Buying a house without a mortgage

whitewing

nykmedia wrote: »

I thought since regular, average house prices were so high that I'd look at 'alternatives' and it's surprising how wide the choice really is! For example, does anyone live in a log cabin? These residential models look really nice for the price!! Now, has anyone got a really big back garden and a driveway big enough for an artic with an extra wide load? LOL

I heard of a couple of people with log cabins; both burnt down. Whether that was 'convenient' or not, I'm unsure.

Also I did hear somewhere that if you build your log cabin within a day then no planning permission is required!

Frugaldom

whitewing wrote: »

I heard of a couple of people with log cabins; both burnt down. Whether that was 'convenient' or not, I'm unsure.

Also I did hear somewhere that if you build your log cabin within a day then no planning permission is required!

I'm thinking longterm, so maybe a log cabin is not one of my better plans It'll hardly increse in value if it slowly decomposes after about 25 years... I need bricks and mortar or some nice sandstone. At least I can officially start saving for it now, after having cleared all the initial costs and fees involved. And there are still the premium bonds! I might win something on them as I'll have them for the next couple of years until my son's 21. (I can't afford trust funds, so I promised the kids £1000 each for their 21st birthdays - one in 2008 and one in 2010 - and am keeping the money in premium bonds so I am not tempted to use it for anything else.)

pavlovs_dog

nykmedia wrote: »

(I can't afford trust funds, so I promised the kids £1000 each for their 21st birthdays - one in 2008 and one in 2010 - and am keeping the money in premium bonds so I am not tempted to use it for anything else.)

you'd be better off putting it into a high interest savings account of some description which has a notice period to withdraw the money. at least this way you would be hard pressed to spend it (nothing like 60 days written notice to withdraw your money to kill a spending urge ) and you would be guaranteed to benefit from the savings, by means of interest. there is a calculator on the main pages which will calculate your chance of winning money via the premium bonds. lets just say statistically the odds arent going to be in your favour.

Frugaldom

Pavlovs_Dog, I love the name! Reminds me of yet another modern day syndrome that I may have developed... I hear of a bargain and I respond accordingly LOL

I had a look at the calculator (a few times) and know that Premium Bonds aren't the best way of saving the money. It just took me quite a while to get to the stage that I had managed to have their money saved in the first place that the amount wasn't worth trying to open a new account and my ISA allowance was used up. I used to buy lottery tickets at work but stopped and switched to saving then buying premium bonds as soon as I reached the minimum required amount. I've had 3 x £50 wins over the past 4 years (since getting the bonds) and it is just that little tiny, tiny chance of winning that makes me keep them. I look forward to every month of checking online to see, 'sorry, not this time' LOL

Kaz2904

I too have financial OCD. It drives me nuts when my figures are off and I sit there twitching for the whole month because I have spent all of my money!

Frugaldom

I just looked at the latest updates online at local estate agents and there's a 5 BEDROOM, 3 STOREY house just down the road from me, with large garden, in need of modernisation/decoration, advertised at o/o £105,000! It's made me even more determined to save like mad and then walk in some place like that and offer cash!

I always fancied trying that in a main dealership garage when looking at cars just to see the seller's expression. Sit there, all worried like, asking questions as he eagerly ticks the boxes for the credit checks and then asks how I'd like to pay... I always wanted to say, "Do you take Switch?" ROFL

Frugaldom

Kaz2904 wrote: »

I too have financial OCD. It drives me nuts when my figures are off and I sit there twitching for the whole month because I have spent all of my money!

If I emptied out 'Phil the Pig' (my bank) I could send you £2.87 to tidy up that overall debt figure! :rotfl: It's financial OCD in overdrive but it got me to pay off my debts quicker from not being able to stand the sight of messy amounts

CHARDONNAY_3

Can I just say it's a fab idea to try to be mortgage free (before actually getting a mortgage) My partner and I were thinking of buying only a week or so ago but after endless research during my week off work, have decided it is best to wait. We currently rent and did think this was 'throwing money away' however all the interest you pay on a mortgage is kind of like throwing it away too. Aiming to be mortgage free certainly makes sense!

Frugaldom

My ICICI account is up and running and I have just entered stage 3, the epic part of this journey, of my house challenge! Have joined the 'quit smoking thread' to save an extra £500 in 2008 and have opened the new thread for 'Live on £4000 for a year' so I cannot back out of doing this for a second year. My proudest MSE moments of 2007 (I only joined the forums in September) is getting a mention for the £4000 challenge in this week's Martin's email newsletter and the fact that over 80 people have joined this challenge so far... I am stunned, actually!

I think I am well and truly ready to enter the new year. I have taken the advice of Pavlov's_Dog and rather than keep the kids' birthday money in premium bonds, I'm going to transfer it to a high interest account and make the most of that for the next couple of years. I've opened the ICICI, as recommended on MSE, which will do until the next tax year begins

Next, my 'brick'. Here it is... :rotfl: The first brick of my mortgage free house!

It's completely sealed and I have a sheet of paper taped to the back now to write down the dates I add the folded post-it notes. Each time I reach a money goal towards my mortgage free house, I write it on a post it, fold it and pop it into the sealed wooden brick

Mad, I know, but it means that everything else is getting interest paid on it, except 'Phil the Pig', who is more of a pennypinching hobby.

THANK YOU TO ALL FOR THE HELP AND SUPPORT PROVIDED IN THESE FORUMS.

bails

Hi nykmedia, I've been eyeing up your 4K challenge and am deciding whether to join - at first it seemed really difficult but the more I hear about it, the more possible it seems. I was put off as I have a lot of health-related outgoings that I didn't want to sacrifice (nothing is more important than getting better) but if I put them into the 'luxuries' I might well be up for it.
Sorry, digressing - I actually came on here to talk houses!:D I love the idea of buying a house, and was impressed by the property prices you have found. Can I ask where you're looking (as in sites, not areas)? Ideally, we'd like to buy a doer-upper somewhere vaguely around Manchester (not in the city, in the country) and are just about to start looking. We have v limited income (my illness and OH is still a student) but hey, anything's possible if you believe it is! My dream would be to live in Scotland (that 5-bed house sounded fab!) but getting OH as far north as Peaks/Lakes is a major achievement in itself!
Good luck with it all, I'll be about to see how it's going and get inspired. I'm not sure what position we'll be in financially at the mo (in the process of redoing budget/ predictions) so not commiting to anything just yet. Buying a house outright, what are the figures compared to getting a mortgage and paying it off quickly, do you know? We can't get a mortgage at the moment anyway, but just thinking ahead... OH will be starting own business so I think he has to have done that for a certain length of time before we're eligible (by which time I hope to be back to work, at leat part-time). Sorry for waffling, I just love this challenge!