Finally have a mortgage now to try and get rid of it asap

A question about : Finally have a mortgage now to try and get rid of it asap

Well after a nightmare buying process that took 17 months from offer to completion I've finally managed to buy my flat in London. I have a massively large mortgage and as I'm single I'm going to be responsible for paying all of it.

There is some work I want to do on the flat including redoing the loft as it wasn't done correctly to begin with and I want to make it a dormer as currently it's just within the roofline. Also removing a wall to make an open plan kitchen/lounge room and will involve a complete redesign of the kitchen. Also there's a possibility of buying the freehold as the owner of the flat downstairs is also interested in buying it and there's only our 2 flats in the building.

With all this I won't be paying much off the mortgage initially however I do have an offset mortgage so at least while saving for the work will help reduce the amount of interest paid on the mortgage.

However the first money saving thing I'm doing is having a friend move into my spare bedroom. She's moving home to Australia sometime next year so it won't be forever but probably for about 6-8 months. At least I'll find out if I like living with a flat mate again which I haven't done for about 8 years.

I'll post figures once I have all the details from the mortgage company and I can start moving some of my savings to the offset account. I only completed on Friday so hopefully it will come through early this week sometime.

Best answers:

• Welcome to MFW and good luck!
  S x
• Thanks S, I thought I had my first issue to deal with in my flat as I saw a bit of stained plasterboard and it felt a little damp and is right behind where the bath and shower is so thought I might have had a leak somewhere. The plumber came and checked it yesterday and all the pipes and drains are perfectly sealed and he can't see any damp anywhere near them and thinks it might have been from an old leak and the plasterwork just wasn't repainted properly afterwards.
  I'm lucky it wasn't anything major but do feel now that I'm an owner I maybe should learn how to do some basic home maintenance stuff so I don't always have to call someone when I see something wrong.
• HI
  Just starting on the MFW journey too. I think having a house mate for a bit is a great idea. Like you say a chance to see how you like it.
  Good luck. Look forward to hearing your progress.
• Well I didn't have a very MSE day yesterday. Went out for drinks with a friend and ended up spending Ј65 although we did get some food as well I maybe shouldn't have had quite so many cocktails!
  On a slightly better note I managed to contact a handyman to come and have a look at my kitchen as I want to remove part of the kitchen bench so I can get a taller fridge/freezer. I currently have one that fits just under the counter and I generally find it barely manages to fit all my food in so won't really work when my flat mate moves in. I'm hoping it's not too hard a job for someone with the right tools. He's coming over on Friday, as I work from home that day, to see what needs to be done.
  Longer term I do want to get the kitchen completely redone as I want it open plan to the lounge next door and there's also a chimney breast in the corner I want to remove as it's quite a small kitchen and could do with the extra space. However I don't have the money to do that at the moment so that will probably happen later next year.
• Well I did a bit better on the MSE front yesterday but mainly because I didn't go out last night. Even better I made dinner from what I could find in the fridge and didn't get a take away which is what I usually do when I work late.
  Tonight I'm out with a friend but we got free tickets to the movies and she has a taste card so there will be a discount on dinner Also she doesn't drink so I won't be having any expensive cocktails.
  However I was updating my budget (I use You Need A Budget) and it seems I've spent Ј10 on something but I have no idea what it might have been and couldn't find any receipts that it might be related to. I've been pretty good since I started using YNAB 6 weeks ago so hopefully this is the only time it happens. I wouldn't have minded being a few pounds out but Ј10 seems a lot to not remember what you spent it on!
• Ok so finally have some info from the mortgage company. I've been a bit confused with how much my mortgage actually was as I was meant to pay a 15% deposit but ended up paying a 20% deposit but I didn't realise until late in the process and with all the other delays just accepted the offer as it was as I did have the extra money for the deposit and I didn't want any more delays to the process. However it means I have less money to start doing the work I want to right now.
