The ups, downs, and occasional sideways bits of trying to be mortgage free

armchairexpert

After all that, Mr E has only ended up going away for 4 days in June. I'm making the most of them with cheap meals (pasta, HM pizza) but any overtime will be negligible. It's so frustrating! There may be more travel opportunities in the next couple of months, but one of them is over a week that he's already booked as leave because we got sick of waiting for the travel to be finalised - this trip was originally supposed to happen in late April, so we've been putting off everything since then.

I have seen a tiny rundown little holiday cottage - about 100 year old, tiny two-bed miners' cottage - a couple of hours' drive away, that I'm very tempted to buy. It'd add about $400-500 a month to our mortgage repayments, which is about the amount I overpay by now. We couldn't rent it out until we did it up a bit - it's got some damp, peeling paint, and you have to go out the back and into a separate building to use the bathroom. But it's adorable, we like doing things up, and once it was done it might be a nice little earner. Quiet little town, which is why it's so cheap, but near a larger town with lots of tourist developments going up.

It'd be very tight at first trying to find the money to do the work that needs doing, but once restored it'd be a lovely little place.

I'm such a MFW fraud!

Tahlullah

I have no room to talk about whether anyone is a MFW fraud, but I would say 'go for it'. If you love it and can see it working for you, then you may regret it in the long term if you let it pass you by.

I am just about to make my payment on my new place and already questioning my sanity, but as you said, the only reason I can afford it is because I had been overpaying like mad before. OK, you might not be MF by the allotted date, but the journey will be fun.

Hope you make a good decision for you and the family!!

Tx

julicorn

Having a little holiday cottage sounds absolutely amazing, I can definitely see why you would be tempted.

armchairexpert

Well, we drove up to see it - booked a nice cottage to stay in for a couple of days, since it's school holidays - and it's a no-go. It's not so much that it was a total dump, which it was. It's that the street it's in is narrow and horrible and full of dumps, so no matter how nicely we did it up, it'll never be a good holiday rental.

I haven't let go of the idea, though. It's something I've wanted to do for years, so I'm going to crunch the numbers properly and keep looking, The town itself was very nice - small, quiet, retro, but a 10 minute drive to a far bigger and more practical town.

Anyway. The holiday was very nice, and we spent too much in cafes, but all's well in general. And the solar panel guy FINALLY started work today, three months after the initial contract, so I may get solar! I'm really nervous about it and not sure I've made the right decision, because we have so many trees on our block that there's a good chance we won't get enough sun. I have talked to an arborist for a quote on getting the trees knocked down (the thicket of pines, which are weeds here - I'll still be left with a range of nice natives and fruit trees and things) and am waiting on that.

Mr E is back today from an 8 day stint, will be away again next week, so lots of lovely overtime. And he's dissatisfied with various work things and starting to job hunt, which if successful would mean a payrise.

It's the start of a new financial year, so lots of goal setting from me too. And I must do the tax returns. Lots of decisions to make and numbers to write out, I think.

Chrystal

Good luck with everything AE.
Hope the quote for removing the pines is not too high, apart from the solar more sun makes you feel happier!

armchairexpert

Quote came in at $18K. Which is less than the previous quote of $30K, but still extremely daunting. We've just shelled out $10K for solar panels, and the extra $18K would basically eat up all the redraw in our mortgage. It says in my sig that we refinanced for $220K, but really we refinanced for $250K and I immediately threw $30K back in from savings. So to spend all this - it's depressing.

Anyway, we can't do anything about the pines until I get in touch with the owner of the vacant block behind us, since I need them to agree to let us use the land. So it might not happen. It needs to some day, though: they're still growing, and they'll be dangerous soon.

Anyway! Mr E off again this morning, this time for two weeks. I did a big grocery shop on the weekend and spent $200, but I'm going to see if I can make it last the entire time he's away, with the exception of fresh veg/fruit. I have made batch quantities of bolognese, lentil soup, chocolate biscuits and shortbread, plus a victoria sponge that should last us through tomorrow, so I'm feeling positive. I've tried to do a "no more shopping" challenge before and always give in, but with two weeks of no other adult in the hose I reckon I can swing it. The kids don't care much if I serve egg and chips for tea - Mr E would!

armchairexpert

Small grocery spend of $14 for a few staples, but otherwise on track. I'm trying out a new housework routine, with a wipe-clean chart and everything, so the house is looking decent. On the other hand, when I've just spent 10 minutes scrubbing down the toaster and kettle, the last thing I want to do is make a new loaf of bread, so there's a balance to be had there.

Solar panels are in, but it's been so rainy and overcast that I'm getting very little from them yet. I keep going and checking the display during the day, just to see if I can run a load of washing! I'm still very worried that they won't turn out to be a good investment, but it's the middle of winter so I should give it a chance. I paid for them today, and my mortgage balance went up by $9K, which was very painful to see!

Nothing else to report, really. Mr E's trip may be extended at the other end so that he's away for a full 20 days, which does mean a lot of overtime for the holiday budget. At the moment, though, it's been more expenditure than anything else, because there are always some up front expenses that he needs reimbursed at a later date.

I've reset my own business goals for the new financial year, too. I'm going to try for an extra $1K/month, which I reckon I can do if I can just land a couple of decent clients.

Chrystal

Re the housework routine - you've scrubbed the kettle and toaster so tomorrow they only need a wipe over to keep on top of them, which you can do while the bread is proving I think little and often is the way to do it as expounded by the Fly lady thread on here.
I'm certain that you'll see an improvement in your electric charges once the sun is out. The long term gain is what needs to be looked at with Solar Panels and it will be worth it in the end.
Have you managed to contact the owner of the vacant lot near the pine trees? Do you need them to agree access to remove them?
Paying our expenses upfront for OH is a pain but at least you know you'll be getting them back, and the overtime will be very welcome
Try to stay positive and get yourself those extra clients to take the pressure off (fingers crossed) X

armchairexpert

Thanks - yes, it's our 'forever house' so the panels do make sense. This time of year, though, the sun is low enough in the sky that it's not breaking through the pines very well. It's sunny today and I'm still getting only a fraction of the power in the mornings before it moves round.

I haven't heard from the owner yet. And yeah, I can't remove them otherwise: the trees are at the very bottom of my block, just adjoining that one, so they need to be dropped into the vacant block. To do it any other way would be about double the cost, because it would involve cutting them and dragging each one up the sloped block and through the narrow passage between my house and the front street, not to mention the parking permits! The arborist basically said, we won't take the job without that block access.

And of course the two things are combined, because without paying all that extra money to take the trees down, I won't get the value from the panels. If I do take them down, my usable garden doubles as well as the solar value, so it is worth it, long run. But how I hate watching the mortgage numbers go back up!

Chrystal

Hope you get a positive response from the vacant lot owners soon.
Agree it's a pain that it will increase the mortgage, but definitely think it will be worth it in the end, plus the extra garden will give you so much pleasure (and opportunities for growing food!)

Keeping my fingers crossed for you. X