next week will be much further forward. Have you a start date yet?

Hi PurpleFairy! Sorry took ages to get back but I wasn't checking this thread

So that sounds like we will be in a similar boat then and will be able to exchange tips . I'm feeling a bit less stressed now as even if we don't have the kitchen for a few weeks I will have a slow cooker, a grill, kettle and a microwave so should be doable!

I don't have a start date yet as we were still waiting for the architect drawings, which we finally received on Friday! I will do a proper update in a moment. Hope all is good with you X

DFB35

We got the drawings on Friday wooohooooo! So nearly a month after the initial architect visit. I have been chatting about extension with some work colleagues and one is doing nearly the same as we are so it was handy to exchange tips. His drawings were done a lot quicker, but I guess I depends on how busy the architect it. Also he paid £2k for them and ours are £1.8k so roughly in the same ballpark (in case it useful to someone for a comparison but that's London prices 2016).

Ok back to the drawings? Erm.... I will be totally honest and just say that they are not quite right the architect did tell us he will change and adjust them at no extra cost so no problem. But I'm really wondering why he put certain things the way he did. Maybe part of the issue was that when we were talking about it as he measured the house I couldn't pcture what he was suggesting but once I seen the drawings it looks completely different to what I was imagining!!

For example he put the utility room in the middle of the house and as you come in from the street you are facing a wall, whereas currently it flows through the kitchen to garden. Then to go into the kitchen you have to walk through the dinning room which I don't like. The study downstairs and the downstairs bathroom are linked, whereas I want to be able to go to the downstairs bathroom from the hallway (ie separate entrances but he made it as an en suite room, maybe because we could have it as a "granny annex" in the future? But still not what I was expecting).

Then there is a bigger issue which is not his fault, I'm changing my mind about converting the garage into a study and want to keep it as it provides storage and access from street to garden. I have been thinking about that one a lot. Unfortunately hubby doesn't agree

Then upstairs the fourth bedroom above the garage/study is extremely long and thin with ensuite at the back and supposed to be a new master. I don't like it, I really like my current master and as long as I have a decent family bathroom I'm not bothered with the ensuite. We were having a debate who would go in that bedroom as I don't want to, so maybe our eldest daughter and ensuite will be useful as she gets further in her teens (and maybe even 20s as its hard for young people these days to fly the nest). However I want to scale way back as its just ridiculously long and will only have one window at the front as ensuite at the back and therefore we have to think about the light! Plus the family bathroom is way too big because we took the extension at the back to the max. So my proposal is to cut it back and make it more proportionate.

Lots to think about and debate there! We have family coming round today and will see if we can reach a compromise, solution as me and hubby are completely on the different pages here...

Then I have had a re think about the mortgage (new post) .

DFB35

I have also had a re think about the mortgage, mostly due to something my work colleague said whom I hold in high regard and we work in finance.

Basically at the moment we were going for a 10 year fix at 2.99% which we were happy with but because the extra chunk of money we will have for the extension will just be sitting in savings the more sensible option would be to go for a short term offset mortgage. This way we will not be paying any interest on the 100k chunk until it's fully used and as the building can take 10 months plus will save a fair deal. Then once the whole amount has been utilised we would remortgage again for a longer rate BUT then we will be under a different LTV ratio as the price of the house would go up on the completion of the work.

That's it in a nutshell, I have not made my mind up either way as there are other factors to consider such as fees etc, but will have a thorough consultation with a mortgage advisor after the half term.

So a new plan of action:

1. Finalise the drawings until we are 100% happy. I really don't want to rush this stage as its a life changing decision.
2. Meanwhile get 2 quotes so we know we are in the right ball park with the money we planning on spending.
3. Architect fixes the drawings and puts for planing permission.
4. We have a mortgage consultation and decide on the best course of action re the money.

I'm also working at reducing our debt which stands at just over 6k and while we are on the lower mortgage want to try and pay it off ASAP. I'm thinking that if we don't start building until after Christmas this debt will be completely paid off and will give us a good clean start.