  So my mortgage starting balance is Ј264,800
  Quite a lot for just me to pay but at the moment my repayments are less than what I used to pay in rent so affordable for me even if interest rates go up. The interest rate on it is 2.99% fixed until March 2016.
  Just found out my first mortgage payment is Ј1775, with Ј520 of that being interest! However my regular monthly payment will be Ј1255 so much more reasonable.
  Also today I got a bill from Thames Water for over Ј500 as they haven't charged me anything for the last 12 months even though I contacted them when I first moved into the flat in September last year. Not sure if I mentioned earlier even though I only bought the place last week I actually moved in last year and was renting it while we sorted out the issues with the sale.
  So looks like this is going to be a really expensive month for me with very little saving happening.
  Hopefully I'll get my internet banking set up soon and I can start transferring my savings across to the offset account and start reducing how much interest I'm paying on the mortgage.
• Just to say hi and to wish you luck! Sounds like you've already demonstrated excellent staying power where sticking with a plan is concerned, through your 17 month purchase ... must have been a nightmare for you!
  Glad you're in and settled and all the best with the next phase of the plans.
• Thanks for reading Habibiboo, it was a very stressful 17 months but I'm starting to forget already the stress from buying and now learning it can be very expensive to own a place when you want to do stuff to the place. I'm sure I'll settle down soon once I get the initial rush out of my system but I've been wanting to do some of this stuff since I moved in over 11 months ago.
  However today I've managed to organise a carpenter to come over later to do a quote for some fitted wardrobes and shelving and also have a chimney sweep and boiler service set up. In January this year I was without heat and hot water for a week because of a broken part in the boiler due to it not being serviced for a couple of years so I have learnt it's really important to get it done!
• Well it's been a bit of an expensive weekend but all on necessary things.
  I've finally bought the bed and bedroom furniture for the spare room and it's all arriving just days before my friend moves in so good thing I didn't leave it any later. I also bought a new fridge and freezer as I wanted a taller one than the under counter one I currently have and have a handyman organised to remove a section of the kitchen counter so I can fit it in. So that's just over Ј700 I've paid for all those items.
  However looks like I've got another bill coming my way as my downstairs neighbour knocked on my door to say they have water leaking from my flat into theirs so the plumber last week who told me I didn't have a leak was wrong and charged me quite a bit for that as well! However when he was originally organised I didn't own the flat and at that point was unclear when I would own it so he was the person my landlord recommended. So when the sale completed just the day before he was coming I didn't think it was worthwhile cancelling him but not sure I would ever use him again!
  However I have managed to find a new plumber that responded to my email tonight and he's coming over tomorrow afternoon to check it out and give a quote to fix it. Hopefully this new plumber can find the leak and sort it out at a reasonable price.
• Hi egoode,
  Leaks are pain in the you-know-what. When I had my bathroom done the plumber didn't seal the pipes under the washbasin properly and it ended up leaking into the downstairs neighbours lounge. When I was renting, I had a leak into my flat after the upstairs neighbours bathroom renovations - it was from under the bath so took a while to locate (and I had told my plumber that story!) Needless to say I've found a new plumber.
  Hopefully it's a simple and inexpensive solution for you. Enjoy the redecorating and nesting phase. It's expensive, but worth it to make the place feel yours.
• Thanks London18, I'm really hoping it's not too big a problem. I think the main problem at the moment seems to be that it's clearly not in an easily accessible area. The plumber is due to come this afternoon so hopefully it will be good news.
• So the plumber came today and think it's a valve that needs replacing in the shower but will be back on Wednesday to do the work. However the valve apparently costs around the Ј150 mark and with the time it's likely to take to fix this could be a bit of an expensive bill.
  However something good to look forward to is I've booked my first holiday in about 2 years that doesn't involve visiting my family in Australia. I'm going to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Israel and meeting up with and travelling with a really good friend from my hometown in Australia. We don't usually get much time to just hang out in Australia when I'm back visiting so will be really nice to have 2 weeks together and properly catch up!
