Forever home... not a forever mortgage

willowparrett

Thanks @South_coast as the ERC is 1% for each year of the term remaining, it would be just above the rate of interest I'm paying - 2.7% compared to 2.29%.  But thanks for the reminder!  Later this year it will be worth doing I think.  I'll keep an eye!  

Well done on your OPs btw - you're SO CLOSE!!

WPx

South_coast

Thank you 😀! Lots of ERC's paid here (hence my suggesting it), but it's definitely worked out cheaper for me overall. If I'd restricted myself to the annual 10% I'd have been paying interest every month on a much higher balance, so it's worked out alright for me in the end!

willowparrett

Made next month's OP of £417 a few days early as it was sat in my bank after payday.  This drops me into the £92ks for the main mortgage, and over all for my little rental house into the £114ks!  Really pleased as this has dropped me into the 65% bracket - and 60% is within reach for when I (probably) need to remortgage on to a buy to let mortgage (currently have consent to let for another year).  I'll update the MWF2021 thread over the next couple of days. 

Away from finances life is feeling very frazzled at the moment.  An endless cycle of 'oh, I must remember to do X'.  There's nothing BIG, but just an overwhelming amount of little challlenges, stressors and pressures weighing on me.  I've been reading a few books on mindfullness and reducing stress and anxiety, but they almost make me feel worse?!  Like I have all the knowledge of how bad they are for you, and know how to address them, but I STILL can't feel an improvement.  SIGH. 

I think perhaps its the weather stopping me from getting out into the garden and for walks as much as I'd like - and the cold has put everything in the garden back four to six weeks; when I look back on photos from this time last year it's heartbreaking!  Still, I know that that is only temporary - it'll be shorts weather in no time.

I think I'm also struggling with being well into the latter phases of the covid vaccine programme - if anything I feel more concerned now that I'm so close to getting a vaccine.  eg. wouldn't it be awful to pick up covid now and get seriously ill when having some protection is tantalisingly a matter of weeks away.  I've now at least been able to book, so hopefully once that's done and there's been 2-3 weeks clear, that worry will be far less.  

Gah, this has turned into a proper moany download, sorry people of the ether!  As it's briefly sunny I'm going to take myself out for a walk around the block for 20 mins, and hopefully that'll clear my head.  I won't get much of a lunch break today as I'm hosting a webinar (on wildflower meadow creation - lovely!) at lunchtime.  

I hope all are keeping well. 
WPx

willowparrett

Just quickly popping on to update mortgage amounts and monthly OP of £417.  Still feeling very fraught - oh to be back at the end of May when the 'Delta variant' was something that felt very distant!  In good mortgage news, main mortgage now down below £92k (£91,919), and based on HSBC's valuation (they give you an estimate whenever you check what rate changes you could make) I'm now at 62% LTV.  This is far better than I was expecting, but presumably the national house price index has risen over the last few months and I've just not noticed.  Should be comfortably into the < 60% bracket when it comes to remortgage.  
 
Smaller mortgage creeping down slowly, now on £21,560.  So total £113,479.  On target for sub £110k at the end of the year - which I think I should reach with 1st December's regular payment.

Other news - garden ticking along.  We're starting to harvest in earnest most days now - mainly soft fruit and salad, and I'm so pleased with this year's peas.  Everything (including the weeds) is growing like billy-o, and I'm struggling to find time to get out there and get on top of it.  The front garden is looking lovely - really pleased with the 'cottage garden' flowers that I put in at the beginning of the year.  I've just taken the sweet rocket out as it was starting to go over, and replaced it with this year's dahlias, which are a bit late, but will hopefully be up and away soon.  

Anyway, I'll update my footer and the MFW 2021 thread, then had better get back to work. 

Take care all. 
WPx

willowparrett

Afternoon all, 

It has been a busy old summer eh?  Feels like my feet haven't really touched the ground.  Work has been BUSY, which is nice - obviously, it feels like a) I did the right thing going self-employed, and b) I must be doing something right for people to recommend me/keep coming back.  But, it's so hard to find a balance between accepting the work I want to do, delivering to deadlines, and actually trying to have the better work/life balance that was one of the key drivers for going self-employed.  I'm definitely not there yet - I'd wanted to spend a good portion of the summer in the garden and get it closer to the place I want it to be, but in fact I did 3x my normal monthly work in August alone .  A work in progress. 

Money wise - all that work is obviously helping.  Monthly OPs of £417 have been made relatively easily (next month's sent across today - I'll go update the MFW21 board shortly), and I've managed to save a bit too.  Saw with pleasure that HSBC's HPI valuation has me down at 60% LTV ratio already (which was my target for remortgaging next summer).  That's mainly a result of house prices rising though, rather than much that I've done... I'm still going to be working off my original calculations for OP targets by next summer just in case the market collapses between now and then!  Main mortgage should tick down to the £80ks with Friday's regular payment, which is a nice threshold to pass.       

I'm managing brief flurries of garden activity in between work - managed to do a huge load of roast veg to go with sunday dinner yesterday - the leftovers will go into soup and into the freezer this afternoon.  I also managed to do a big pickling day a few weeks ago, with lots of jars of shallots and beetroot in the cupboard now, which we'll use over the coming months.  Had our first try of Uchiki Curi squash - totally underwhelmed given all the hype surrounding it.  Even though it was a good red colour, perhaps it wasn't really ready - I'll wait a few weeks until we try again!  Otherwise we're still managing (just) to keep on top of the raspberries - the summer canes are all finished and tidied up for the year, and the autumn canes are in full swing.  We're weirdly still getting occasional strawberries ripening; I suppose it's the warm weather confusing them!  In less good news, the blasted badger stole every. single. one. of the sweetcorn over about four consecutive nights, just as I was starting to check them for ripeness and looking forward to the sweet butteryness .      

