SLLM (Single Lady Large Mortgage)

Friday1989

I just bought a vape and three lots of vape juice. That set me back £39. I could have got it cheaper online but the woman was really helpful and it's a small shop so I thought it only fair to buy it there. I have no idea if vaping is going to work for me or how long juice lasts but I guess I'll find out! 

Sistergold

@badmemory, that was my sentiments exactly that if I am to pay anything I will pay when it gets to 0.05% penalty as I am already paying £1000 at no charge monthly. At end of term I will review balance and see if I need to pay a lump sum. Hopefully I can also buy a second property if property market cools down in which case the OP of £1000 per month will be okay. 

@EndlessStruggle, that’s good thinking concerning the retest for asbestos. That’s good that you have found a handyman who is also of good disposition. 

@Friday1989, well done at least you have bought what you need to be on your way to stop smoking. It’s always good to support local businesses too. 

Sistergold

Understanding my mortgage product switch and ERC options
Good morning ladies. Just to keep a record for reference. Forgot to mention that when I called the bank yesterday to understand my OPs I also asked if it was possible to pay a lump sum without penalty towards the end of each deal. With Westbrom you can switch products as early as 4 months before end of your current deal. One thing I learnt was that when you switch it has to be on or before 25th of month to be effective from the following month. She could not tell me if there was a grace period where I will be allowed to pay a penalty free lump sum even at the end except I let the current product expire, be on SVR, pay lump sum then product switch. This will mean 3.99% interest that month but free OP. She said alternatively at the end I can call them to say I want to switch products and state that I want to make a lump sum payment so I start new product at a much reduced balance. She said that way hopefully they can waiver the ERC(early repayment charge). So in June next year after the monthly repayment goes out(end of deal) I will call to make a lump sum payment so I can switch to new product and see if they will waiver the ERC. I will just do this so as to know my provider’s policies see if they are OP friendly at all. I am a little bit annoyed that I am not allowed at least 10%. It is what it is I guess
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Sistergold

Good morning 
I am anxiously waiting to hear from the gasman to get a confirmed day he can come. He had said he will let me know by Sunday which day he will come this week. Sunday came and went, finally decided to call him yesterday and he said he will let me know today by lunch time so to confirm if it will be Thursday(tomorrow) or Friday that he can come. He had promised he will move the boiler this week but so far I don’t have a confirmed date? Maybe it’s an issue of which customer is making the most noise? So I will need to keep nagging? 🤔🤞

slm6002

I feel so bad nagging my builder as I know he is probably getting from every customer, but if that theory is right perhaps i need to nag more, as still no further forward with the date

savingholmes

I do think it is often who shouts the loudest gets. 

On ERCs - I have a 10% OP allowance - which currently I have no way of hitting anyway - but if I were to repay my mortgage in full in the first year of my 5 year fix, it would cost more than I would spend in interest by waiting...paying in installments. Something I will definitely watch out for next time as it is ridiculous. 

Sistergold

Gas work update
😁 the gasman came 9am today with two other guys and they spent almost all day here. Moved boiler into garage, closed off old flue hole and did tests which showed a leak🤨, finally attributed to gas pipe leading to gas fire and its under the floor ☹️. So now pipe going to gas fire has be disconnected until one day I am doing floors then I can decide if I want to investigate and sort it out. He said probably the gas was slowly leaking in to the void under the floor which explains why the gas fire did not stay on above 1 as if not enough gas supply. I had already complained about the gas fire and had asked him to look into it but after discovering leak there was no need to look into the gas fire anymore. £700 paid and now onwards to seeing if I can get quotes for garage roof. Talking of which one of the guys working with the gasman says he does roofs🤔. I asked him to send me a quote although he said he can only do it when whether improves. So basically he can only do roof after winter. I am not sure if the roof will hold till then. I am anticipating to spend £3k on the roof which I now need to put aside for D-day. If I spend less than £3k that will then be a pleasant surprise. London prises can be horrendous and I don’t want to find myself out of pocket, also now I can not go through this year without putting a new roof no matter the cost. If I have it my way I should have it done by end of April but no later than end of May 🤞.

@slm6002, nagging surely did the trick. I think they are so busy only the customers showing some urgency will be moved forward in the long queue. 

@MovingForwards, even for me if I was allowed to pay 10% I would probably  not be able to OP that at the moment. I think what you are doing saving for mortgage neutral while OP a bit is a good way to do it. 

For me now it seems I am using so much money with renovations one way or the other. 

savingholmes

Shows how important it is to get the gas checked. My boiler was leaking when I had a safety check despite only being fitted 3-4 years ago. 

Sistergold

You are right gas systems do need checking on a regular basis for sure. When I was buying the house I payed for a gas and electric inspection. The gas fire was closed off as it was deemed not safe. So when I completed and moved in I had a new fire installed, now I can not even use the fire. Maybe I should forget about gas? 

savingholmes

I have a fireangel carbon monoxide monitor in the room with the gas fire. You can get them on Amaz0n