Owning your own home

They've probably seen all your DIY and priced it accordingly. ;)

Given the low rate at the moment I think going for a fixed rate makes a lot of sense, as you then know how much you'll be paying each month for the duration of the fixed term. The main drawback of a longer fixed term is that you can suffer penalties should you decide to move during that term.

This is what I'm doing for my first mortgage. I just figured it would be easier to know what was outgoing every month as it's my first time doing all this.

I'll be going for a fixed rate because like cake I'd like to know what I'm paying each month and allocate my money accordingly.

Also I can't see us wanting to move for a while - hence the reason for wanting a 3 bed. Hopefully at some point we'll have more money coming in that we could look to move. If not I want to be safe in knowing I'm happy with what I've got.

People have lived in much smaller places and got by just fine is what I'm trying to say.

To start off with I was keen to have as much house as possible and go to the limit of our borrowing. Now I know that was a silly idea and I'm being more realistic now.

What do you guys think of these? Can't say I'd ever thought about living in Croydon, but it's only a few miles further out than Tooting and a fair bit cheaper.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32329591.html#utm_source=sendtofriend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=iphoneapp2sendtofriend

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36067792.html#utm_source=sendtofriend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=iphoneapp2sendtofriend

The old shop is quirky, and has a garage, but has no heating and single glazing...

This one is new on the market this week;

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39584921.html/svr/3115;jsessionid=884EF5F926AA20AC8C995501A2FBA687?utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=smspropertydetails&utm_source=url

It needs CH but for the money we could easily keep back 5-6k to have it done.

Nice part of Norwich too.

But is it still worth making an offer below the asking price? Even if you think the asking price is OK is it still normal to offer below? New to all this.

But is it still worth making an offer below the asking price? Even if you think the asking price is OK is it still normal to offer below? New to all
this.

I would. Worst they can say is no.

Give it a go mate. You don't get sent packing after the first offer.

Always offer well below asking price, as a matter of principle.

In terms of the property, I would always want somewhere that has external access to back of the house. I see there's a side gate there. Having more than one point of entry really helps when you're moving stuff in & out. Especially when you're renovating.

• Insert crude joke about using the tradesman's entrance.
  

I finally seem to be getting nearer.

After last weeks debacle of the bank taking a month so sort out my mortgage. On the wrong property. They have turned it all around in the space of just a few days.

Doing some very basic arithmetic it would appear that overpaying the mortgage with the aim of paying it off in 15 years rather than 23 would save £30,000 in interest.

That's proper money.

Blimey is that almost paying double? Still 23 years isn't that bad though is it?

A lot of mortgages have penalty charges for overpayment, I assume you have checked yours but worth mentioning for people who are arranging mortgages with that in mind.

Spencey- no, that's comparing £850/month with £1,150/month.

Doing some very basic arithmetic it would appear that overpaying the mortgage with the aim of paying it off in 15 years rather than 23 would save £30,000 in interest.
That's proper money.

I did a spreadsheet of this crap yesterday. If I took away what I've overpaid in the last ~3 years my mortgage would be 10 years longer and it'd cost me an extra £15-20k.

A lot of mortgages have penalty charges for overpayment, I assume you have checked yours but worth mentioning for people who are arranging mortgages with that in mind.

They can be probably be avoided and the penalty isn't as large as the saving by overpaying.

Spencey- no, that's comparing £850/month with £1,150/month.

£300 isn't much at all really but the long term saving there is.

I did a spreadsheet of this crap yesterday. If I took away what I've overpaid in the last ~3 years my mortgage would be 10 years longer and it'd cost me an extra £15-20k.

That's what I've been working out for when we buy a place. Once I get a bit of savings I'll work on overpaying the mortgage and hopefully clearing it quicker. But to begin with most of the left over money will be going in to decorating the place.

spenceey, buying cheaper, doing the work, and thus adding value, is where you make the money..

This still depends on buying the property at the right price in the first place. Over the years I've bid on a fair few properties that needed work and been way short of the final selling price. My view is that if a place needs say £20k spending on it, it should be valued at somewhere around £25k below it's value when completed.
I've seen places sell for significantly more (once the cost of works is added on) than comparable properties in good condition. Madness!

^ Thanks to certain TV programmes, far too many people* get in over their head with this stuff.

*Having done work for one in the past.

I recall almost every episode of Property Ladder, at the point when they summed up the finances, concluded the 'developers' would have made more money if they'd simply left the place untouched and just pocketed the increase in value.

The fact that it's all finished in under 60 minutes didn't help either ;-)

We bought a place to live in, not one to renovate.

We bought a place to fill with shoes, apparently.

I'm with Hippy here- I've spent money on my place based on it being my home.

If I was doing it to rent out then it'd have been done to "looks good, works ok" standards.

For example, the thermostatic shower I've put in would never have been a consideration for a BTL property.

It's far too common nowadays for a lot of people to think of their house as an asset, rather than a home. Glad to hear that's not always the case.