Yesterday was spent clearing out the greenhouse (the tomatoes mostly succumbed to blight - it was such a tricky season!), and some point this week (we're away this weekend) I'll try and give it all a good wash down on the inside so it's clean before starting autumn sowing.  The torrential rain over night has topped up the water butts nicely, and thankfully we only had two sunflower casualties - both now in a vase in the kitchen; everything else is remarkably unscathed by the wind.  

Right, enough garden chat on a mortgage board - though I don't often feel like I'm contributing much to the mortgage theme - it just ticks down faster than it would without OPs!  Back to work. 

Take care all WPx

willowparrett

Afternoon all, 

Just a quick update - regular monthly payments have gone on to the mortgage, dropping the main balance down to £89,924!  Lovely to be down below £90k.  Total now £111,238... Still on target to drop below £110k by the end of the year.  Just need to update my footer.  

Hope you're all having a good week. 

WPx

willowparrett

Hello all, a quiet morning here, and my thoughts have been wandering to next year.  Having a play with the over payments calculator (I love this one for its detail: https://www.themoneycalculator.com/mortgages/calculators/mortgage-overpayment-calculator/) and think my initial target for next year is to get the whole balance of mortgages 1 & 2 below £100,000.  That involves monthly OPs of at least £410, or 10% OP on the smaller balance as a lump sum and monthly OPs of approx. £310.  I think that's acheivable, though I might split the 10% in to two payments so as not to deplete savings too noticeably.      

That said, next summer, unless I can talk very nicely to HSBC and ask them to extend their consent to let, I'm going to need to switch providers on to a buy-to-let mortgage, which will certainly involve an ERC from HSBC, and potentially new mortgage fees from a new provider, so all OP plans are a bit wafty at the moment.  Still, nice to have a vague target.  

We aren't really OPing on the main house mortgage at the moment.  We're thinking about putting some sort of 'cabin' in the garden (for friends and family, and potentially to Airbnb at some point), so spare earnings are going in a pot for that for the time being.  Also, as the mortgage term is a bit shorter and the payments larger, it feels like its ticking down quite quickly (even though it's huge !!).  I think once my little house is settled on a 60% LTV BTL mortgage, I'll let that run for a while and re-focus on the main mortgage. 

Anyway.  Enough rambling thoughts for next year - there are still several months of this year left!  I'd better get back to work.

WPx

LadyWithAPlan

Well done
Loving the gardening chat. I don't have one but all my family do so I get their gluts, currently I am awash with apples and cooking up lots. 
But its so lovely not to buy them.

I also am se and now largely work from home, it is definitely harder to keep motivated even though I have been so for years, but covid has made it harder.

I try to organise to see friends after my working day as otherwise it is too easy to procrastinate in the day and then work late. 

willowparrett

Morning all, what a beautiful sunny day!  At least here in Somerset. 

Just updated my footer and the MFW21 board.  It's so lovely to see how everyone's numbers have been totting up over the year.  

Pleased to speak to a buy to let mortgage provider this morning to find that their mortgage offers are valid for 6 months.  So I've booked an appointment to apply through them later this month, to try and get a reasonable rate secured before they start to move upwards as is being predicted  Trying to avoid the worst case scenario where my consent to let ends, HSBC won't accept me onto a BTL mortgage (I don't meet their minimum income seperate from the rental income requirements), and I need to apply for a new mortgage in a panic in 6 months time when the rates are higher. 

We've also been discussing me dropping my SE hours, and consciously taking a hit on income - this will affect my ability to OP, but will free up time to better look after the house, garden, dog, and air bnb set up.  Us both working full-time whilst trying to manage all that doesn't feel very sustainable at the moment.  Still, once my BTL mortgage is set up on 60% LTV though (the mortgage provider I'm targeting doesn't have a minimum income requirement if the rental income is high enough), I don't actually need to be earning a set amount myself, so I think this will work.  It's pleasing to know that the OPs to date (together with regular payments, clearing £40k in 5 years) have made that an acheivable position to be in. 

It will be a real mental shift though, and I know I'll find the loss of financial independence a bit unsettling.  And it'll be weird not OP-ing regularly!  We'll see how we go.

Other news, October and November are always busy/expensive months here, with both car services and MOTs going through, car insurance (remembered to Topcashback it!), and beginning to drip buy Christmas presents.  Also managed to order our main Christmas food from M&S a couple of weeks ago, so that's sorted and mainly paid for (we always do a click and collect on Christmas eve). 

Better get back to work. 

Take care all.  
WPx

willowparrett

Good morning all,

I made my final OP of the year early yesterday, as the money was there - so I'm at £5072 as a total OP for the year.  Really pleased given the difficult year it has been.  It also helps that I'm now sat comfortably on the 60% LTV threshold, and the BTL mortgage I want to switch to has a lower threshold of 65%, so even if HSBCs automatic valuation is a bit iffy, we should be fine.  The application is booked for next Wednesday after an initial chat earlier this week, so hopefully that goes well.  

I've been pondering what to do after that's settled on to a new (5 year, fixed) rate.  I'll still OP a bit I think, just to feel like it's still creeping down - the monthly payments will be about £40 less than I'm paying now, so that at least will be OP'd. But, I've been consciuous of needing to put more towards my pension, and possibly other savings pots.  And any OPs should really now go on the larger mortgage, as that will have more of an impact in terms of interest reduction.  I'll have less of an income too most likely, as I'm cutting back on work a bit. 

We will see.  In any event, I've decided that I'm not going to think about it now until the New Year

WPx