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Our Mortgage Free Journey
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Ami-Rose
Posts: 112 Forumite
Hi everyone!
We're in the middle of purchasing our first house and we've known we wanted to overpay since before we'd even found one, so I thought a diary here might help keep us motivated.
A little about us... There's my husband and I, both 29, plus our daughter who is 13 months old. We live on the outskirts of Belfast currently, but will be moving a bit further out. OH is the breadwinner while I'm a SAHM, but I also do freelance hours as a proofreader. Things are looking up on that front and I may be getting a contract early next year which will add some extra stability and save me having to do tax returns. 😂
The house/mortgage... We're moving to a 3 bed house with a little garden and that might just be the bit I'm most excited about! Lockdown with a baby and no garden has been so hard and we're so happy to be getting an outdoor space. We've gone for a 5 year fix @ 2.84% which makes our monthly payment £435. The loan is £102,952 in total (85% LTV) on a 29 year term and we can overpay 10% of the balance each year. Last week our solicitor said moving before Christmas was ambitious, but we heard from the sellers' estate agent yesterday that everyone has their mortgage offers in place so I need to call for an update again. We've never done this before so learning as we go right now!
For now we won't be anywhere near 10% overpayments per year, but we're happy to just chip away with whatever we can pull together. We're in a furnished rental at the moment so will need all new (to us) furniture when we move, that'll be our first focus. The nursery won't need furniture as we already own all of her stuff. Except maybe a little stool for her to help with getting dressed independently! 😊 Her room also has a built in wardrobe which we'll be using until we get our own, then it'll become storage. The spare room/office will just need a desk chair as we have the desk and the room itself has a built in single bed so guests will have somewhere to sleep before we do! 😂
We've already bought a toaster, kettle and microwave on Facebook marketplace, plus the kitchen comes with a fridge/freezer and dishwasher. We have 2 bookshelves, a TV and a coffee table too. Everything else in all other rooms still need to be purchased. We have a spreadsheet listing everything we need for each room but I'm sure we'll need more when we actually get there.
First priorities are a sofa and washing machine (just remembered we have a king size mattress topper so that's our makeshift bed!) so those are our current savings goals.
Now might be the time to mention we decimated our savings/emergency fund to snag a mortgage. I know, I KNOW. We had an offer accepted when 5%s were still a thing and then they started dropping like flies. It was comedic timing if you weren't us - we'd get everything ready to apply for one and the day our broker would go to apply it would get pulled off the market. We stretched to 10% just in time for the same thing to happen again. In the end my very lovely, generous grandparents made up the difference to 15% and that's where we are now. The long term plan is to also pay them back, although they don't expect it. Just for my own pride I guess.
Sooo long story short, we're moving in 1-2 months with about £3-400 to spend on furniture and no emergency fund. 🤦🏼♀️ Working like crazy to change that and OH gets a small annual bonus in December that will definitely help. Providing we get our deposit back on here too we should have ~£1500-2000 by the end of December which isn't terrible.
Anyway, I've rambled for far too long as it is and Little will be waking up from her nap soon. If you have any questions or tips I'd be happy to hear them! Please be gentle about our lack of savings, it's giving me enough anxiety as it is, but it's the place we're in right now.
Happy Wednesday!
Ami
We're in the middle of purchasing our first house and we've known we wanted to overpay since before we'd even found one, so I thought a diary here might help keep us motivated.
A little about us... There's my husband and I, both 29, plus our daughter who is 13 months old. We live on the outskirts of Belfast currently, but will be moving a bit further out. OH is the breadwinner while I'm a SAHM, but I also do freelance hours as a proofreader. Things are looking up on that front and I may be getting a contract early next year which will add some extra stability and save me having to do tax returns. 😂
The house/mortgage... We're moving to a 3 bed house with a little garden and that might just be the bit I'm most excited about! Lockdown with a baby and no garden has been so hard and we're so happy to be getting an outdoor space. We've gone for a 5 year fix @ 2.84% which makes our monthly payment £435. The loan is £102,952 in total (85% LTV) on a 29 year term and we can overpay 10% of the balance each year. Last week our solicitor said moving before Christmas was ambitious, but we heard from the sellers' estate agent yesterday that everyone has their mortgage offers in place so I need to call for an update again. We've never done this before so learning as we go right now!
For now we won't be anywhere near 10% overpayments per year, but we're happy to just chip away with whatever we can pull together. We're in a furnished rental at the moment so will need all new (to us) furniture when we move, that'll be our first focus. The nursery won't need furniture as we already own all of her stuff. Except maybe a little stool for her to help with getting dressed independently! 😊 Her room also has a built in wardrobe which we'll be using until we get our own, then it'll become storage. The spare room/office will just need a desk chair as we have the desk and the room itself has a built in single bed so guests will have somewhere to sleep before we do! 😂
We've already bought a toaster, kettle and microwave on Facebook marketplace, plus the kitchen comes with a fridge/freezer and dishwasher. We have 2 bookshelves, a TV and a coffee table too. Everything else in all other rooms still need to be purchased. We have a spreadsheet listing everything we need for each room but I'm sure we'll need more when we actually get there.
