How to be mortgage free after 8 years

slugbreff

Every time I pay off 20k - 30k of my mortgage I use it as a deposit for another buy to let . . . It works for me!

winkasgirl

I too am new (joined toady) to Martins chat forum - I just love this site - Thefunkygibbon is spot on - we paid our mortgage off last week 7 years early through sheer hard work and determination - we started by putting £25.00 per week a few years ago into a savings account and at the end of the year drew it out and paid a chunk off - we also switched to repayment which was more expensive but we are now looking forward to the endownment policy maturity being OURS!

To celebrate we had a dvd and a nice bottle of champagne and toasted ourselves

Now we are still paying the same amount into stocks and shares ISA which we can stop if we need to but will also be OURS and tax free!

So be positive with your mortgage repayments ......... you can do it!

boysmum3

As a relatively newbie moneysaver i am loving reading that their are others out there who make overpayments on their mortgage - in mine and OH circle of friends/colleagues - we are abnormal!!
I had my 3rd baby a year ago and have only just returned to work and after cut in hours (our choice) my salary is reduced by £400 a month but we are overpaying by about £200 a month and we WILL increase this at the end of the year when our situation improves a bit. In March 2013 i will be 40 and my present( which will benefit us all )will be to be mortgage free - so 7 years of no fancy holidays has to be worth it!!
Our friends are all planning their foreign hols and the green eyed monster does appear from time to time - but we have an aim which is to buy another house to let and also for my OH to cut his working hours in half.
Its brilliant to hear stories of successful early re payment and makes me even more determined to succeed, in fact how about 5years instead of 7............... :eek:

Bob_Terveuren

Thefunkygibbons wrote:

Bob, Very true, but how much of a rainy day fund does one need?

I keep a small amount in cash, and the rest in ISAs, they are easy to get at for an emergency but the process of throwing away the tax benenfits gives one pause

Hi TFG

Our rainy day fund is three months worth of our joint, net salaries - it is for emergencies only (e.g sudden redundancy, the boiler dies etc) - and is untouched for any other purpose - as I said it just sits there offset against the mortgage.

There may be a better vehicle for tying up this money but I like the idea of being able to get at it without too much trouble/penalties.

Siobhan_2

Great advice - especially like having the details at hand so the paperwork is not an obstacle - think I might take that gem and use it. Well done u - lucky kids to have you giving them the time they need now and the money for the future.
Many thanks
Siobhan

MushyPeas

Thanks to TFG for this thread, glad most people have been supportive of his/her advice :rolleyes:

I just looked at the mortgage calculator which was recommended: http://www.channel4.com/4money/mortgages/features/overpayment_calculator.html

I'm about to become a FTB and being a newly singleton I'm finding it all rather scary!! I'm taking out a v. large mortgage for my salary :eek: and will find overpayments hard. However, after looking at the calculator, if I make even only £10 overpayment a month that will reduce my mortgage by 1 year, a saving of £5125 for only £52!!! Amazing isn't it?

Unfortunately (or fortunately) mine is fixed for 3 years so I won't be able to make any overpayments for the first 3 years. Instead I'll have to be disciplined and put overpayments in a savings account, untouched, until I can pay off a lump sum in 3 years time.

MushyPeas

skintchick wrote:

As TFG knows, I have been so inspired by his story...that I've decided to pay my mortgage off early too.

But no more. I have a lodger moving in on October 1, and as of then I will be overpaying by £218 a month. It's not loads, but it's what I can afford, and will help.

Hi Skintchick. You made this post a while ago, last September. I'm a FTB and am looking to get a lodger to help with the mortgage. Can I ask, how has it gone with yours? How did you find and vet your lodger? Did you just advertise locally?

I hope you, or someone else, replies!! Advice appreciated

Thanks

jobbingmusician

I've had lodgers in the past by simply advertising in the free paper Loot (good if you have a local Loot). Another way is by advertising through a local college - most of them have accom offices nowadays, I believe. If you go this latter route then take note when you have your gas boiler serviced, and ask for a special certificate for landlords - can't quite remember what it was called, but the local Uni (Westminster) wanted a copy before they would recommend the house to students. Fairy nuff - exonerates you from any chance of being sued for gassing students in the awful event that yr system malfunctioned! :eek:

MushyPeas

Hi jobbingmusician

Thanks for the advice, useful to know about the gasboiler. Unfortunately we don't have Loot in this part of the world, so I think it will be cards in newsagents. Did you ever ask for references?

MP

jobbingmusician

No, I never bothered (even when NOT letting through the college) - but I should have done, of course. But having said that, I got on with all of them very well, and the only problematic family were a family who came to me after they had rented BF's house for 6 months (while he was away) - and full references HAD been taken up on them. They were just a very dysfunctional family......

(Want the goss? Female and her 8yr old daughter, newly married to male with 1yr old baby. Male had the IQ and emotional intelligence of a 2-yr old. Decided he couldn't bear 8yr old - couldn't stand being in the same room as this perfectly normal and nice kid. Kid very distressed by this - but still well behaved, and I shared with them for 6 months, so I would have known.... By the time they left the marriage was in shreds, and wife was pregnant )