SLLM (Single Lady Large Mortgage)

curlywurly82

Thank you Sistergold. 

I always overpaid on the flat, except for a short time when I was put of work. Even small amounts early on make such a difference.

Growing up I was always a saver and this has bode well when it came to mortgages.

I kmow what you mean about paying more whilst you can in case of things cropping up later.

It's the first time I have a garden of my own, my Dad came over yesterday to mow the lawn and do some weeding for me. I'm looking forward to being able to sit out in it. 

LadyWithAPlan

Sistergold said:

LadyWithAPlan said:

May I ask your definition of suburbia as in where you moved out to? As need to reeducate myself as buying in soho is no longer possible! 

My definition of suburbia is “leafy green residential areas, where going into central London is a bit of a commute, but it’s not a difficult commute(far but not too far). It takes me about 40 minutes to get to central London and am in Zone 5. So for instance I would say suburbia could include zone 3 and outwards, in Greater London parts.  

The good thing is you get a better deal for your money, but you have a longer travel for whatever you need in central London! For £640k by moving out I fulfilled my wish list and more. The 19 boroughs of Outer London are Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, and Waltham Forest.
The further out you go the more you will be able to buy. I have a friend who just completed on a 1 bedroomed house, with lounge/kitchen/dinner parking and front garden. It’s a freehold and was built as back to back 1bed properties. The purchase price was £230k and thus was in Greater London. Really nice place also has loft, but not converted. 
xx

thanks for all the detail ... I definitely need to change my mindset on what living in London means. and I am sadly no longer in need of being able to easily stagger home at 5am after clubbing most nights. (Tx to Uber ))) .  That pesky work/ growing up rubbish 

What area was your friend in if you dont mind me asking?? Freehold is the dream..
I always figured Richmond was expensive but I do want to live near the Thames so I am starting to look on rightmove  now...

Sistergold

LadyWithAPlan said:

Sistergold said:

LadyWithAPlan said:

May I ask your definition of suburbia as in where you moved out to? As need to reeducate myself as buying in soho is no longer possible! 

My definition of suburbia is “leafy green residential areas, where going into central London is a bit of a commute, but it’s not a difficult commute(far but not too far). It takes me about 40 minutes to get to central London and am in Zone 5. So for instance I would say suburbia could include zone 3 and outwards, in Greater London parts.  

The good thing is you get a better deal for your money, but you have a longer travel for whatever you need in central London! For £640k by moving out I fulfilled my wish list and more. The 19 boroughs of Outer London are Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, and Waltham Forest.
The further out you go the more you will be able to buy. I have a friend who just completed on a 1 bedroomed house, with lounge/kitchen/dinner parking and front garden. It’s a freehold and was built as back to back 1bed properties. The purchase price was £230k and thus was in Greater London. Really nice place also has loft, but not converted. 
xx

thanks for all the detail ... I definitely need to change my mindset on what living in London means. and I am sadly no longer in need of being able to easily stagger home at 5am after clubbing most nights. (Tx to Uber ))) .  That pesky work/ growing up rubbish 

What area was your friend in if you dont mind me asking?? Freehold is the dream..
I always figured Richmond was expensive but I do want to live near the Thames so I am starting to look on rightmove  now...

The one bed was in Redbridge . It is not that there are no expensive areas in suburbia but even a million pounds will give you more most of the time in Greater London than in central London, you will still need to keep checking around to see where it’s affordable for your price bracket. So Redbridge, Barking, Enfield, Greenwich, Bexley, Croydon, Waltham Forest and Bromley are possibilities? My philosophy is buy anywhere you can afford if you can somehow make it work. With covid I think most people want a bit more space and at around £350k you can get freehold, garden and parking in Greater London, not all of Greater London of course. 

You might research and see if you can rent in the possible area that way you “test/taste” before buying? 

Xx

Sistergold

@LadyWithAPlan, just decide what’s really important, if it has to be central London then we’ll that’s it. But like you said UBER does take you home after a night out but if you really go out a lot then you don’t want to live far from where you go for entertainment. But as you get older going out is planned and under control and maybe Greater London can become an option. I do get Uber when I need to I don’t stress about the expenditure. As it’s out here I also have a car as I have parking so apart from central London I drive everywhere else so being in zone 5 is not a problem most of the time. 

LadyWithAPlan

Oh my goodness @Sistergold , I never knew I would find my estate agent on MSE!  Thanks so much - very valuable info.. Who knew you could buy an actual house  in Greater London for 300k. wow..


 I am probably aiming for £400k to £450k - which is why I am aiming at a 100k deposit . maybe though I am being excessive. But thinking this may be my forever home so.. I will start learning about the above mentioned areas.

Where I live is amazing and I have a great deal, it is part of the reason I have dragged my feet on this but finally doing my MFW diary this week has crystallised the need for me to start taking the next step .. though such a monster of mortgage payment is a bit  scary..

