Prosperous soul in the making

savingholmes

Things I would in an ideal world like to do before the valuer comes

1. Hoe the weeds in front of our and next door's drive
2. Edge the lawn and flower beds
3. Power wash the drive and the paths
4. Paint the drive black so it looks 'newer'
5. Return flags to back path where Ex lifted them - or put slate or bark down over a weed mat (I have the latter and one bag of chipped bark)
6. Clear space to return the black bin around the back of the house
7. Take stuff to the tip
8. Prune bushes and trees
9. Clear veg plot of weeds, add soil and replant
10. Repaint the front door
11. Plant some flowering plants in pots and top up soil (kerb appeal & to brighten my day)
12. Weed the patio area (around where we put slate a year ago)
13. Wash and dry covers and patio furniture cushions
14. Reduce the number of pots to make it easier to walk along the path and make it seem bigger
15. Rescue the fire pit from under our butterfly bush - and prune the latter
16. Water my pots and tubs
17. Put weed matting down and buy and add some purple slate to a patch next to the shed
18. Declutter the house (It deserves as long a list as the garden!!!)
19. Use damp stop on ceilings where needed
20. Touch up paint where needed
21. Get stairs mended (they creak and go down in the wrong places - scary!)
22. 'Stage' the house

Is there anything that gives away that I'm a perfectionist... but one that gave up trying for a bit... and therefore has a huge backlog of stuff that needs fixing (all immediately obviously). 

badmemory

I thought you were keeping the house & buying ex out?  If you are scrap all 22.  I must have misread.  I'm going to read back a bit & may well be back to edit this post.

Is the valuation for the mortgage you will need or to get the value to buy out ex.  If the latter is he doing at least half the work?

savingholmes

Hi @badmemory
I am buying Ex out - but am right at the 74/75% LTV border and don't want to risk falling the wrong side of it... I thought it would make it more likely I would get the right value if I did the work. I also want to do it in the summer months if I am doing it - and don't want a big maintenance backlog carrying over to me... Ex may or may not help... He's understandably reluctant... The back half of the garden is badly overgrown and weedy though - so I think that will give a bad impression to the valuer... Am I over worrying?

Sadly my solicitor bill has come in and it is a little more than I hoped. So £920 instead of the £850 I hoped. Scary numbers... I could just about pay it out of this month's money - but then would have nothing left for 'unplanned' / emergencies... so may see if they'll wait until payday for at least some of it. They said last month that shouldn't be a problem...

badmemory

I suppose what I really meant is will he be getting an already fixed amount or a share of the value/equity.  It is one thing to play nice & quite another to give money away in exchange for nothing.

Grogged

If it's a mortgage valuation then as long as it looks presentable and looked after you'll be fine.
They'll be concerned that the house is structurally sound and has been cared for.
I'd spend your money on the mortgage to get you to the magic 75%.

savingholmes

Thanks Bad Memory and Grogged

I offered a fixed amount. I am pausing doing anything more until he formally responds to my solicitor which feels a slight waste of a BH weekend... But never mind...

I would love to go out somewhere at the weekend but don't fancy crowds... 

DD has her schedule. It looks like they might pay her accommodation most of the year. If true it may be longer before she moves out at the weekends than either of us anticipated

jwil

I agree with the others, nothing on your list will 'need' to be done for the valuers.  Do it for your own peace of mind and to improve your own living situation when you are ready rather than put pressure on yourself. 

savingholmes

Thanks Jwil - I think you are all right and I was putting too much pressure on myself. 

I went to a balance type class Wednesday evening and enjoyed it despite finding it difficult. My writer's group got cancelled but I got a treasure trove of YS fruit, veg, meat, pizza (own food group) and custard doughnuts (another food group)... filling 2 bags of food and a half price towel for £26 all in from Mr A. Timed it perfectly.

If the valuer agrees the house is worth £270K then instead of paying around the £920 mark my interest rate would drop and I'd pay more like £880. If I still put that £40ish towards the mortgage - I'd knock over 13 months off the mortgage over a 22 year period. I am very conscious that interest rates are at an historic low and even a small increase could make a big difference. I therefore want to ensure that during the fixed rate period I get the mortgage down as much as reasonably practical... I'm still hopeful that I'll be able to do a pension transfer at some point and use the 25% tax free lump sum to pay down the mortgage but this isn't guaranteed to be available... 

DD had her hair cut - it seemed to have grown about 3 inches in 3 months. I couldn't believe it! Tonight DD begged for a takeaway and I gave in. Tasty. I then tried Yoga... but the instructor didn't suggest any modified moves for beginners unlike the balance class I did Wednesday so I won't go back to the Friday one. I find it difficult to put weight on my knees and tonight's class seemed to be mainly on the knees so painful for me and I couldn't do a lot of the moves... The other one was more focused on helping you feel successful so you'd go back...

savingholmes

Well today I started working through the pension impact of the divorce.

If I overpay the mortgage around £68 pcm to reduce it more quickly, and IF I can transfer my pension (which isn't a given) and get a tax free lump sum then I could retire early (or reduce my hours) from around age 61...

So I feel slightly reassured that my FIRE dream is still possible even if delayed.

Grogged

Another option is to open a low cost SIPP and pay the OP into that, so you can get the tax benefit and take advantage of the small pension pot rules to cash it all in at once.
You'd be OP £85 a month then with the tax relief.
Just remember to keep the total value less than £10,000.
Maybe VG investing in LS60 would fit the bill?