Lurking MFW finally posting: Mortgage free in 2025

blocpartyfan · 1 December 2019 at 11:41AM

Viking_mfw wrote: »

Hi blocparty,
Just want to say how wise you are to recognise it was the excitement of others not your own, and to be able to step back from that.
Great progress, well done!
V.

Thanks so much Viking_mfw :money:. I think this is one of life's hardest lessons - so easy to get caught up in keeping up with the joneses, isn't it?

blocpartyfan · 22 December 2019 at 1:56PM

Went into my bank branch to pay off the £15,000 we'd carefully saved over the year. I had no idea there was a waiver of the early redemption charge when you come to the last 90 days of your mortgage product. Was great to know we've paid off £28,000 this year. The mortgage is now under the £100,000 mark and stands at £98,000. Just wonderful! :beer:

blocpartyfan · 27 May 2020 at 1:17PM

I am struggling to understand just how much the world has changed since my last post. I am sure it will be years before we fully understand the mental health and emotional toll of lock down and for many I know the financial impact of these measures are biting hard.

I feel quite guilty in many ways, as my financial situation hasn't been negatively affected. Both DH and I still have our jobs, albeit now working from home. And because of this, I find I am saving even more and have more disposable income, though little to spend it on! Having DS at home has been a rollercoaster, and I am very grateful that there is an option for him to return to school next week in a small class size with caring teaching staff.

Since the last post we renegotiated the terms of our mortgage and are now on a rate of 1.18% as it's a tracker. This felt like a really positive moment as we've routinely gone for a long fix and later that we didn't need to as interest rates have been consistently low since we bought our first house in 2008.

I'm looking at savings that's earning a paltry 0.60% and have wondered why I am bothering. In that regard I have taken almost all of it out (as we have permanent and steady income streams) and just paid a further £15,000 off the total balance last week. We are now at £81,000. So we are back on the mortgage free by the end of the 2 year tracker (31/01/2022). No harm in having something to aim for I guess, in these weird and difficult times.

Thank you, as ever, for sharing your stories, successes and tribulations!

blocpartyfan · 26 July 2020 at 1:56PM

It's amazing how quickly we are able to save larger sums of money with circumstances the way they are. This week we will be making the final overpayment of £9,000 (our tracker rate enables us to overpay 25% a year). Our total balance is now approximately £71,500 and the monthly mortgage payments are now down to £385. I am hopeful we can relax these efforts for a few months now!

blocpartyfan · 10 November 2020 at 10:40AM

This year really is full of twists and turns. I've been closely watching what has been happening with house prices for the months after lock down was lifted. There seems to be no signs that the temporary price boost will abate, at least until stamp duty comes back into force for most. We've therefore decided to sell the property we've been renting out since 2010. To my surprise the guide price and levels of interest indicate that we will release enough from the house sale to pay off the remaining amount on our mortgage on our home, even after things like early repayment charges and capital gains tax. If all goes through, we could be mortgage free by the end of this year...

remote_control · 8 June 2021 at 10:05PM

I saw your post on the MF roll of honor and have just read your diary. Not to spoil the ending for anyone who subscribes to it but please let us know how the story ends.....

AgathaSquirrel · 10 June 2021 at 6:58AM

remote_control said:

I saw your post on the MF roll of honor and have just read your diary. Not to spoil the ending for anyone who subscribes to it but please let us know how the story ends.....

Yes please.

blocpartyfan · 19 June 2021 at 9:36AM

AgathaSquirrel said:

remote_control said:

I saw your post on the MF roll of honor and have just read your diary. Not to spoil the ending for anyone who subscribes to it but please let us know how the story ends.....

Yes please.

thank you both for noticing and asking, of course it'd be a delight to revisit that cliff hanger of a last post!

So, we decided to put the bungalow on sale that week in November 2020. We had an offer from a friend in the nearby area (small place, everyone knows everyone else's business!) and accepted it as though lower than we would have got at market rate it was the right thing to do. Despite that, it took 'til the last week of May for completion. I'd not sold a house before, so this seemed a long time to me!

The money freed up from the house was enough to pay off the final amount, with a little spare. If you'd have told me in 2008 that's how the house we purchased at market peak would have fared, I would have laughed...and then cried! From having almost negative equity just 6 months after buying it, finally accepting we had a terrible time living there and skulking back to London to repair ourselves in 2010...this feels like a bittersweet ending.

Thank you both!