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SLLM (Single Lady Large Mortgage)

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  • Sistergold
    Sistergold Posts: 2,135 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 4 May 2020 at 7:25PM
    beanielou said:
    beanielou said:
    I am single & very late 50's.
    Finally in the last year of my mortgage which seemed huge in relation to my income.
    Have just taken out a home improvement loan though!
    Hey beanielou,
    Go you! What home improvements are you planning? I really hope to be able to do some things to my house once I actually own it. :)
    I am having the conservatory taken back to the brick work & starting again. 
    Looking forward to it happening. 
    Existing one is very old & has been patched up over the years. 
    Hey there
    Conservatory, that’s really exciting! I love conservatories but you are right it always needs to be in good condition to give the right enjoyment! Good luck with the renovations again and please do send us updates once done. Xx
    Initial mortgage bal £487.5k, current £258k, target £243,750(halfway!)
    Mortgage start date first week of July 2019,
    Mortgage term 23yrs(end of June 2042🙇🏽♀️), 
    Target is to pay it off in 10years(by 2030🥳). 
    MFW#10 (2022/23 mfw#34)(2021 mfw#47)(2020 mfw#136)
    £12K in 2021 #54 (in 2020 #148)
    MFiT-T6#27
    To save £100K in 48months start 01/07/2020 Achieved 30/05/2023 👯♀️
    Am a single mom of 4. 
    Do not wait to buy a property, Buy a property and wait. 🤓
  • skye_blue
    skye_blue Posts: 304 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Hi
    Agree with you about being a mortgage payer on our own
    I have an interest only mortgage that i had to change to when i was ill for a year and ive never been able to revert to a repayment mortgage due to the big jump in payments.
    My retirement date is coming at me fast (4.5 years) but i don't think i will make it and it really gets to me some days as well.  Its not a huge mortgage but i would have to pay more than my total monthly wage every month just to clear it.  So i keep trying but feel bit despondent when i read about the over payments some people can make.  
    It is what it is and who knows what the future brings but i do have periods of time where i worry and others when i think what the heck 
    Wishing you well on your journey too

  • regularsaver
    regularsaver Posts: 156 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    MFW - #133 - 2020 Challenge - £1230.67 / £1159
    MFW - #133 - 2021 Challenge - £1328 / £1270
    MFW #56 - 2022 Challenge - £325.35 / £1296
    Mortgage began Jan 2019 - £115,900
    Mortgage Currently            - £105,160
  • Sandyra
    Sandyra Posts: 293 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper Cashback Cashier
    Hi Sistergold

    How funny, I read some of your recent posts and wondered if you were gonna start a diary. This has come at a great time as I having just finished reading Tilly's "Countdown to Freedom" tonight (1031 pages on an iPhone) since lockdown started, which has some great ideas to reduce ones mortgage.  

    Although I'm not single, I have a large London mortgage but not as large as yours £241,000 approx. However its my mortgage, I'm a teacher who bought a SO flat at 30%, then staircased to 75% then onto 100%. I too had had to focus on increasing my salary to become a 100% homeowner.  Just like you I had wanted something to call my own. This meant leaving my school of 8 years and working in Central London for the additional Inner London Weighting.

    Somethings that made me laugh, was the saying "cut your coat according to your size", one of my mum's many idioms and for me an inspiration, who now is retired and MF before her retirement whilst on her own bringing up 5 children, 2 of them at home. You taking up courses so that you could maintain home is great. As Technology teacher and head of Department, I know what is like to have people underestimate you because of your sex.

    Great read, I've bookmarked you, so I keep up to date with your progress :)

    MFW 2025 #32 £4,926.23/£3,000; MFW 2024 #32 £4,217.84/£3,000; MFW 2023 #32 £5,238.84/£4,000; MFW 2022 #32 £8,246.43/£8,000; MFW 2021 #32 £8,982.73/£8,000; MFW 2020 #32 £12,000/£6,000

    Save £12k in 2025 #48 £11,200/£14,000; Save £12k in 2024 #26 £13,055.37/£6,000; Save £12k in 2023 #31 £11,500/£6,000; Save £12k in 2022 #32 £7,180.24/£7,000; Save £12k in 2021 #32 £9,500/£8,000; Save £12k in 2020 #147 £9,370/£8,000

  • Sistergold
    Sistergold Posts: 2,135 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    skye_blue said:
    Hi
    Agree with you about being a mortgage payer on our own
    I have an interest only mortgage that i had to change to when i was ill for a year and ive never been able to revert to a repayment mortgage due to the big jump in payments.
    My retirement date is coming at me fast (4.5 years) but i don't think i will make it and it really gets to me some days as well.  Its not a huge mortgage but i would have to pay more than my total monthly wage every month just to clear it.  So i keep trying but feel bit despondent when i read about the over payments some people can make.  
    It is what it is and who knows what the future brings but i do have periods of time where i worry and others when i think what the heck 
    Wishing you well on your journey too

