Mortage Situation

sterling30

silvercar said:

sterling30 said:

silvercar said:

sterling30 said:

mi-key said:

Hi, I am in a very similar position to you and the same age. I think downsizing may be the best option ( this is what I am considering ), I can get a decent size house around the same size as I have now, but not such a 'select' location for about 2/3rds the price I can sell mine for, so could either reduce mortgage to about 50% what it is now, or have a very nice lump sum to pay off the credit cards, reinvest some into the business, and also have a nice buffer for the next few years depending on what happens. 

I am lucky to have a long term fixed rate at 2% that I can hopefully port over to a new property

If you did this at least it would take the pressure off, and if the business picks up over the next few years you can always look at moving again. The danger is getting off the property ladder, then having a reduced income and not being able to buy again in the future and being stuck renting.

It is hard being self employed though as we get hit twice, once by the cost of living increases, and then again by income dropping because of it ! 

I think it is worth making a decision sooner rather than later though while you still have some savings and wiggle room to be able to choose, rather than being forced at the last minute 

Thanks for sharing your story. I reckon there must be a lot of us. Also I think there will be so many people going to come unstuck soon as their large mortages run out and interest rates are higher. Maybe lots are going to downize / change areas. More possible I suppose for people who WFH. So, what is the UK equivalent of Bordeaux? Certainly it isn't Bolton.

East Sussex, I’m not joking - a family member many years ago sold an inherited flat in prime position in Hove and we have jokingly monitored the price over the years, it hasn’t done as well as we expected. Towns further along the cost have done even worse. If I was downsizing out of London that where I would look.

That sounds contraditory but it's probably me just misunderstanding it. Why would you recommend to look in East Sussex if Hove hasn't done well and towns further along even worse? What do you mean by "hasn't done well"?

As it hasn’t done as well ( price increases compared to other areas in the south east) it would be relatively more affordable. Still decent areas.

OK so you're saying that these areas in East Sussex have increased in value quite a lot over the years, which you deem as 'hasn't done well". On the contrary I've always seen increased prices as "doing well". Not when I was a first time buyer but ever since. Especially of course having moved to Guildford and seeing prices rocket between 2002 and 2008 and then ride the economic crash steadily and then continue a steady upward course ever since, hence the mention of releasing the equity. So I'm still confused that you see that situation as 'hasn't done well'. I don't meant to harp on about this; in a way I'm triple checking I'm clear with what your saying

silvercar

sterling30 said:

silvercar said:

sterling30 said:

silvercar said:

sterling30 said:

mi-key said:

Hi, I am in a very similar position to you and the same age. I think downsizing may be the best option ( this is what I am considering ), I can get a decent size house around the same size as I have now, but not such a 'select' location for about 2/3rds the price I can sell mine for, so could either reduce mortgage to about 50% what it is now, or have a very nice lump sum to pay off the credit cards, reinvest some into the business, and also have a nice buffer for the next few years depending on what happens. 

I am lucky to have a long term fixed rate at 2% that I can hopefully port over to a new property

If you did this at least it would take the pressure off, and if the business picks up over the next few years you can always look at moving again. The danger is getting off the property ladder, then having a reduced income and not being able to buy again in the future and being stuck renting.

It is hard being self employed though as we get hit twice, once by the cost of living increases, and then again by income dropping because of it ! 

I think it is worth making a decision sooner rather than later though while you still have some savings and wiggle room to be able to choose, rather than being forced at the last minute 

Thanks for sharing your story. I reckon there must be a lot of us. Also I think there will be so many people going to come unstuck soon as their large mortages run out and interest rates are higher. Maybe lots are going to downize / change areas. More possible I suppose for people who WFH. So, what is the UK equivalent of Bordeaux? Certainly it isn't Bolton.

East Sussex, I’m not joking - a family member many years ago sold an inherited flat in prime position in Hove and we have jokingly monitored the price over the years, it hasn’t done as well as we expected. Towns further along the cost have done even worse. If I was downsizing out of London that where I would look.

That sounds contraditory but it's probably me just misunderstanding it. Why would you recommend to look in East Sussex if Hove hasn't done well and towns further along even worse? What do you mean by "hasn't done well"?

As it hasn’t done as well ( price increases compared to other areas in the south east) it would be relatively more affordable. Still decent areas.

OK so you're saying that these areas in East Sussex have increased in value quite a lot over the years, which you deem as 'hasn't done well". On the contrary I've always seen increased prices as "doing well". Not when I was a first time buyer but ever since. Especially of course having moved to Guildford and seeing prices rocket between 2002 and 2008 and then ride the economic crash steadily and then continue a steady upward course ever since, hence the mention of releasing the equity. So I'm still confused that you see that situation as 'hasn't done well'. I don't meant to harp on about this; in a way I'm triple checking I'm clear with what your saying

I’m saying that they HAVEN’T done as well as I would have expected eg their percentage increase is lower than I would have expected, hence they offer good value for money IMHO.

sterling30

silvercar said:

sterling30 said:

silvercar said:

sterling30 said:

silvercar said:

sterling30 said:

mi-key said:

Hi, I am in a very similar position to you and the same age. I think downsizing may be the best option ( this is what I am considering ), I can get a decent size house around the same size as I have now, but not such a 'select' location for about 2/3rds the price I can sell mine for, so could either reduce mortgage to about 50% what it is now, or have a very nice lump sum to pay off the credit cards, reinvest some into the business, and also have a nice buffer for the next few years depending on what happens. 

I am lucky to have a long term fixed rate at 2% that I can hopefully port over to a new property

If you did this at least it would take the pressure off, and if the business picks up over the next few years you can always look at moving again. The danger is getting off the property ladder, then having a reduced income and not being able to buy again in the future and being stuck renting.

It is hard being self employed though as we get hit twice, once by the cost of living increases, and then again by income dropping because of it ! 

I think it is worth making a decision sooner rather than later though while you still have some savings and wiggle room to be able to choose, rather than being forced at the last minute 

Thanks for sharing your story. I reckon there must be a lot of us. Also I think there will be so many people going to come unstuck soon as their large mortages run out and interest rates are higher. Maybe lots are going to downize / change areas. More possible I suppose for people who WFH. So, what is the UK equivalent of Bordeaux? Certainly it isn't Bolton.

East Sussex, I’m not joking - a family member many years ago sold an inherited flat in prime position in Hove and we have jokingly monitored the price over the years, it hasn’t done as well as we expected. Towns further along the cost have done even worse. If I was downsizing out of London that where I would look.

That sounds contraditory but it's probably me just misunderstanding it. Why would you recommend to look in East Sussex if Hove hasn't done well and towns further along even worse? What do you mean by "hasn't done well"?

As it hasn’t done as well ( price increases compared to other areas in the south east) it would be relatively more affordable. Still decent areas.

OK so you're saying that these areas in East Sussex have increased in value quite a lot over the years, which you deem as 'hasn't done well". On the contrary I've always seen increased prices as "doing well". Not when I was a first time buyer but ever since. Especially of course having moved to Guildford and seeing prices rocket between 2002 and 2008 and then ride the economic crash steadily and then continue a steady upward course ever since, hence the mention of releasing the equity. So I'm still confused that you see that situation as 'hasn't done well'. I don't meant to harp on about this; in a way I'm triple checking I'm clear with what your saying

I’m saying that they HAVEN’T done as well as I would have expected eg their percentage increase is lower than I would have expected, hence they offer good value for money IMHO.

Ah I see, thanks for clarifying. My Grandparents used to live in East Dean in Eastbourne. I always liked it there.