SLLM (Single Lady Large Mortgage)

LadyWithAPlan

Sistergold said:

@LadyWithAPlan, if I can pick the pace back to which I was going I was estimating I can pay off the mortgage at least 10years earlier. First mortgage product I chose one with no OP limits and so no penalties But when I remortgaged/switched products I was not offered any product with good OP options. My mortgage is not an offset and the lender only allows me to pay £999.99 OP per month, this is less than the 10% that most lenders allow. Having said this I find I don’t necessarily want to allocate more than a £1k anyway due to other savings I want to make. The aim is that once mortgage balance is low enough I can just choose to pay it off. 

Most “oversized” mortgages I have seen are not with singles but it’s looking like many woman are now managing to do it and there will be more of us as we go! I can not wait for you to join us in this joyfully painful process. Like I have said before it becomes a blur after some time! Lol

I will be joining the SLLM camp soon no doubt I am thinking spring/summer  next year and aiming to get to that 75% LTV at kick off... 

I guess the £999.99 keeps a little focus whilst you save/do your renovations. Seems not a great time to fix now but not sure what next 12 months will be like.

If my side hobby kicks off like the talk is suggesting .. it could be serious money which would really sort mortgage deposit out  but I will count those ££££ only when contract is signed and 3 months upfront in the bank Good news is I am so used to budgeting, being frugal and saving that if a windfall did come my way I know what I would do with it - my SIPP, my home and EF!

Sistergold

Thank you ladies, @lantanna, @IndiJonesi, @jak, @LadyWithAPlan. Turned out to be city breaks so Glasgow and Edinburgh. Wanted to test myself on how I will fell going that “far out” on my own. It was actually quite good. Going at my pace, sleeping as I wanted and got a chance to listen to all my favourite albums on the road. It was truly a very enjoyable experience! I am now back! 

Sistergold

@LadyWithAPlan, you are lucky you are used to living frugally! I do struggle even when my life depends on it. I can easily get spending and it quickly spirals! 

On the subject of spending, it has been spend spend as I am still getting ready for my kitchen! I know there was a time I mentioned that I had bought a microwave which I thought I would love? I then went on to look more into reviews and functionality and I changed my mind and sent it back! Yesterday I ordered a new microwave. Reason for choice was functions, reasonably large capacity, AND it’s just a plug in 13amp. I have had the electrician twice costing me thousands and I did not want him to come again to install a 16amp hard wire for the new microwave. To be honest it did not cross my mind that a microwave might need that much power but hey ho we learn everyday. The good thing is the microwave will be integrated, it’s as large one which will need 16amps and so in the future I can swap for a 16amp one. I know at some point I will call the electrician for some other necessary work and I will have the 16amp wiring done. When this new microwave needs upgrading I will then have the option of 16amps ready. 

Anyways here is the new microwave which should be delivered this Sunday 

I am yet to buy the kitchen tap and food macerater. 

On the issue of the kitchen, have been cleaning the walls with sugar soap and will start filling holes as removed all top shelves and there are lots of drilled holes from previous installations. It’s has become so chaotic as all wall units have been removed so storage is all over the house. I have also removed some of the floor kitchen units. I have also some temporary shelving which I have assembled in the kitchen so that some frequently used staff in in the kitchen still but it’s really getting so out of hand. I got this from Amazon listed under garage shelving. 

I plan to later use/move the above shelving in shed one kitchen is gone. I did install a lot of wall shelving in the garage and that has helped with some non-food items from the kitchen which I have stored there. I am hoping that from this weekend I can learn to cut and weld so I can start making some of the kitchen units. Feeling a bit out of my depth with trying to fabricate my own kitchen units but hey ho at least it’s for me and no one can judge me for it in a sense! 🫣 it certainly getting worse in the kitchen before it can get better! 

Back to the subject of spending, yesterday I had some upvc doors and windows installed as follows replaced front door and also created an entrance porch in front so added French doors, replaced kitchen upvc doors and windows with different design upvc and windows, garage has two outside storage with doors which were wooden and falling apart so changed those two into upvc, also changed garage side entrance door then change garage back door and windows. All in all 2x windows, 8xdoors and cost was £7300. The front of the house is now so fresh and looks great if I must say so myself. 