• Your holiday sounds fantastic. Jealous!!
• Well the plumber didn't come today as some other emergency came up he had to deal with but he should be here first thing tomorrow.
  However I did end up having a money saving day. I worked from home so I didn't buy lunch like I usually would and made something at home instead, also I had cancelled the cleaner that usually comes today as she generally comes when the plumber was going to be here so saved myself Ј30 but does mean my flat won't be cleaned until next week (I know I'm still unlikely to do it this week I'm really not a housework person!). Also I saw on a local forum someone giving away an Ikea folding chair I was planning to go and buy this weekend so I got one free chair which has saved me Ј11, although still need a couple of other chairs and a dining room table.
  Overall not a bad day but do hope the plumber doesn't cancel again tomorrow as I really want this leak fixed asap.
• Well the plumber is here fingers crossed it doesn't cost too much!
• So the plumbers just left, there ended up being two of them working on the job. Was starting to get worried about about how much it was going to cost as when he came the first time he mentioned a charge of Ј65/hr. However I was pleasantly surprised when the total bill was Ј300 and that included Ј100 worth of materials.
  Hopefully it should now all be fixed and downstairs should no longer be getting water dripping down from my flat!
• Well I feel I've been a little productive today.
  I called the mortgage company as I hadn't received any details yet of my offset saving account or how to set up internet banking. So I managed to get my offset account number and will be transferring my savings across asap.
  I also managed to pay the arrangement fee and telegraphic transfer fee that had been added to my mortgage which was Ј820 in total, not sure if it counts as an overpayment but if it does that would be my first one At least it will mean I'm not paying interest on the fees.
  Also had a chimney sweep around to sweep the chimneys and check they are in good condition to be used for a fire. The one in the lounge room is ok just need to buy a grate as it's missing although it can be used without it but won't burn as well. However the fireplace in the bedroom needs to be replaced which I had suspected would be the case. At the moment I'm not sure whether to replace it or not as not sure how often I would really use it. Now I just need to find some firewood and remember how to get a fire going!
  Need to do a trip to Ikea at some point this weekend to buy a dining table and some chairs. I've got my house warming next weekend and currently have nothing for my guests to sit on except for a futon and very little to put food and drinks on. However I hate shopping so not really looking forward to it, I've looked online at lots of different options and there's an Ikea one I've got my eye that's a reasonable price and fits in my room.
  Now I've got to get to my next fun task of going through all the paperwork that's built up in my lounge room and sort it out and if I have time/energy start moving the stuff I stored in the loft room so it's cleared out for when my friend moves in. I can put some of it in the eaves but I think I'll put my books under the bed in my room as I currently don't have a bookcase to put them in. Also need to sell/give away some items that I don't even know why I moved them in the first place as I'm never going to use them again.
• Good news on the plumber costs - relief!
  If you get your decluttering done can you come and help me out? I found a ring binder in the closet the other day with 7 year bank statements all neatly filed in date order for a whole year. And 2 bags for life stuffed with all sorts of statements and bills some not even opened. ***Sigh**
  Oh and best wishes for that trip to Ikea. I avoid the place unless desperate - partly as I always spend too much (ooh a pretty vase and so cheap! Oh a plastic storage box - I really I need one of those for all my old bank statements) I am like a magpie in a shiny shop. And it's worse than the seventh circle of hell trying to get out of the place quickly!
  Happy bank hol weekend!
• Not sure I'll be good at helping you with decluttering I have every single bank statement from when I opened the account over 9 years ago! I kept finding I needed a long history of bank statements for all my UK visa applications over the years and they don't like online versions. However I'm now a citizen I could probably throw some of them out but I just can't seem to bring myself to throw them away.
  I'm thinking for Ikea I'll get there when they open and hopefully avoid some of the crowds.