Prosperous soul, mortgage neutrality & creativity Year 2

savingholmes

Thanks Lucielle, Mark, EH, LWAP, DIA and MF

DD and her BF popped over last night for a while which was good.

I think you are right that I wouldn't cope with lodgers - so lower costs could be a much better way to go.

I couldn't get a viewing for Wednesday's house this weekend. So going to view a different couple of houses tomorrow morning. They are in a 'wow' area and have lovely views - one is up for £295K (4 bed with hill views) and one closer to £225K (2 bed bungalow with pretty garden - lake and hillside views). On the same estate as the £295K there is one up at £225K (hill views) that I'm hoping to view next weekend too. It seems to be a 3 bed rather than a 4 - but has had all its carpets ripped out and needs new decking (or equivalent) and railing - but otherwise looks decent.

I've looked at what it would do to my FIRE numbers to go smaller i.e. the £225K house - and the difference is immense. I'd in theory be able to retire by 60 if I wanted as I'd knock £16-20K off my mortgage now to stay within the 75% LTV and then if I kept p1p I'd be able to send a huge proportion of my salary to my pension for quite a few years. I'd put some money into an ISA as a tax free growth EF. I could then trickle some of my remaining equity fund into my main account over a number of years to balance the increased AVCs while massively lowering my tax burden. Going to a smaller mortgage now would also mean that even if my rate increased in 3 years time - it would be more affordable.

It's this debate re FIRE, future interest rates etc that I'm constantly having and why I'm reluctant to increase my borrowing even though banks would lend it to me.  I would be considerably further from work (and family) if I went to the 'wow' area - but it is less of a compromise on the rural landscape I'd ideally like to be next to than any of the ones I've looked at in the last few months. So could save me moving twice (one after retirement). I could potentially stay overnight and go into work say once a fortnight to offset the travel cost and time - and then use the evenings to see DD, my counsellor, local friends or get my hair done! I'd need to allow the cost of that in my budget though - which I haven't yet.

If I went for a lower cost home and work full time to age 60 - then in today's money even after a reduction for taking part of my pension early - I could get £19.5K in guaranteed pension. Then on top of that I'd have whatever tax free lump sum I'd managed to accumulate through AVCs etc. If I kept p1p that would top up my remaining living costs and I'd only need a small amount of my lump sum for the 7 year gap until SP kicks in after which I'd be laughing. I could even be in a position to help out my kids with wedding funds, house deposits etc from my AVC fund. Alternatively I could reduce my hours or find a more local job or both.

Will see if these houses are any good and report back. Until then I'll keep dreaming.

mark55man

if I didn't still have some mortgage outstanding from the f-ecklessness of the past I would be FIRE by now.  Nothing wrong with knowing how the HMRC systems takes and returns tax just don't let the tax tail wag the investment dog - first priority is making sure your plan meets your priorities - but you got that

jwil

Hope the viewings went well.

FIRE plans sound potentially exciting as well.

SandyShores

FIRE sounds great.  We wanted to buy a smaller house, but in the end it went before we could offer so we ended up buying the larger one next door.  We love the position, convenient for work and close to country walks and walkable to the town etc.  The size didn't really matter to us as we would have had a garage and were happy to either add a standalone garden room or use a bit of the garage for crafts etc.  We have neighbours all around but the angle of the other properties means our garden has private spots and we are busy growing plants to fill any gaps. Its amazing what you can do with the right landscaping, but the most important thing to us was the location and the feel of the property.  The rest was fixable.  There are a few ideas for privacy in the garden on the net.  Just search privacy and overlooked garden  

savingholmes

Thanks Mark, Jwil and Sandy. 

To all posters - please don't add links to my diary - PM me instead by all means - as otherwise it makes it more likely to come up in an unrelated search. A few of you have done it recently - and it just makes me paranoid that someone who knows me will recognise what I'm posting... All websites do trackbacks so see where the originating website was etc. Because MSE has such a strong presence on the web - it can make my diary come up above the original link site.

