SLLM (Single Lady Large Mortgage)

Sistergold

Hello laddies 
Managed to add £1100 on Monday and have managed to add another £2400 today to the building fund bring total to £33505.05. 

How is your new year ladies? 

HelloB

Happy New Year! Phew I've just caught up on the thread.  Well done @Sistergold and all the other ladies who are smashing it!

MaddyHale

Happy New Year Everyone! Well done keeping up with building saving funds and overpayment @Sistergold.
My offer on a house has recently been accepted. I got all I wanted but I had to up my budget to well over 400k to get it.
Was initial really scary for me. I have grown up yet again
My must haves were:

1. 3 bedrooms, sizeable master bedroom + office space for me
2. Walking distance to mainline station for me
3. Walking distance to each of kids' schools
4. Enough storage space
5. Garage
6. Dining room
7. Driveway
8. Hallway large enough to swing a small cat in
9. Good sized garden 
10. Detached

MaddyHale

Do you recommend living in a house before renovating at all? Or just doing some jobs before moving in?
I ask because the house I offered on needs work doing to it.
But as a single parent household I am not looking forward to having to move in them move out for renovations or work around builders. I don't want to be moving any of my stuff once I move in ideally.
What do you reckon?

slm6002

Congratulations MaddyHale on your offer being accepted and getting what you wanted.  I am now 44 and still don't feel grown up a lot of the time.  If it were me it would depend on how big a renovation needed doing.  If its structural then maybe stay out until its done.  If its room by room, then maybe you can live there and just close one room off.
Its looking like I now wont be moving so I will need to do some jobs to create extra space, but unfortunately we will have to be here while the work is going on - should be fun!

berries

Happy new year everyone a bit late I know. Would like to join in with this as I am single and with a mortgage of £53,545.97. I am on a 10 year fix with 2.39%. Haven't been able to do any overpayments yet due to paying off my debt from losing my horse and my dog two days apart.  

I will be starting to overpay very soon. My mortgage payment is small. I still need to save for a EF and savings . I do have a pension plan.

My house needs new windows and carpets though out the house. I am waiting to get quote back for both of these.  

When I had my horse I budget him £400 a month so now next few months I'm hoping to knock cc down and start to save more.
I cook and attempt to do diy myself. Love my garden that's what made me fall in love with my house!! It had everything I wish for!! 

Q regarding overpayments does it matter if its only a small amount say £100 ?? 
Thanks

caeler

Great news on the fund @Sistergold Happy New Year to you too! 
I’ve always wanted a freezer in the garage but never got around to it as I’d need to create space and extend electrics to the back wall. Maybe one day! 

HelloB

@Sistergold I just realised you're over a third of the way in saving for your building fund!  Keep it up!!! At this rate, you'll have it all sorted by YE 2022!  

@MaddyHale CONGRATULATIONS!!!  This is so exciting.  Echo what SLM said about doing it room by room, if it's not structural work I'd redecorate while in the property. Beats paying rent and mortgage at the same time. Although I can see the appeal of not having to move things once you've moved in. 

@slm6002 Good luck with the expansion of space. 

@berries Any overpayment made is worth it. Every little helps and just think about the compounding interest you'll be saving!  But clear other debts with higher interest rate first. 

Sistergold

HelloB said:

Happy New Year! Phew I've just caught up on the thread.  Well done @Sistergold and all the other ladies who are smashing it!

Hello @HelloB
Happy new year to you too! How have you been. Did worry and wonder if you were coping fine! 

Thank you for the word is encouragement! 💋

Sistergold

@MaddyHale - congratulations 🎊 on acceptance of your offer! I am sooooo excited for you! Well I know I am also one of the “crazy girls” as I also stretched myself to fulfil a must have list which needed a big mortgage to fulfil. When buying a house on your own it’s easy to know exactly what you want and I guess the next thing is to pay the price to get it. 

It is highly recommended to live in the house first before doing any work but I did renovate before I moved in as I did not want to deal with the mess. The house was in a really bad cosmetic state with a few structural elements. My work is very demanding, single parent and I was just not prepared to renovate gradually. I must say this was not efficient way to use my money as if I had lived in the house first I would have done a better renovation for less. Having said that living in the house was better with it done up and so the money I “wasted” by renovating first was worth it for me. 

If I were to do it again a better compromise for me would have been to have all the bedrooms done and then do the other parts of the house gradually after getting to know the house. That way I would have nice rooms to sleep in while I decide how to do the rest. I did the whole house except the kitchen, but a room by room depending on importance approach would be best. 

Xx