I hope I can do this

ftbwannabe

Urgh, just had a conversation that was positive, but has knocked my plans for six. Head is spinning still.
I spoke to an Independant Financial Advisor about my mortgage prospects with this debt, & he reckoned a) we'd be able to get a mortgage now even with my debt & b) since my cards are 0% & credit history good, I should think about using any cash I can spare into saving for a deposit, instead of paying off my cards. The higher deposit we have, the less interest we'll pay on the mortgage, & the sooner we get a mortgage the sooner we're building up equity.
I've just put so much effort & thought into getting rid of the card debt, that even though what he said was good news for getting our first home, I feel really thrown & moody.

ftbwannabe

I guess I could use the snowballed cash for a deposit for the next 12 months, then go back to my original debt busting plan for the 2 years after that. I'll rack up more £ in solicitors fees & decorating though, won't I.
I'm going to try to stop thinking about this for a bit & apply wine & biscuits to my sore brain, instead

efes_shareholder

I was off the impression that any debts were deducted from the total you could obtain from the lender so technically its swings and roundabouts ??

If your credit rating is good and you don't have any defaults then it could pay to jump in now however I am not sure on building equity as where I am the prices appear to be coming down albeit only slightly

Some buyers I think are hesitant without knowing "brexit" will pan out

Bare in mind that essentially a financial advisor is also a lending salesman and will make commission from any products he obtains for you so maybe its in his interest to try and swing yourself to the mindset of diving in

Personally , I would clear my debt firstly - A new property always brings new expenditure whether its changings decor , home furnishings or a set of garden furniture , there will always be something needed - Potentially you could increase the debt quite easily and be in a bit of a spiral

It all depends on the person but less chance of over committing yourself if you start on a clean state

ftbwannabe

Thanks efes, lots of good points.
Yes, like you say, debt reduces the amount we can borrow, but that reduced amount turns out to be more than I expected. Turns out to be exactly the price range I want, actually, he reckoned. And I hadn't told him how much I wanted. Whereas I thought it would stop us from getting anywhere near that.
I am worried about spiralling into more debt if we go for it, yeah. And I've become very attached to the idea of having nothing on cards at all.
For right now, I'm going to stick to my budget but stop putting the extra £ onto my cards. I'll put it into a savings account instead (I socked away £200 yesterday that had been destined for CC2) & decide later whether it's deposit money or debt money. Need to have some big chats with Other Half.

NSD today. Quiet weekend coming up, then a trip to London on Mon which will be a fun test of my purse-strings...

Chrystal

House prices are starting to fall, so if I was you I'd definitely hang on before committing to anything... nothing worse than negative equity!

ftbwannabe

Good advice Chrystal, yes I'm a bit gutted & nervous that the first year we're able to think about buying will be straight after Brexit! Will definitely hang back & save for a bit before doing anything.

ftbwannabe

Well, no matter what I want to do with the money I save, I need to scrimp for it first. Today I:
-read some of the YNAB support stuff & started to finally understand it. Set it up again this morning (after deleting it the last 3 times from rage) & am tentatively hopeful it might work. If I like it, I can get a year's free with my NUS card.
-did a cupboard audit & made a list of the random stuff I have hidden in there. What can I make with 2 packets of pearl barley?!?
-breakfast & lunch & snacks from store. SO is cooking tonight.
-posted an ebay sale - will be £17 in the kitty once ebay release the funds
- posted my music magpie parcel, will be £10ish
-Went to the fruit & veg shop & bought just what I needed, spent £1.20 & wasted no plastic packaging, vs the £4ish it would have cost to buy larger packs of the stuff from a supermarket. Can't usually do this as they are normally shut when I get home.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

redofromstart

ftbwannabe wrote: »

What can I make with 2 packets of pearl barley?!?.

I mostly use it for padding things out - soup or beef stew.

I used to make my own lemon barley water with it years ago too, from an old Shirley Goode recipe.

Willing2Learn

ftbwannabe wrote: »

...Today I:
-read some of the YNAB support stuff & started to finally understand it. Set it up again this morning (after deleting it the last 3 times from rage) & am tentatively hopeful it might work...

It is well worth investing the time. Doing a budget the YNAB way really helps take the pressure off. I'm a much happier bunny doing things using the YNAB method. Difficult and complicated at the start though...Take time to watch their training videos and also don't be shy to use their forum when you feel like your hitting a brick wall!!

pidge04

Good morning! I read your post earlier this week about the Independent Financial Advisor's advice. Have you had a chance to speak to your partner yet? Have you reached any decisions?
Best wishes.