Time to tackle the beast!

SunnyVic

Hi Everyone!
I’ve been a lurker for ages and finally decided it’s time to make my own MFW diary!

A few of years ago me and OH got into a bit of a pickle with debt. We decided to start a business together that took a lot longer to get going that we thought it would.

2 years ago we had 35k that we were moving around 0% credit cards and a 10k interest free loan from my dad. The business had stabilised a bit, but we were still getting into debt to the tune of approx. £200 per month.

We took a drastic step and re-mortgaged, extending the term to 30 years and taking some equity out 1. To pay off the credit cards (we had to do this in order to pass the affordability tests) and 2. To create an emergency pot of £15k – we just couldn’t live on the edge any more and with 3 kids, a mortgage and 2 unstable incomes this was the amount that made us feel comfortable.

I still had a reasonably well paid part time job at this point, which I left once the re-mortgage had gone through to focus on our own business. I absolutely HATED that job and I’m surprised I managed to hang on long enough to let the mortgage go through.

Since then the business has grown and we are pretty comfortable. Over the last 12 months we haven’t dipped into our emergency fund and recently it has actually grown to around £17k.

With this in mind we’ve decided it’s now time to start tackling the crazy mortgage we took out two years ago. I don’t regret it, it’s what we needed to do at the time but I have had a mortgage since I was 18 and I’ve always wanted to be MF.

Our 2 yr fix was due to end on 31/12 but on the 30/9 we heard the BOE announcement about interest rates – exactly 3 months before our deal ended so we got online that day and took a non-advisory 5 year fix with the same mortgage provider. We had little choice in this as we only got the last mortgage because I had a salary - we’d never have been approved for a brand new mortgage for the amount we have. It was a good rate though and we beat the interest rate rises and have clear sight of our payments for 5 years so very happy with our “impulse purchase”!

The only slight problem is there are fees for overpayments (5% in the first year). But it is what it is.

SunnyVic

The plan…

Our mortgage is £214,000 with just over 28 years to run. Our 5 year plan is to move back up north and to be mortgage free when we get there. If we moved today we expect we would need a mortgage of about 50-70k. Sure there might be changes over 5 years, but seeing as we don’t have a crystal ball this is the figure we are using.

Our house is worth around £350k but the same style of houses around here have been going for £390k. We have done nothing to the house since we moved in and it’s very tired and dated. We’ve done some research and expect that we could spend 20K to get it up into the higher value bracket. Seeing as we would have to pay fees to OP the mortgage, we’re going to work on increasing the value of our house first as this is where our money is going to work hardest.

First step – new kitchen!! We’re pretty handy so we’ll be installing it ourselves. Wish us luck!!

Jelllibeanz

Good luck x

Betterthanever

I'll be following your journey with interest!

ALIBOBSY

Good luck with everything, it's definately cheaper up here in the lovely North.

I live in lancs in the area that Sarah Beeny programme said was the best place in the UK to live lol.

I do like it and you can get sooooo much more for your money house price wise, and there is low crime rates and high employment

Our big 3 bed semi with a decent garden cost us £45k in 1999 and judging by house prices around here is now worth around £120k.

4 beds are around the £190k-200k mark and for your £340k you could have big house with LAND up here.

I feel for you with the kitchen, we had only done the doors on ours and needed to redo the worktops etc. BUT we had been saving up and other stuff always seemed to come up.

Alas OH was trying to sort a leak under the sink-he had managed to keep the old drainage pipes going by resealing a few times, and tried to change the u-bend. Next thing the drainage on the sink and part of the plastic bowl just crumbled off in his hand.

OK so we would get a new sink, but no we couldn't find one with those dimensions as it was so old, and the worktops underneath were rotten. So we ordered new worktops from a local timber yard who will cut to exact size for your kitchen.

However when removing the old ones found most of the back of the carcasses was rotten as well and black mold over the walls :eek:

Cue washing down walls, mold treatment, drying out said walls and repainting with resistant paint to clean up, plus new carcassess.

Spent about 10 days washing up pots in bath upstairs, but finally cupboards, oven, and sink back in. We did it all ourselves and got new doors as well to clean it up.

Most expensive u-bend ever :rotfl:

Going to do the top cupboards when we have the cash later in the month, hope to be lovely for crimbo.

It has been pretty hard work and nerve racking doing it all ourselves, but actually nothing was impossible and it is really hard to see why fitters cost thousands to do it tbh. However we are both self employed so could fit it around work and were only doing straight replacements of what is there plus OH is pretty handy with DIY.

Good luck with your plans

Ali x

SunnyVic

Hey Jellibeanz, Betterthanever and ALIBOBSY. So nice to find a forum with people who feel the same about their mortgages! Most of the time when I tell people I want to be mortgage free they think I'm mad!!

Betterthanever it was actually your diary that inspired me to start my own! I've been following along for the last few weeks, your focus is amazing! I've also been inspired by lots of people on the £10 a day thread and the little things thread in DFW. I thought I was pretty good with money but it turns out I've still got lots I can do :-)

ALIBOBSY I agree, I loved living up north! My OH is from The Wirral which is probably where we'll be moving to, or close by. We moved down to the south coast nearly 10 years ago... very long story but it wasn't exactly our choice. It's not that we don't like it, it's just that our heart is not here.

Well this weekend we've been getting ready to start the kitchen. It's currently stored in boxes all over the house and I need it out of my way ASAP!

We removed a radiator ourselves. Heating is back on and nothing is leaking phew! We also chose paint and flooring. We've got an electrician coming next week. Not very money saving but some things are a bit beyond us. The only other thing we'll need to get someone in for is to sort out our gas hob.

I have no doubt that we'll find all sorts of surprises when we start ripping things out. My dad always says that all DIY projects throw up at least 3 surprises that need to be sorted and I think he's right!

Betterthanever

Sunnyvic, funny you should mention the little things thread in DFW.....I was the one who very first started that about 10 years ago in DFW, so glad it is still doing its job!!!

Good luck with all the work you are doing on the house. I bought a new build after my divorce because I thought it would be low maintenance....even that has jobs that always seem to need doing, so I don't envy you!!