I had a lovely day trip out and looked at a couple of houses. Embarrassingly I looked at them in the wrong order and only realised when I went to the second one and had to make a grovelling apology. That lady was particularly lovely - and she ended up offering me a coffee and we ended up chatting about neuro diversity for over an hour. She too is an artist.

I viewed the bungalow at £220k - and it was lovely but as expected - tiny. I was hoping the garage might be convertible - but it's floor level was significantly lower than the house. It might have been possible to put a conservatory on the back but the garden wasn't huge to start with. The views were a dream though. It would be the perfect holiday cottage but whether it is big enough for me to live in I'm less sure.

The £295K house was lovely and would be big enough. It was an upside down house with absolutely stunning views and she'd changed some of the windows to make the most of the view. I'd say she was ASD and dyspraxic too although she's undiagnosed. Her house was very tastefully decorated. She'd shielded some of her front windows with special film that she'd had printed to her design. We had a lot in common! If I moved to that area it would be lovely if we could become friends. She was certainly part of my 'tribe'. I've not enjoyed talking to a stranger as much in a long time. Parts of the house were carpeted, part wood floors. Everything was in fab condition - with quirky elements playing to her artist heart. It all felt very harmonious. A peaceful house. It was a low maintenance garden - but it needs some money spending on it to 'retain' the earth as the solutions she's put in aren't quite up to the job. She'd spent over £20K on the house since moving in - taking out a wall, adding inner windows and glass doors for light and changing the lounge windows to maximise the view. 

There's a house up for £225K a few doors up which has almost the same footprint. This is the one where the flooring had been ripped out etc. She felt it needed about £70K spending on it. I've no way of knowing if that's true. She said it had been a druggie's house and they'd been evicted. The carpets had been torn up as they were in such bad condition, the whole place had had to be fumigated and repainted. She also said they were the type of people that flushed nappies down the loo and blocked up shared drains. She said the windows are falling out and the conservatory is on its last legs. And that's on top of the rotten decking and railing I'd already spotted. I think I'd still like to go and view it - as having seen hers I know what it could look like.

I then had a lovely roast dinner outdoors at a pub. Unfortunately though that then triggered my allergies and I had an anti-histamine on the way home - but that then made me feel so sleepy - I pulled over and dozed for an hour. I think it may have been out of date as it 'tasted' wrong. The views were lovely. I felt I could live there - but it was a lot further from major hospitals than I'm used to so I need to think that through. Neither house sang to me the way the original valleys house did although that too was a split level design. This one was in better condition than that one though and literally had triple the bathrooms. Lots to think about.  

skint_spice

Lots to think about but you are sounding more enthusiastic than before - not sure if it’s the area or just because you had a wee break but all good.

savingholmes

skint_spice said:

Lots to think about but you are sounding more enthusiastic than before - not sure if it’s the area or just because you had a wee break but all good.

Thanks Skint

I spent the whole of yesterday resting and recovering from the week so had more energy today. I haven't took the ADHD meds for 3 days to give my body a break. Although I took the 4mg dose this afternoon to perk me up for driving. It didn't alter the sleepy feeling at all so looks like it's not much use on it own. I had intended to take the main tablet Friday and today - I just forgot. It's the sort of medication they are happy for you to have the odd break from so not an issue from that perspective although I've definitely ate more as a result. My BP has come down on these meds where I expected it to do the opposite - I assume it's because I've lost weight overall.

The scenery was beautiful today. Will look and see if there are any photos I can post. Think hills and mountains.

Something I've been working on is almost complete and it will succeed or fail but I spelled out the risks so I'm covered either way. I feel better having booked a holiday too. If I end up moving - I still have lots of holiday left to take - and if I don't my boss has said I can carry some leave over next financial year due to exceptional circumstances.