Busy_Mee1

Very exciting project -we have done two big builds, one similar yours where we lived in and then our current house, which we knocked down and rebuilt and we definately didn't live in.
My advice if you are living in is to declutter now as much as possible, box stuff up and store it elsewhere with friends and family .....the dust cannot be described and it gets everywhere, even the rooms you are not touching.
Make sure you budget properly too and then add on at least 20% extra as a contingency... I promise you, you will need it ! Try to make decisions before you start, changing your mind about stuff or even adding in things like extra sockets will cost you....builders have a habit of handing you a bill at the end marked "extras" and these soon mount up. Also shop around for your fittings, we made friends with our local kitchen and bathroom store owner and got some bargain ex display bathrooms, he also gave us lots of advice about how to get the best value for money ( spend your money on the best kitchen worktop you can afford, not the cupboards). Oh and try and save some money for the garden, ours got trashed but we ran out of money and are only finishing it off now.
It is a lot of hard work and can be quite stressful BUT the result is brilliant, you get the home of your dreams that works for you and your family. Keep on posting and let us know how you are getting on.

Busy_Mee1

Oo sorry forgot to say, we had offset mortgages for both our builds and they worked brilliantly- you just draw down funds as you need them.

DFB35

Busy_Mee1 wrote: »

Very exciting project -we have done two big builds, one similar yours where we lived in and then our current house, which we knocked down and rebuilt and we definately didn't live in.
My advice if you are living in is to declutter now as much as possible, box stuff up and store it elsewhere with friends and family .....the dust cannot be described and it gets everywhere, even the rooms you are not touching.
Make sure you budget properly too and then add on at least 20% extra as a contingency... I promise you, you will need it ! Try to make decisions before you start, changing your mind about stuff or even adding in things like extra sockets will cost you....builders have a habit of handing you a bill at the end marked "extras" and these soon mount up. Also shop around for your fittings, we made friends with our local kitchen and bathroom store owner and got some bargain ex display bathrooms, he also gave us lots of advice about how to get the best value for money ( spend your money on the best kitchen worktop you can afford, not the cupboards). Oh and try and save some money for the garden, ours got trashed but we ran out of money and are only finishing it off now.
It is a lot of hard work and can be quite stressful BUT the result is brilliant, you get the home of your dreams that works for you and your family. Keep on posting and let us know how you are getting on.

Busy_Mee1 wrote: »

Oo sorry forgot to say, we had offset mortgages for both our builds and they worked brilliantly- you just draw down funds as you need them.

Thank you for popping in Busy Mee1 and lots of helpful advice! I will be taking everything on board! Xx

LadyGnome

I found having the drawings helped a lot in deciding the final layout. Once you see something on paper it's much easier to see what works and what doesn't.

DFB35

Everything is taking ages hence the lack of updates but...

I have spoken to the mortgage broker, to be honest I am always a bit mistrustful when it comes to intermediates as I think there must be a catch! He offered us some very very good rates and the catch I guess is the mortgage arrangement fee (to the banks we dont pay him but he receives commision).

So...

After I got of the phone to him I quickly went to the websites of the products he mentioned and checked them out myself and he comes up to be more competitive even with the arrangement fee. So lets say we are taking an offset mortgage over 2 years with the 1k arrangement fee, what I do is take that 1k and divide by 24 months and add it to the monthly repayment to see how it compares to the fee-free product. And its still better so that satisfied my mistrust Also it seems that most products do want a fee these days so I will just have to accept that.

Originally we were going for a 10 year fix at 2.99%, wheres now we are going for a 2 year offset fixed at 1.89%. With the thoughs behind it that as we draw funds slowly we are not paying interest on the whole amount and in 2 years time our LTV ratio will go up and we will be able to remortgage for longer term for a better %.

I will let you know how it all goes, but so far heard only very very good things about this particular morgage broker so if you need his details pm me.

PurpleFairy26

DFB35 sounds good. Would you mind PM me the brokers details, I too think a broker may help us but wouldn't know where to find a decent one. We too have had a rethink and think offset would be good, just depends if the ltv works.

Keep us posted. PF.