    Hello there Skye_blue
    I understand exactly how you feel! I have gone through periods where I have woken up suddenly with my heart pounding just feeling like something terrible is going to happen. During these periods I will only manage a few hours of sleep because once I wake up say at 1am I can not go back to sleep! This panic is always mainly to do with fear of not being able to pay my mortgage. I have also then realised that look the only thing to do is stay positive and hope my worst fears never come true. Half the time our fears never happen and if they do not in exactly the same way so best deal with it at the time rather than suffering twice. 
    Skye_blue if you don't mind me asking, are you allowed to make overpayments at all on this interest only mortgage? How big is your house, do you live alone and if you don’t mind in which town do you live? Any chance of taking in a lodger?
    Initial mortgage bal £487.5k, current £258k, target £243,750(halfway!)
    Mortgage start date first week of July 2019,
    Mortgage term 23yrs(end of June 2042🙇🏽♀️), 
    Target is to pay it off in 10years(by 2030🥳). 
    MFW#10 (2022/23 mfw#34)(2021 mfw#47)(2020 mfw#136)
    £12K in 2021 #54 (in 2020 #148)
    MFiT-T6#27
    To save £100K in 48months start 01/07/2020 Achieved 30/05/2023 👯♀️
    Am a single mom of 4. 
    Do not wait to buy a property, Buy a property and wait. 🤓
  • Sistergold
    Sistergold Posts: 2,135 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Sandyra said:
    Hi Sistergold

    How funny, I read some of your recent posts and wondered if you were gonna start a diary. This has come at a great time as I having just finished reading Tilly's "Countdown to Freedom" tonight (1031 pages on an iPhone) since lockdown started, which has some great ideas to reduce ones mortgage.  

    Although I'm not single, I have a large London mortgage but not as large as yours £241,000 approx. However its my mortgage, I'm a teacher who bought a SO flat at 30%, then staircased to 75% then onto 100%. I too had had to focus on increasing my salary to become a 100% homeowner.  Just like you I had wanted something to call my own. This meant leaving my school of 8 years and working in Central London for the additional Inner London Weighting.

    Somethings that made me laugh, was the saying "cut your coat according to your size", one of my mum's many idioms and for me an inspiration, who now is retired and MF before her retirement whilst on her own bringing up 5 children, 2 of them at home. You taking up courses so that you could maintain home is great. As Technology teacher and head of Department, I know what is like to have people underestimate you because of your sex.

    Great read, I've bookmarked you, so I keep up to date with your progress :)
    Hi Sandyra 
    Thank you for sharing your story. Your mom sounds like the kind of woman I want to be many years from now, that is have a paid up mortgage and all children grown up! For now I am a long way from that and I just want to keep my head above the water. Thank you for sharing your story as its nice not to feel alone where you do all you can just to get that house to call your own. I also know how it feels to deal with how man make you work twice as hard just for you to even attain your goals. Well done for staying strong and please keep sharing so that we can motivate each other while we now bring down the mortgage! Xx
    Initial mortgage bal £487.5k, current £258k, target £243,750(halfway!)
    Mortgage start date first week of July 2019,
    Mortgage term 23yrs(end of June 2042🙇🏽♀️), 
    Target is to pay it off in 10years(by 2030🥳). 
    MFW#10 (2022/23 mfw#34)(2021 mfw#47)(2020 mfw#136)
    £12K in 2021 #54 (in 2020 #148)
    MFiT-T6#27
    To save £100K in 48months start 01/07/2020 Achieved 30/05/2023 👯♀️
    Am a single mom of 4. 
    Do not wait to buy a property, Buy a property and wait. 🤓
  • Sistergold
    Sistergold Posts: 2,135 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hey regularsaver
    Thank you for dropping by. Yes we motivate each other! It felt like a big lonely world of house ownership before now. 🥰
    Initial mortgage bal £487.5k, current £258k, target £243,750(halfway!)
    Mortgage start date first week of July 2019,
    Mortgage term 23yrs(end of June 2042🙇🏽♀️), 
    Target is to pay it off in 10years(by 2030🥳). 
    MFW#10 (2022/23 mfw#34)(2021 mfw#47)(2020 mfw#136)
    £12K in 2021 #54 (in 2020 #148)
    MFiT-T6#27
    To save £100K in 48months start 01/07/2020 Achieved 30/05/2023 👯♀️
    Am a single mom of 4. 
    Do not wait to buy a property, Buy a property and wait. 🤓
  • KeepOnKnitting
    KeepOnKnitting Posts: 860 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 500 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
     I have woken up suddenly with my heart pounding just feeling like something terrible is going to happen. During these periods I will only manage a few hours of sleep because once I wake up say at 1am I can not go back to sleep! This panic is always mainly to do with fear of not being able to pay my mortgage. 
    I had a tip from someone about this situation that has worked wonders for me: audiobooks. I have situations like this, especially related to my stressful work, and the best thing for me has been to put an audiobook of for a 30 minute timer and then really listen to it laid in the dark. It distracts me from the stress and I go right back to sleep. I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me.
    Save £12k in 2025 #33 £2531.77/£5000 (If this carries on I might have to up my target!)
    April take lunch to work goal - 3 of 12
  • sofarbehind
    sofarbehind Posts: 400 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Oh wow sistergold, thanks so much for writing all this! 