First priorities are a sofa and washing machine (just remembered we have a king size mattress topper so that's our makeshift bed!) so those are our current savings goals.
Now might be the time to mention we decimated our savings/emergency fund to snag a mortgage. I know, I KNOW. We had an offer accepted when 5%s were still a thing and then they started dropping like flies. It was comedic timing if you weren't us - we'd get everything ready to apply for one and the day our broker would go to apply it would get pulled off the market. We stretched to 10% just in time for the same thing to happen again. In the end my very lovely, generous grandparents made up the difference to 15% and that's where we are now. The long term plan is to also pay them back, although they don't expect it. Just for my own pride I guess.
Sooo long story short, we're moving in 1-2 months with about £3-400 to spend on furniture and no emergency fund. 🤦🏼♀️ Working like crazy to change that and OH gets a small annual bonus in December that will definitely help. Providing we get our deposit back on here too we should have ~£1500-2000 by the end of December which isn't terrible.
Anyway, I've rambled for far too long as it is and Little will be waking up from her nap soon. If you have any questions or tips I'd be happy to hear them! Please be gentle about our lack of savings, it's giving me enough anxiety as it is, but it's the place we're in right now.
Happy Wednesday!
Ami
MFW: Starting balance, Jan 21: £102,950
MFW21 Challenge #25
MFW21 Challenge #25
6
Comments
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I hope the move goes to plan and you settle in quickly. Good luck with your overpayments. I'm sure you've already found the MSE overpayment calculator, check it out here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-overpayment-calculator/ the smallest overpayments can still make a massive different so don't worry if you don't manage the full 10% straight away! It's a marathon not a sprint!1
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Thanks! I was actually looking at it after my post and even £50 overpaying each month takes 4 years and 4 months off the term so that's great motivation!caeler said:I hope the move goes to plan and you settle in quickly. Good luck with your overpayments. I'm sure you've already found the MSE overpayment calculator, check it out here: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-overpayment-calculator/ the smallest overpayments can still make a massive different so don't worry if you don't manage the full 10% straight away! It's a marathon not a sprint!MFW: Starting balance, Jan 21: £102,950
MFW21 Challenge #253 -
Welcome and congratulations on your new home and your mortgage free journey.Mortgage start date Dec 2015 - $64,655.00
Mortgage end date Dec 2045 - NOT!!!!
Mortgage balance - $4600.00
Business Savings $43,310/100k
Hope to be mortgage-free by end of 20231 -
Thanks! Excited and a bit impatient to get started now!LeighofMar said:Welcome and congratulations on your new home and your mortgage free journey.MFW: Starting balance, Jan 21: £102,950
MFW21 Challenge #252 -
Hi Ami-Rose, good luck with your mortgage free journey. Fingers crossed you're in your new home soon. Even if you start small with your overpayments it will soon add up Mortgage-free wannabe 2025 £571/30002
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Thanks Becky! Little has just gone down for her nap so I'm going to try and start on a SOA. It'll be a bit of guesswork until we're actually in the house, but need a starting point.becky170 said:Hi Ami-Rose, good luck with your mortgage free journey. Fingers crossed you're in your new home soon. Even if you start small with your overpayments it will soon add upMFW: Starting balance, Jan 21: £102,950
MFW21 Challenge #251 -
Does anyone have a link to the template SOA on here? Would help if I could find it. 😂MFW: Starting balance, Jan 21: £102,950
MFW21 Challenge #251 -
- Original mortgage end date: March 2041
- Current mortgage end date: Dec 2032
- MFW 2025 #15 £378.00/ £2,400 /// MFW 2024 #15 £1,608.85/ £2500 /// MFW 2023 #15 £8,617.84/ £10,000 /// 2022 #15 £7,315.24/ £7250 /// MFW 2021 #15 £8,530.07/ £8500
- Daily interest is currently £4.48
1 -
Thanks! Just filled it out but can't copy and paste the results. My phone did an update and now all of the shortcut keys aren't working so I can't even screenshot it either. 🤬Moneyminded said:
MFW: Starting balance, Jan 21: £102,950
MFW21 Challenge #251 -
Hi. Well done you on deciding to overpay your mortgage before you have even bought your house. You must be super efficient and organised.Hope the move goes smoothly. It would be nice if you could be in your new home for Christmas.1
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