SLLM (Single Lady Large Mortgage)

Sistergold

I bought two co2 monitors from Amazon when I bought the house, one in the lounge one in the kitchen. 

savingholmes

Very sensible. I had to buy them for work once - and then bought one for home. I possibly should have two though - one by the boiler and one in the lounge - as the plumber did find a small leak when the boiler was serviced. 

Friday1989

Sorry to hear you're having so many issues with the gas @Sistergold Sounds like you're on a mission getting all the jobs sorted though

Today would have been day 6 smoke free but I had half a cigarette (leftover, not bought) because my vape was playing up and I needed nicotine. I ended up buying a new vape because I do not want to get into the habit of smoking again. I did lots of googling and think I found the problem so I currently have two working vapes. While I would have preferred to have bought a second vape cheaper online, two vapes plus vape juice was still only as much as two weeks of smoking so my spending should decrease substantially now. I think I'll probably be spending about £7 a week or less on vape juice and coils compared to at least £31 on cigarettes (more often £37). 

I overpaid £1500 on my mortgage so I'm now down to £183,931. That's over £20k paid off in a year and a half. I'm also overpaying £100 a month. Once I've done the bathroom and know I've still got a decent emergency fund I will consider upping the monthly overpayment.

Sistergold

Oh @Friday1989 £20k PAID OFF IN 1.5yrs? 🎉🥳 That is smashing it girl! Well done! Incredible achievement! Good that you also have a regular £100 OP. After 3yrs or so I think we will all be surprised at how much we have OPd.

Also well done on sticking to no smoking! We will not remember the half cigarette at least you did not go off and buy a packet! 

Yes I am really trying to get jobs done around the house as it’s easy to start feeling overwhelmed if the list is left to get longer. After renovations I had a kind of burnout where I just could not bring myself to have anything done and then covid happened and added to this apathy but I think I am over it now as I seem to be able to decide and just get the job done. Costs are adding up though but I think as a home owner you should be looking at spending 1% value of property to keep up with maintenance? Apparently it can be more? Have calculated and my 1% is £6400, which I have decided that I will either save towards house improvements or spend on the house yearly if need be. This will help me not flinch at expenditure. I don’t want to be like my vendor who sold me a house which had not been touched for decades! X

Friday1989

@Sistergold I so relate to that apathy!!! I'm finally getting round to getting a blind for my bedroom. I have partially attached curtains from the previous owner I found what looks to be a good deal on a Roman blind in the same print as my wallpaper so I've sent off for a sample. Fingers crossed the colours match. I'm very slowly working through my list of jobs I've put off...

savingholmes

Well done Friday.

@Sistergold
I can't imagine regularly paying out 1% of my house value on maintenance... I suppose some of that depends on how much work you do yourself. I've lived in this house 15 years  and to be fair it was only about 5 years old when we bought it. In that time we:

• Have decorated rooms multiple times (mostly just paint, some new furniture)
• Put wooden flooring in for most of the downstairs
• Recarpeted the kids rooms
• Refloored the family bathroom and ensuite
• Done a patio area outside £2.5-3k
• Put in a new boiler Upto £3K plus annual servicing
• Put in an electric garage door Can't remember but guess between £1.2-1.8K
• Done some gardening
• Put in a new counter in the kitchen and utility and stripped, sanded and painted the cupboard doors
• Changed some of the lighting
• Fencing - a few hundred pounds
• Roof slates coming off - a few hundred pounds
• Tree felling / pruning - about £600

In an ideal world it would be nice to redo the bathroom, kitchen, ensuite, downstairs toilet and re-carpet the rooms and stairs I haven't done yet. None of it is essential though. The EA also said - that even if the kitchen / bathroom etc are new - new buyers often rip them out to put something in that's their own taste. If I had free £ it would be lovely to put french doors off the kitchen and extend it very slightly. Again not essential.

What might make £ back on my house would be widening the drive. Got a quote of between £1.5-3K for that. Can't afford right now. Converting the garage might also more than payback what it would cost - however not essential for me. I would also consider doing the bathroom - if I had the £ - if it meant I could add an ensuite to the second biggest bedroom by splitting the existing room. I think it could be done - but I need to get my head properly above water first.

You have to weigh up what you feel would really add value, simplify your life and bring you pleasure long term. If that includes spending a lot on your house fair enough - if you have other priorities and you need to choose - then you may want to choose something else. It sounds like you are successful enough that you can do what you want to the house - just be aware it may not add value... 

Sistergold

@savingholmes, that’s a good list of things you have had done there over the years. You are right about not adding value for all the things I have had done so far. You are also right that I would not spend 1% of value each year on most years. I think always in a house that I live I only look at “simplifying life and long term pleasure”. I just want to be putting in 1% into that pot so that I can have ideas what to do next as it’s there 😏. There seems to be something needing doing all the time? 🤷‍♀️🙇🏽‍♀️

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

@savingholmes, you have been busy, I've been in my property for about 5 years now and have a similar list to you:

• Every room has been decorated, some twice.
• New flooring/carpets throughout
• New utility room floor after we discovered it was balanced on broken paving slabs!!
• Completely cleared both front and rear gardens which were completely overgrown.
• Raised decking area
• Shingled mediteranean style area with pizza oven
• Pallet seating, pergola and bar, garden lighting
• Put in a new boiler 
• Improved practicality of utility by blocking up a door way and adding counter tops
• Replaced Fencing - concrete kick boards and posts, 6' panels x34, several thousand pounds  
• Widened drive considerably and included turning area, we can now park 9 cars if necessary (not very often!)

There's still a lot I'd like to change, I would love new kitchen and bathrooms but no budget for that at present and to be honest the existing ones are not awful, just not what I would choose.  I think we need a year of 'flooring' this year, the kitchen vinyl has started to split, several of the conservatory tiles are cracked and I'd love laminate through out the living areas (keeping carpet in the bedrooms), the garage door also needs replacing at some point.

I think widening your drive would be a good call, most people want off road parking, even in a semi rural area like mine, it's made our property have much more 'curb appeal' and it's amazing how many of our neighbours have now followed suit.  Plus its so easy for visitors, especially when all of our children descend, and even with 4 or 5 cars on the drive with careful parking everyone can still get their cars out without disturbing others (any one remember 'Butterflies'?).

You're right, as well as adding value it is also about making your home enjoyable, especially in these times.  We have spent a lot of time and money on our garden, which has paid dividends as we have had a beautiful, tranquil space in which to spend the lockdowns and a really social party area for when we have been able to entertain family and friends, it probably wouldn't be to everyone's tastes but we love it and it works for us.

MvTMM

Sistergold

@Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain, good list there of jobs you have had done. Your driveway sounds massive and good for when “everyone” comes around. On the half that is paved we can park 5 cars. The other half has lawn, rose bushes and other flowering plants. 

savingholmes

MVTMM - good list of jobs over a short period. Sounds expensive and hard work. 

My drive would just about fit 2 on one behind the other but would be good to make it wide enough for 2 abreast. Think would still be max 3 unless I lost my front garden which I wouldn't want. 

@Sistergold I agree that having a 1% pot for maintenance would reduce the stress... Not an option for me currently.