Adding value before making over payments

MichaelDH

You are very brave doing it all again! Not sure we would, feels like a very long and tiring journey! Only way we would do it again is if we found somewhere small we could do up and then rent out maybe.

We had quotes from a builder yesterday and he didn't have anything positive at all to say about Wren so will deffo avoid. He recommnends Magnet (and can get decent discount) so going to have another look there at the weekend. Will also check out DIY Kitchens. Thanks for the tip!

OUNN

I guess to put it into context, a £15k ish quote from Wickes/Howdens etc - from DIY was around 4k plus a worktop elsewhere and fitting. We probably saved 8-9k. It was a happy bonus that we also preferred the kitchen :j

It's amazing how quickly the tired of decorating feeling fades. I'm actually really looking forward to getting started again, and I'm chafing at the delay all the searches etc are causing!
Although I have asked the wife to remind me how much I'm looking forward to it all, when I start complaining, or losing the enthusiasm while it's all going on! :rotfl:

MichaelDH

Finally got round to looking at DIY Kitchens - kitchens look great and so do prices!

We've had another kitchen designed by Magnet, excluding worktops, just under £20k, but with our builders discount just over £7k. Will make some comparisons to DIY Kitchens and see if there's any more savings to make.Have already found that I can get the appliances much cheaper online than Magnet, every little helps!

Out builder has given us an estimate of £26k to knock down and rebuild the garage (it runs the length of the house), knock down external wall to extend the kitchen in to the back of the garage (more than doubling the size), add a utility off the kitchen, and install a downstairs loo off the hall.

We met with an architect earlier in the week and we've now appointed him to produce plans so he's coming next weekend to take all the measurements. He's confident we won't need planning permission so fingers crossed! That would definitely speed things up a bit! Once we've got plans sorted we can get a full quote from the builder. Looking forward to getting started now!

MichaelDH

So, following on from recent posts about extension plans... Our current mortgage rate changes from 2.45% to 4.99% on 30th June. This is how things currently stand:

House valuation - £295k
Mortgage - £162k
LTV - 55%
Remaining term - 28 years

We are planning to borrow an extra £50k towards the work we have planned.Once work has been completed our plan is to put as much money as possible in to the mortgage to reduce it as quick as possible.

House valuation - £295k
Mortgage - £212k
LTV - 72%

Our broker has come back to us with a few options, all over 28 years so term not increasing/decreasing.

2 year fix @ 1.79% - £802.68
3 year fix @ 1.99% - £823.49
5 year fix @ 2.14% - £839.30

None of the above have any set up fees and our broker isn't charging us any fees either. I know from looking around there's slightly better rates out there, but partner has a BTL which complicates things a little so would rather stay with broker.

I'm looking for opinions on whether 2, 3 or 5 year fix is best option please.

Thanks all

tootallulah

I would go for the 5 years, it is such an uncertain world at the minute knowing you have 5 years of mortgage certainty is a big plus and 2.4% is a good deal. Can you overpay on all of them?

MichaelDH

Hi Tootallulah

Thanks for advice!

We've decided to go for the 5 year fix at 2.14% with HSBC. There's no set up fees which is a big plus for us. We can make overpayments upto 10% of the outstanding mortgage balance in any 12 month period.

We've had provisional approval, just spent the last few hours getting bank statements and payslips together so they have now been sent over to our financial advisor Fingers now firmly crossed!

Unfortunately we were a bit slow getting back to our advisor when he started chasing us months ago so when our current mortgage deal finishes at the end of the month we will be on the SVR so jumping from 2.45% to 4.49% :eek:

MichaelDH

So, once our new mortgage has been finalised (fingers crossed) the extra borrowing will take our monthly payment from £668.08 to £839.30, an increase of £171.22.

Not at all worried about the increase, it's more than affordable, but it has made me focus a bit more on cutting down on waste and and looking at ways to save/make more money. We are doing a 'no takeaway June' which is saving us a fortune so will definitely be carrying that on. Any money left over at the end of the month is being swept over to savings. I've logged back in to Prolific, since the start of the month I've managed to earn £18.30 with a further £5.25 pending, not bad for just logging in on my lunch breaks and checking for available surveys a couple of times over the weekend! Again this money will be added to savings. I've also just checked a pile of Asda receipts for the price guarantee, most off which were too old to compare but the three that were valid got me vouchers for 44p, £2.06 and £3.89, so that's £6.39 off next weeks shopping!

Once our building project is completed and we've managed to build up our savings a bit (rainy day fund) we will definitely be going back to making OP's on the mortgage with the aim of reducing it as much as possible before we remortgage in 5 years.

MichaelDH

More money saving today. Sainsbury's wanted to increase Gas and Electric from £78.50 to £87.94, an increase of almost a tenner a month despite the fact we are in credit! Just switched to E-on, £70.50 a month so that's a saving of £8 per month on what we were paying or £17.44 on what Sainsbury's wanted us to pay. £30 cash back from uSwitch via Quidco so that will go to the savings once received.

I submit meter readings on the first day of each month so know exactly how much energy we have used over the past 12 months. Hoping the amount of gas we use will go down this year too now that we have flooring are curtains so should use less heating, and also we are getting rid of the gas hob when kitchen in replaced.

MichaelDH

Managed to get up to £27.52 confirmed on Prolific. Have requested payment so should have £26.52 to move across to savings in a few days. Still have £3.50 in pending. Amazing how completing surveys for 10-15 minutes in my lunch hour a few times per week adds up!

Still trying to cut down on what we spend on food. Going shopping tonight so going will do some meal planning before we go. We have both beef and turkey mince in the freezer as well as lots of chicken breast and also some sausages so will use them as the base of our meals this week. Must remember to take the Asda vouchers with us as that'll be £6.39 off

Still no news on new mortgage which is annoying but suppose these things take time... Have had a letter from the Coventry confirming that our current mortgage payment is increasing because we have moved on to their SVR :mad:

Also had full quote from our builder... £33,500 which includes all building work, plastering, tiling (we supply tiles), and fitting of the kitchen. Probably using the builders discount to get the kitchen from Magnet. Currently £15k with discount, including VAT, and including all appliances, tap and sink plus quartz worktops. Going to shop around for the worktops and appliances as sure we can get a better price on these elsewhere. This brings the units down to around £6k with the discount (65%).

Still got to price up shower tray, new shower, bath, sink and toilet for main bathroom and sink and toilet for downstairs plus tiles. Lots to organise! :eek:

Moneyfordreams

Good luck... sounds like you are doing an amazing job. We have this to come... we've just moved into a bit of a doerupper to downsize... I need a couple of months to recoup cash before starting on the bathroom in September.. wall knocked down too. Aiming for next May to take out ground floor wall for kitchen diner and patio/bifold doors... i'll keep reading for tips