Kitchen door locking mechanism was becoming dodgy and top half of said door was clear glass and I wanted obscure, the kitchen window only had one small opening for a very large window and did not give enough ventilation, new window has three opening sections and the fresh air is lovely. All garage doors, door frames and window frames were wood and rotting. It was a necessary expense. 

I have and am currently spending thousands on the house I have not been able to save much if at all for past few months, just the other month I replaced garage roof and other kitchen electricals. Also electrician costed quite a bit, soon I will need to call in the plumber! 🤷‍♀️🙇🏽‍♀️ 

Sistergold

Mortgage update 
Money went out 15th of August and new balance

I need to ensure that I have paid down to at least £383k so that LTV is at or below 60% before next remortgage by May 2023. Without any OPs I will get to a balance of at least £382230 as it’s 10 more mortgage payments from now to June next year. I am hopeful that after I progress my kitchen I can go back to OPs of £999 as I am only paying £100 extra for now. This LTV is by using purchase price and does not look into any house price increase which I don’t want to worry about as I will be staying with same bank and don’t think they will even look into that when they offer me new products. Current interest rate at 2.19% and will be going up soon I expect. Hectic times we are now living in. 

LadyWithAPlan

Sistergold said:

Mortgage update 
Money went out 15th of August and new balance

I need to ensure that I have paid down to at least £383k so that LTV is at or below 60% before next remortgage by May 2023. Without any OPs I will get to a balance of at least £382230 as it’s 10 more mortgage payments from now to June next year. I am hopeful that after I progress my kitchen I can go back to OPs of £999 as I am only paying £100 extra for now. This LTV is by using purchase price and does not look into any house price increase which I don’t want to worry about as I will be staying with same bank and don’t think they will even look into that when they offer me new products. Current interest rate at 2.19% and will be going up soon I expect. Hectic times we are now living in. 

Great to see you will be at sub 60% LTV thanks to all your previous repayments. A next summer goal of £380k or even £370k would appeal to my tidy brain however I know you are doing all your kitchen work so it could be a big ask

What is your mortgage fixed on - 0.5% above bank of england rates?

Loving all your DIY - been looking at a course inspired by you for Autumn.


I have been reading how they think London /South England house prices gonna fall or at least stop rising.
I did get paid some very decent interest on some of my house deposit  through a company investment .. so that is calming me down feeling I am not missing the house boat
In any case as work is very unsettled  (may be down to 1 day a week in one company and another company I can see is struggling) it is not time for me to rush in to a £2k a month house payment especially as I have very reasonable rent inc CT . Spring next year I think will make life much clearer for me.

On my frugality  years ago I left a very high paid job (where I also spent large) for a new career without any stable income - then got ill - so since then I learnt the art of frugality and budgeting despite my 'big' London lifestyle. My travel is generally through work so is tax deductible or paid for, its rare I go on a real holiday
I only have a CC again now to help my credit score but its amazing how it creeps up so stopped using it for all but travel and odd bill.

And London restaurant dinners I pay for are probably max once a month - I am GF, DF as well so its a pain to order and Takeaways are only if I get a discount code. Friends have got used to me saying no to £150 dinners per head When I cant get out of them eg birthday celebs I am not happy!
Single and no kids helps
I have a monthly entertainment budget inc restaurants separate to my grocery and I move cash over from a pot into my main acct so I can track it. When I have big birthday dinners coming up I begrudgingly  add £000's to it but at least I am very clear on cost.

Sistergold

@LadyWithAPlan, GF and DF is a lot to watch out for and makes food spend to be on the high side. But I saw that you have been making your own tortillas and stuff so you are doing well. I suppose for most of us we need to go through some life changing incident to be able to learn how to be effectively frugal like job change or divorce or anything that changes income prospects. I also manage to be a bit more accountable to myself when I have a very important goal then I can be a bit better at my spending but it’s more like postponing as after that it’s like backlash spend. Yes children don’t help as even when I want to be good the children are there to ask for this and that and some of it seems like a genuine need but some times they simply lose the school shoe after wearing it for “one day” and there is no option but to buy as they will not be allowed in school! Then there is Mr X if he is not working he does not give child support and when all that is said and done I just give up! Of late he has been out of work but has now started after a few months and hope child support will restart soon. 

To be honest £370k will be a nice balance to be at as my original target was £367k I think as target at next remortgage, this was before I got so fed up with my kitchen caught the renovation bug and it has now been spend spend! 