I think on the house move I've taken some of the pressure off making a decision. If I find the right house - great. If I don't - there's always next year / future years. I don't think the bungalow is for me at this stage of life. The more expensive house could be. I don't know whether or not I would cope if I had to do a lot of work to a house - so the £225K one may not be - but going to ponder that for a while. The earliest I can realistically go and view is next weekend anyway. Today's location would be disapproved of by family as its so far away (50+ miles) but would be more in line with my real dream.

The house I offered on earlier in the week is now off the market. I felt a peace about that. I did a drive by another house - it has great views - but the owners taste doesn't remotely match mine and therefore it feels like there would be a lot to do. It's on at £275K on the same estate as the bungalow. Both it and the bungalow had more steps than I would ideally like if this is my long term home. If I go and view the £225K house one and I'd go and view that too probably. Me and the seller of the second house I viewed today had a laugh about that house as the owners taste was so adrift from ours. She viewed it yesterday. I also did a drive by of another house in a 10 mile nearer location - but they'd failed to get the owner opposite to prune the hedge so their view was blocked compared with their for sale photos. People are weird!! Having said that I definitely need to mow my lawn and tidy up the back garden!! So maybe I have no room to talk either. 

jwil

Glad the viewings went well

savingholmes

I've got viewings on the £225K and £275K houses next weekend - so I can see how I cope with the journey two weekends on the run. Will aim to take my tablet though so it's a fairer comparison. The other house I mentioned at £265K is only available to view during working hours which is a pain. It has a big garden but not views - so I think I'll treat as a compromise for now and focus on the ones with the great views.

I finally got an updated CETV on an old pension - and as suspected it's dropped £84K in 2 years (due to improved annuity rates) - which is about a 40%+ drop. Again I think the AVC route with my current pension is going to work out positively so I'm less worried about that now - especially as I know I can access this older pension from age 60 without penalty. They updated the ongoing pension value and it's worth £4.8K - I'd guessed £4.4K so was happy with that.

Lots to think about.

savingholmes

Apparently there's a national shortage of my new meds - so despite these ones working for me - I may need to switch to others for around 6 weeks until they get more supply. Ironically other wider family are also on the same brand - and are experiencing issues too! Patches are in short supply too .

Well I took back half an hour today of flexi. Really tired still although overall today was calmer than last week. Caught up with DS a bit at lunch over the phone which was nice. Sent him links to some of the houses I'm considering.

I talked over the £225K vs £295K house with DS. Just been texting my sis who is a year in to a house reno. Pricing up the different jobs that could need doing I'm starting to see why the owner of the £295K house estimated there could easily be £70K of work to do on the 'cheaper' one. Against that however is that it would be rather like getting a new house and doing all the insides to my taste. Leaving aside any structural damage the tenants from hell may have inflicted. 

However:
£225K house
£0 No land tax so saves £4.2K immediately cf to £295K house - plus the £70K lower ticket price

Wind and watertight
£6.5K If all new windows needed which seems unlikely
£2K Front door and inner door.

Ideally
£5K? Remove wall between kitchen and diner - and possibly part of the lounge wall
£12K New flooring to my taste if £100 a metre2 and 120m2 house which is probably an over-estimate. Likely to carpet the stairs to reduce noise so that part would be cheaper
£7K Kitchen
£5K My ensuite
£1.2K Garage electric door
Additional insulation?

Unknowns
Plumbing and electrics
Floorboards and joists

Optional
£5K per bathroom if needed (3 bathrooms downstairs plus upstairs loo - but may alter them anyway as they are disproportionate sizes and steal too much space from the main bedrooms). I may even remove one entirely.
£6-15K If new conservatory needed (which the other house doesn't have) - but not a priority
£10-20K Garage conversion (other house already has with integral door)  - but not a priority

It could be interesting. I have a friend I may be able to stay with while the work was done. If I got the house at this kind of price I'd be able to afford some short term solutions. It would also incentivise me to let go of more stuff. It feels a more realistic option than buying a 2 bed bungalow...