Prosperous & Creative Soul & MFW Year 3

savingholmes

LeighofMar said:

This new place sounds like a wonderful home. And a smaller garden is easier to maintain as we get older, plus you can always put up trees, trellises, vines to help with the overlooked part if it's a walled garden. Then you get both privacy and beauty. Did the house have the other things you wanted like the # of bedrooms, art space, natural light? The kitchen and baths being done is a real winner and glad that that's already to your taste. Either way you decide, it's an exciting time for you. And being closer to work is priceless.

I want to see how the sun comes into the garden. The part you'd sit in (patio area) isn't overlooked I don't think as its at the wrong angle for other houses. I'd definitely add plants for screening at some point to be on the safe side.

beanielou said:

So so hope it all works out for you xx

Thanks as always Beanie.

Blackcats said:

Good news from your buyers (I'm glad I was wrong about them - I must be getting far too cynical)
your checklist for yesterday's viewing was brilliant and well done for getting so much clarity at this early stage.
hope you can get some time to relax this weekend 

Thanks Blackcats. 

I went back to the area today and drove around. I bought some new xmas decs and may give away or sell on FB my tree or donate it to charity as I have 3 bags due to go.

I emailed as planned the original house to withdraw and have had confirmation that's been done.

I've had my offer accepted on the new place at £250K to include the fancy wardrobes. The seller even before I offered had spoken to a solicitor today to see if we could expedite the sale so it all sounds very promising. I now have xmas decs up - mainly due to buyers coming but it is more cheerful with them so that's one thing off the list. 

I've written emails to my EA and solicitors.

DD put most of my clean washing away and helped me make progress on the lounge. A lot of other stuff still left to do but I have until 3pm tomorrow. 

I believe this latest option is the better one - and am thrilled it's not going to cost anywhere near as much. Throughout this process I've been looking for houses with a decent amount of space, light, views but ideally as cheap as realistically possible and still meet my wish list.

dawnybabes

The fact you talk so animated about it, speaks volumes 

savingholmes

Thanks Dawn

Well I started on the new meds at the higher dose last night. I slept less than 4 hours which was frustrating. But there's a lot going on so hard to isolate what's causing what. Been awake since 4.30am - got up at 5.30am. This means I've averaged 3-4 hours sleep a night for quite a few nights in a row!

So if all goes to plan with the new house:
I should have £36K EF/Long term savings after completion. 
After allowing for:

• £1K loan to a family member
• £4K return of previous gift to a family member whose circumstances have changed (I haven't yet offered but ti feels the right thing to do)
• £10K ish home related spends: new sofa, flooring, guttering, sofits, facia board, new hob, garage electrics, bifold doors, better lighting outside, snagging list of unfinished jobs

In December 2026 my car will be 10 years old and may need replacing so I've allowed more than I'd need for a year's bills as I've assumed in 3-6 years time I'll need to replace my car - and I've allowed £20K in today's £.

Pension and mortgage neutrality
If all goes well with the move and any improvements I make (and I keep p1p) - my plan would be from the month after completion to send c£2.5K of my salary to pension including the tax relief element. I currently pay around £900 including my AVCs so it's a big jump - but if I have a big EF I won't be trying to save as much from my net so it should work out. It will still require discipline however. That could see me hit my AVC target as early as age 59 (assuming no loss and no growth) - however - when my mortgage fix runs out 31/12/26 at 1.84% - my mortgage costs are likely to rise and the amount I can send to pension is likely to reduce. I may also pause or reduce my AVCs for a few months if it is likely to frighten the mortgage provider as if I'm comfortable in my house at that point - I may go for a longer fix so that even if I take early retirement my mortgage isn't affected. I could also opt at any point to use part of my savings to repay part of the mortgage. It's not worth it at the moment as even in an ISA I can get 5.2% which is better than the 1.84% I'm paying out. 

jwil

Glad things are looking clearer for you now.  All very exciting, and hope everything goes smoothly with the new house.

savingholmes

jwil said:

Glad things are looking clearer for you now.  All very exciting, and hope everything goes smoothly with the new house.

I really hope so too - don't want any more shocks or I really will retreat into my shell and hibernate! Trying to push through as feels so close to the end now - don't want to fall at last hurdle.

uralmaid

All good news.  Onwards and upwards from here hopefully.x

lucielle

Hope everything progresses quickly. 

L

TallGirl

This:

”I've had my offer accepted on the new place at £250K to include the fancy wardrobes. The seller even before I offered had spoken to a solicitor today to see if we could expedite the sale so it all sounds very promising. ”

Wow you’re a fast mover! Congratulations 👍 That’s great news - and wardrobes too. You do sound a lot more upbeat about this one. Is next step booking survey sounds like it’s chain free? 

Blackcats

You definitely sound very upbeat about the new, new house.  

try_harder

All sounds really positive ,i am glad