Oh by the way I did not say I got burgled, safe with money( British pounds And American dollars ), passports(mine all the childrens’) jewellery, all my diy power tools, children PlayStations and many other things, this was end of June by the way. I did not talk about it at the time as I was so traumatised as my bedroom was trashed all my cloths thrown out of my wardrobes etc. They broke in through the front door between 10am and 3pm in broad daylight. I lost thousands and due to that had to pay money to have security cameras and system fitted, paid £600 and also now paying £49.99 per months for 24/7 security response. 

I have had to buy new power tools from scratch for all the work I have been doing in the garage and kitchen. It has been a painful experience and a burglary makes you feel quite defiled like someone saw me naked invasion of
privacy as it were as the damaged through my pants and threw them all over the flow. Phew it’s out now hope it will help with the healing process but London is really rife now with crime. I can only sleep as I have now increased security. 

badmemory

OMG Sistergold that is awful.  To think you need to pay that extra for security, but I think - no I'm sure I would do the same.  I remember years ago (about 50) the trauma a friend felt after she had been broken into.  So sorry it has happened to you & your family.

LadyWithAPlan

@Sistergold so sorry to hear about the burglary. That is awful and scary as well plus having someone in your home.
Hope you didnt lose any very personal important jewellry.
How did they get in your safe? I guess power tools...
And your power tools went - they feel to me like a symbol of your independence!

 I guess they were looking for more jewellry or cash in the clothes as many people keep in the underwear drawers.
I hope the security makes you feel more secure now and you can sleep OK. 

I am currently away in the countryside  at family's but as there are lots of dogs here including a very large Malumute sleeping 4 feet away and some very yappy dogs who bark at all noise I do feel safe even with my open window, to let the cats in.
Burglars would have to be insane to come in here with so many dogs - one bit me the other day and he likes me so

I dont have a safe  but it seems a good idea to hide one but I guess they found yours ;( . (unless you are Tr*mp and the FBI break in )

I now live in a high rise with 24 hr security but whenever I have lived on a ground floor or lower ground floor in London I was burgled unless it had permanent window bars. One time in broad daylight someone smashed their way through the front picture window which had no bars  - they were high-  in Notting Hill and the police came in after him and he threatened them with a kitchen knife. Luckily we were not in..

It makes me think of that flat I put 2 offers on in East London  - ground floor flat and there was a sign on the wall of the garden (shared) saying non climb paint so it was probably more dodgy that I realised.

I cant imagine having so many kids and your ex OH stopped paying maintenance - I know it happens a lot but must be beyond frustrating. Hope he can catch up! Its not like the kids can stop eating!

Look forward to your £370k goal for next year - I am sure you will hit it. Can you limit your spends via a pot eg kids pot?

My deposit about to go up again, yet to do a shuffle

Sistergold

Thank you for your warm thoughts @badmemory and @LadyWithAPlan. 

Without the security I was failing to sleep. As they came in at broad daylight between me going to work and children came back it felt so unsafe. The last two children come by themselves and not necessarily at the same time. I wondered what would have happened if one or both walked in and the burglars were here? I wondered if they would have killed a child or raped my daughter? What if they now gone during the night and we are all here or I am on my own when the children are away with their dad? The police were useless they came after 3 days of me reporting and only came after I wrote a very unhappy kind of letter to the councillor. It was obvious police can not even help and at present there are more criminals and lawlessness than police can handle. 

@LadyWithAPlan I did consider getting bars all round ground floor but after calming down I decided to start with the security system. It’s an extra monthly expense now 🙇🏽‍♀️.  Now that you brought up the subject of burglar bars maybe since I will be getting into welding maybe one day I will consider installing some? 🙅🏽‍♀️ Crime is on the increase but will see. 

They actually took away the whole safe I suppose to open it at their convenience. They took everything that was in the safe money, passports etc. lost thousands through the whole ordeal. Of-cause went round the house and took anything else they fancied. @LadyWithAPlan would you buy a ground floor flat then or is that a no no? It’s nice on ground floor as maybe there is easy access to garden etc BUT with so much crime it’s seems too risky and not worth it to be the one on the ground floor? 

IndiJonesi

I'm awfully sorry to hear of your ordeal @Sistergold but glad to hear you now have a security system in place.  That was a terrible thing to happen and in broad daylight too.  Sending you and your family big hugs x