Sistergold

@LadyWithAPlan with a budget of £450k for a single lady you could really get YOUR OWN/REAL/WHOLE HOUSE in Greater London. I just feel flats have a bit of “politics”sometimes with management agents, leasehold, flat above or below making noise or being inconsiderate etc. Lockdown just made it such that a house even small gives you a good measure of control, I know you can get bad neighbours with any type of property but hey if you do want a garden then a house will do just that. Also the aspect of freehold solves many problems even in the buying process. 

Even if you wanted a flat you will get a nice spacious flat for £450k if you move out of central a bit. Xx

Sistergold

LadyWithAPlan said:

Oh my goodness @Sistergold , I never knew I would find my estate agent on MSE!  Thanks so much - very valuable info.. Who knew you could buy an actual house  in Greater London for 300k. wow..


 I am probably aiming for £400k to £450k - which is why I am aiming at a 100k deposit . maybe though I am being excessive. But thinking this may be my forever home so.. I will start learning about the above mentioned areas.

Where I live is amazing and I have a great deal, it is part of the reason I have dragged my feet on this but finally doing my MFW diary this week has crystallised the need for me to start taking the next step .. though such a monster of mortgage payment is a bit  scary..

I felt the places below deserved a special mention as I have friends who have bought in this area and road. It’s not a bad Neighborhood at all, trees all round, conservation area etc. Also £100k below your budget, share of freehold and 900yr lease apparently.  

Wellington Road, Enfield

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110095100

Queen Annes Gardens, London, EN1

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/106415138

and for over £400k you get 

Village Road, Enfield

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/108924440

Sistergold

DIY rescue 
Good morning ladies. Hope you are all having a fun week so far.m?
 I have been doing great, nice restful week so far with children at their fathers (picked last Sunday) until Saturday, a week on my on!👯‍♀️

Was off yesterday, went to my friend’s house as we were going to spend time together. Went to shop for some curtains for her new place. Builders typically left her with no curtain rails! If you remember lack of curtain rails and several let downs later is what made me take DIY classes! 

So when I noticed that my friend has been in distress for four months now after some renovations I decided to help out. So yesterday I brought all my power tools. I found installing the fixings tricky as it’s hollow walls and some areas just crumbled and could not hold. My own walls are all brick so fitting into plasterboard was a new experience! I guess the crumbling is because the plasterboard is on the old side so? Anyway I managed to do all windows and so all curtains are up! Only one window, one side of the pole, the plasterboard was so crumbly one side is not quite solidly holding and so I will need to somehow mend many places of failed attempts, find a solution to make a good fixing and I can say I will now be a master in plasterboard fixings! 

For doing the rails I bought self drill metal fixings(just incase someone needs this information in future) 

I will buy some filler and a repair and fixing screw set and see if I can finalise them DIY. 

My friend was grateful as all is nearly there! Was sleeping at her place anyway so end of day we had a nice dinner with a nice glass of wine! 

Today it’s back to work but it was relaxing day doing something different. 

Botched area, this will need mending and re-ding but rail usable for now although this one side is slightly shaky! 👇🏾

Overall it was a job well done. Used my spirt level to make sure if level fittings! 

Once all holes are filled pencil marks will be painted over. 💋

gozaimasu

@Sistergold I still have so many erroneous holes in my wall and ceilings from trying to hang mirrors/light fittings despite measuring twice! I recommend Fischer wall plugs - expensive but really good quality and they do a variety of plugs for plasterboard. I got the UX6 High Performance Universal plugs and they bunch up behind the plasterboard for a more secure fit but they are also versatile and can be used in other materials like brick etc unlike some of the very specific plasterboard plugs.

LadyWithAPlan

I am very impressed with your acquired DIY skills @Sistergold and being able to help friends out. Something for me to aim at!

Can I ask if the singles with large mortgage got scared before they took it on?

I had a real understanding of my fears of being  single with a monster mortgage yesterday. It was confirmed  I could get a contract mortgage - my current freelance job said they happy to give me the new contract but I am scared a little of the size of the mortgage and also the loss of my freedom. I currently get to do what I want, travel, throw all my toys out the pram if I wanted and travel. I would not go up to the max of my mortgage capability as the thought of such a huge mortgage is AHH! 
But a 300k to 380k mortgage is still a monster but I cant see how I can get a 2 bed with what I want otherwise. That 400 to 450k mark is my sweet spot.

 I am focusing on my deposit savings - approx 69k now but I could go in and buy something before Xmas otherwise rather than waiting til 2022..

Once I sign that dotted line of a monster debt it really will be me vs the mortgage.  I have built a huge spreadsheet looking at my current freelance income (only working 3 days a week for one firm at the mo whilst they restructure) plus a bit elsewhere but I could still actually manage the payments on a 21 to 23 year basis (!!) and it is manageable which is fabulous news. However I do feel I need to get 2 days elsewhere or a new 5 day a week job.. I will be giving up flexibility for owning my own house - but I think at my age (50+) its time

How did everyone else deal with their fears of taking on such a large debt solo?