When I think of mortgages I think of headaches, number crunching, emotional upheaval, selling and buying homes, I also think of my old grade school teacher and the way in which he scarred me for life when it came to maths and I blame him for the lack of understanding and fear when it comes to numbers! The guy was a loose cannon and he brought fear to us all, I could have grown to love maths and numbers, I do like it but I always associate anything maths related, to anxiety and fear.
However, as we approach 2013, new years resolutions and self improvement plus my on going battle to save this household money, to get us in to a better area and more comfortable and less cramped living arrangements, I am going to get over my fear when it comes to numbers and look for a better deal mortgage wise. When we first purchased our home nearly 7 years ago, we had a pretty good rate, but were both naive despite my husband being excellent when it came to working out rates and percentages. We bought this flat with no deposit and a 100% mortgage as opposed to a lot of our friends who had a little bit to put down and now that the housing market has been badly affected in recent years, moving will not be an option for a while so we may as well have a look and see if we can lower our rate and put away the extra in to a savings account of sorts.
I have been looking on various websites, trying to figure out if we should get a valuation first and then look further in to rates, or should I speak to the providers themselves? I guess learning the basics would be the best course of action to follow and making sure that the knowledge is there before calling up companies and getting in over my head … I know that there are a lot of advice facilities out there to use but its like speaking a foreign language just now. All I want to know is how much I can save and how much our payments will be each month. This isn’t the best , even I know that because I am aware of fixed rate, trackers, interest only (?) but I don’t know if those terms are even used anymore! I think we last changed providers approx 5 years ago!
I really feel for those who are trying to get on to the housing ladder, we did it at the right time and maybe staying put and being content with what we have whilst getting a lower rate, would be more sensible and realizing that if we declutter and change rooms, put some money back in the flat etc that it will do us better in the long term? Does a bigger house equate to more happiness, probably not. I’m not a hugely materialistic person, I think with a better rate and a bit of money left over to do family things, we could stay here and just decorate instead of leaving us with little money each month. i shared a room with my sister growing up as did my husband with his and it really did neither of us any harm!
Yuk – hate mortgage talk. But I’m with you – I feel so sorry for people looking to buy their first homes now! Seems an impossible task! We ended up relocating to a far cheaper area in order to get a bigger home, which I’m thankful for but you manage with what you’ve got at the end of the day don’t you… Don’t really know if it was the right choice, but I’m thankful we won’t have to move for a long time now, if ever I suppose. xx
I know what you mean. I have thrown myself in to trying to make our home more “ours” and husband is flooring the loft as well which helps with space.. I fear the next time we have to deal with mortgages..Thanks for your comment:)
I live in a 52 square meter apartment with my boy (almost 4) and we will be joined by a second very soon. I sleep in the living room on a sofa bed and my son has the bedroom. It took me a while to get used to this arrangement and I miss having my own bedroom dearly but after 3 1/2 years of it being this way, I am used to it and think that I live in luxury in comparison to some people. The baby will sleep in the living room with me until he can go in with his brother and thereafter they will share. It’s not the perfect space but I think I have done the most with what I have and as long as we aren’t still here when the boys are teenagers then it will more than do us for now. I don’t have a mortgage though (here in Berlin most people rent for life rather than own) and I can’t imagine the stress that must cause. I still have the British thing of wanting to own one day but there is definitely something to be said for the fact that when the shower breaks, I call my landlord to deal with it rather than shouldering all the costs myself!
Mortgages and talking about them stress me, I worry about mine and if I have the right one, etc. x
I wish we could lower ours a little but , maybe after I shop around a bit, we can find a better rate…
Minefield. Complete minefield. We currently have our flat on the market – looking to move this year. It’s sometimes confusing to know which deal to go with. As you say, I am also grateful we got on the market when we did (which was 6 years ago) as it seems so much harder now… PS I couldn’t find an email subscription, would like to sign up!