    This is a dream thread for me, I relate to it all so much despite having a much smaller mortgage than you. Sometimes I've wondered if I'm just a bit mad and silly for feeling like that, it's comforting to know these feelings are normal. In real life I don't know anyone else in the same position so it's difficult to know if it is actually normal! I felt absolutely sick with anxiety when I moved into my house alone after a break up (first mortgage), I was terrified I would somehow lose the house and be unable to pay the mortgage.  I was full of regret that I was in a new location and hadn't bought in a more expensive area near friends and social support. I was just too frightened to borrow more than x3.5 my salary at the time. 

    I was late 30s and kicking myself for failing to buy earlier and making bad financial decisions in my youth.  I felt such a failure. I'm childless and that is financially easier but psychologically tough. Reading your thoughts brought back the anxiety and dehumanising effect of my landlords. That is one of the main benefits of renting and I'm so glad I don't have that nonsense in my life anymore. I feel completely relaxed and safe at home - so many landlords happily let themselves in without asking or warning. That will never happen here. 

    I too felt overwhelmed with maintenance and anxiety about repairs. I haven't done much about this - a few simple things myself, hiring people when I have to. It's taken me a long time to just accept that things aren't perfect and that is OK - it's still a million times better functioning and presented than any rental! Somehow because it's my house I felt immediately responsible for sorting everything like yesterday. ;0  I am really impressed and inspired by those courses you have taken - what a brilliant idea! When I can I'm going to steal that idea because it would be good for my confidence.

    In terms of taking out a large mortgage - now a few years in I wish I had been a lot braver and had borrowed the max to buy where I really wanted to be. I love my house and neighbours, I'm happy but if I could go back I would believe in myself a bit more. I am now left thinking about the upheaval of moving and doing it again, something I still can't decide on! I am earning a bit more now and managing large overpayments and saving, I have a solid grasp of my finances. I am torn between trying to pay off my current house asap (could probably just about manage 6 years if I'm very strict and nothing blindsides me) or just get on with moving somewhere more costly. I was just going to move but I'm in the middle of trying to make a significant career change (in the long run with better earning opportunities and more sociable hours) and that would involve a period of uncertainty after a 5 year training period - assuming I take another 1-3 years to get on the training scheme. It's a long path. So having a low or nonexistent mortgage at that point would be good...but then I'm going to be a lot older. Struggling with this but the pandemic might make the choice for me now! I was fascinated by your amazing career and earning capacity - you should be seriously proud of that. It's something I am trying hard to work on, improving my career and increasing my salary. There is only so much scrimping that can be done and high house prices demand a high single salary.     
     
    I look forward to following your journey. There is no doubt in my mind that you will be MF in ten years time. 
    Mortgage overpayments 2018: £4602, 2019: £7870
    Mortgage overpayments 2020: £4620
    Mortgage 2017 £145K, June 2020 £112.6k:o
  • frankersBri
    frankersBri Posts: 248 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 100 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Stumbled across this thread today when I was looking for inspiration and I am so glad I did! I'm a single lady with a pretty large mortgage to pay off! 4 days ago I completed buying one of my best friends out of our property. We bought together 4 years ago to get onto the property ladder and get out of the renting rat race. I wanted control over all of my finances, she wants to go travelling. A great solution was I buy her out!
    COVID-19 is putting paid to her travelling plans for a while, so she'll be my lodger for at least a few months bringing some welcome income. But I am officially in control of all of my finances for the first time in years and I'm excited! I have £181,500 to pay off and want to get started with some overpayments asap. I'm lucky that I have quite a bit of money saved up, and I think I'll be getting some commission from work next month so I may be able to make a good lump payment to knock a few grand off at the start. 
    Long term, I'm hoping to reduce the term of my mortgage quite significantly. Halving it to 11.5 years would be amazing, but I'd be happy if I could knock 6 years off the current 21 year term. I'm only 31, currently have no partner or children so I am well placed to be focused and reduce this debt. But I want to do it whilst maintaining a quality of life that keeps me happy. I love travelling so want to ensure I am still able to do that (once we're allowed again!) and want to ensure I can keep being sociable with friends. So prudent budgeting with YNAB will be my friend and I'm looking forward to holding myself to account with my goals! 
    Hopefully this thread will be a good support network for all of us single ladies trying to achieve MF status!
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