The 'scenic route' to mortgage freedom...

South_coast

Sorry to hear your plans are being scotched, that's pants 🙁 Is there the possibility of an option 4, to sort out the kitchen and garden only? I'm not sure option 2 is a go-er if it's not going to be the dream house after the extension, if it were me I would just end up resenting it. 

Good luck with your musings x

Fortune_Smiles

Hi there PBS 😊  What a dilemma you have.  If it were me I'd probably opt for Option 1 too.  The things I mostly remember from childhood are the time and attention people gave me and experiences.  Not so much the house I lived in.  Although that might just be me.

If you went for Option 1, are there smaller things you could do to improve the house?  Could you put a home office/play room/summer house in the garden to achieve a little more space?  Put a new kitchen in/relocate the kitchen? Knock a wall through?

Option 1 doesn't preclude Option 3 of course.  You could continue to keep your eyes open for a forever home.

Option 2 seems an awful lot of money for a less than ideal solution.

Although Mr F and I did make a big move 4.5 years ago, all the Younger Fortunates had flown the nest by then.  We've managed to overpay the mortgage significantly in that time but have been lucky that things have gone largely to plan.  We've had no holidays and only started decorating the tail end of last year.  I am very much looking forward to having a much lower monthly payment, a little more cash to splurge and reduced hours for Mr F.  However, the move was the right decision for us at the time and I wouldn't go back and change that.  Only you can decide the best option for you.

Just my two pennies worth - feel free to give it a stiff ignoring 😁

Fortune x

savingholmes

Nothing to add other than if Option 2 doesn't excite you - it's not the one...

PiggyBankShaker

Thank for your thoughts on my musings. @Fortune_Smiles We could sort the kitchen and garden under Option 1 and the only obstacle would be that the replacement kitchen would go where the wall would be knocked through for the extension. So if we did get a new kitchen we would be closing the door on the extension forever, and whilst I think I can do that I feel like I need to wait until the architect has failed completely in his assurances that he can find someone who can do it cheaper. At this point I have all but lost faith in him; he's slow, he skirts the truth, and he doesn't listen. But I - the fool that I am - still hold a glimmer of hope that he will magic up someone who will do the job for his original cost projection. Even as I write all that, I see the folly of my own optimism.

DD and DS packed off to school for the first time since Christmas. Glad they only have two days before the weekend. When DD came downstairs this morning it was obvious that she needs new school trousers, so I told her I'd take her to M&S this evening to get two new pairs. She could also do with a coat as the zip has gone on hers, but the coat is only 3 months old and was quite expensive so I'm feeling a bit annoyed about it...

Her braces payment went out today (£120) and I also spent about £30 on the 1921 census. I haven't spent any money on myself for ages so I'm trying not to feel guilty. I also have my rescheduled chiropractor appointment and DD is having a session at the same time too. 

Still counting down until pay day!

PiggyBankShaker

Quick post to say, I'm working my 2nd job today and a bit daunted by the prospect of being out of the house between 8am and 6.30pm for the first time in weeks!

We popped to Wren last night to design a kitchen and get a full estimate and as usual, it came in more than we were expecting - that seems the pattern lately. Will do a full report this evening if I'm not too tired after work.

powerspowers

Ouch I bet the long day is a shock to the system! Could coat be repaired? New zips aren’t too big a job if you take it to be altered. 

I think the cost of all building is sky high at the moment and there’s no guarantees it will stay in budget. I’d go for option 1 + new kitchen and sort garden. It doesn’t close the door to moving as would make the house more attractive to sell. 

It’s nice to have options but can be exhausting!

savingholmes

I would consider returning the coat. It's reasonable to expect a coat to last longer than 3 months!

peb

As powers says,  we've had a zip on an adult coat replaced for £12.

PiggyBankShaker

Thanks @powerspowers and @peb I'll certainly see if there's somewhere in town that does repairs, definitely cheaper than a new coat!

2nd job went well yesterday and today (although I'm really tired now) and now it's only a week until payday! Not a lot to report on the financial front. A few small spends, and DD and DS horse riding lesson, which is not so small. Turns out DD needs new school jumpers as well as school trousers, the growth spurt is making itself evident, so I need to get them asap.

DH and I have been having some good heart to hearts about the house and money situation and we've more or less settled on Option 1+ (as @Fortune_Smiles called it) or Option 4 (as @South_coast called it) Basically we've realised that we've lost faith in the architect to the extent that we don't trust him anymore and that we've taken the idea as far as we are comfortable with. If we pursue it any further (even if we could get the price down to something more in our budget) I think we'll end up resenting it because of all the negativity attached to the process and I don't want to feel that way about the house we live in. The new 'plan' such as it is, is to replace the kitchen, get a garden room and landscape the garden. We're currently trying to price those and once that's done we can decide on a new higher level of mortgage repayment too. 

savingholmes

Sounds like a positive way forward.