jedisco:


Good stuff

Hmnn, we have been incredibly lucky with a series of being in the right place at the right time, finding friends who were open to combining resources with us and Covid. Covid has been both a blessing (sorted our finances and gave us clarity of thought around plans) and a curse (lost a few friends and family).

We still have to work, after all our properties are mortgaged heavily except 1. However if shit hits the fan, we can just sell down and pay off the debts and be fine.

Yeah, we have decided to prioritise time with the children and family - thanks to 3 very very close deaths in the last 4 years - we can charge back again full throttle into the workforce when they're 18 which is less than 10 years away. Time flies and that pass will pass quickly.


The US would have been our best move - for finances, for lifestyle and for travel. However, we firmly made a heart decision. With little changes, we can achieve the same thing on less income and see our family as much as we want. My father is going blind, my children had not seen him since 2016, we've been back 6 months and they've seen him twice. Visas to the UK are easy to get - too easy sef. Tickets are cheap. Here we see our 9ja family 4/5 times a year. My MIL is getting frail and unwilling to travel far. It is crucial to me that the children build those relationships. It will be harder once they turn grumpy teens. I don't want their lasting memories of their grandparents to be frail, sick, old people. All grandparents are still spry and can hang out with the kids and do activities.

Plus we would have had to return to the UK after 4/5 years in Can/US so the children can qualify for domestic student fees at UK unis. Yes, they could get scholarships in the US but they can get those scholarships from here as well as have access to excellent universities here as domestic students. My son is desperate to not change schools anymore as is one of my daughters.

I am perimenopausal and was actually beginning to struggle a bit work wise. This is my 20th year away from 9ja and my 26th year working non stop and it's been GO! GO!! GO!!! I am happy to ease off the rat race a bit, drop down a bit career wise and just be.

I returned to take up a band 8b role and within a month, I asked to take up a band 6 position that was brand new and I have been loving it. No direct reports, lots of allowance to create my workload and I'm in my happy space which is learning and development. Nothing new to learn but a lot of experience and skills to utilise. Because I started at the trust at band 8, my manager and HR agreed to sit my role outside the team but be a sort of golden thread - linking EDI, L & D and HR functions. I can do it in my sleep and without thinking too much. I work from home 2 weeks and in the office 3 days the third week and repeat. It's my bread and butter.

I can also be there for my children in the ways I want. I had always planned to drop to part time when my oldest turns 10 cos the teenage years in the West no be beans. I should know - I taught teens aged 13 - 16 for a long time. I want to be there when they leave for school and when they return home. I want to eyeball who their friends are on a daily basis. I'd rather their friends come hang out at ours than they go elsewhere.

With my current role, I can work and earn full time and still have all that as well as support my own health and mental well being.

Long story short - we made a completely emotion driven decision because our finances can support it for now.

Go for it! I advise anyone who can go live in another country to do so. You won't regret it especially as you're planning in advance.
You'll get good international exposure, expanded worldview and hopefully your finances will get an awesome bump in the process!

Goodenoch:


How about the US? Sounds like you eliminated it from consideration early on.

Any particular reasons why other than wanting to be closer to family?

It's very high-paying in my field and we're considering it in the medium-term, so trying to gather perspectives.

Thanks.

We did as explained in my response above. We eliminated it because we decided earning more was no longer our focus - hence why we seriously considered Canada instead.

It's a pretty privileged position to be in and I am glad we were in a position to be able to take the decision.

My advice is go! NZ/Aus was or gathering phase and boy did we work our arses off! We both essentially had 2 full time jobs for 7 years!

Ticha:


We did as explained in my response above. We eliminated it because we decided earning more was no longer our focus - hence why we seriously considered Canada instead.

It's a pretty privileged position to be in and I am glad we were in a position to be able to take the decision.

My advice is go! NZ/Aus was or gathering phase and boy did we work our arses off! We both essentially had 2 full time jobs for 7 years!

Thanks as always, Madam Ticha.

Hello! We've been talking to a builder and we are going there today to pay reservation fee and ID checks. We used the builder's financial advisor and it appears as if they are reasonable however we need to double check. This is what they are offering us, what do you think? We're initially looking for something that our monthly repayment won't be up to 1k however it seems as if that won't be possible due to the purchase price.
Secondly, the builder recommended a solicitor and their charge is £824 excluding the fee for acting as our mortgage lender which is £150, can we get something cheaper? Any recommendation?
@Ticha @Lexusgs430 @all

babajeje123:
Hello! We've been talking to a builder and we are going there today to pay reservation fee and ID checks. We used the builder's financial advisor and it appears as if they are reasonable however we need to double check. This is what they are offering us, what do you think? We're initially looking for something that our monthly repayment won't be up to 1k however it seems as if that won't be possible due to the purchase price.
Secondly, the builder recommended a solicitor and their charge is £824 excluding the fee for acting as our mortgage lender which is £150, can we get something cheaper? Any recommendation?
@Ticha @Lexusgs430 @all

It's an open market, seek quotes till you feel you got the best deal......

Loads of conveyancing solicitors, looking for your business......

Last time I bought a property, was about 15 years ago (hence cannot recommend any)..... But I know you would soon receive recommendations, based on personal experiences ......

Lexusgs430:


It's an open market, seek quotes till you feel you got the best deal......

Loads of conveyancing solicitors, looking for your business......

Last time I bought a property, was about 15 years ago (hence cannot recommend any)..... But I know you would soon receive recommendations, based on personal experiences ......

Thanks, what would you say about the lender quote?

Reservation fee paid. It's a mix feeling of joy and fear of savings deleption

Want to buy your own property........ Buy correctly or the consequences could be dire ........

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/buying-selling/flat-worth-100000-less-than-four-years-ago/

babajeje123:
Reservation fee paid. It's a mix feeling of joy and fear of savings deleption

Of what use is the savings, whilst you continually pay your landlord's mortgage, when you could be building your own equity + savings pot would also get refilled in multiple folds. ..........😜🤣

babajeje123:
Hello! We've been talking to a builder and we are going there today to pay reservation fee and ID checks.
@Ticha @Lexusgs430 @all

The mortgage rate is pretty good for now I'll say. Although rates seem to be dropping. How would you feel if 1 or 2 years in, rates drop to sub 4%? Do you have plans to move soon? Any other big financial plans (like more babies) on the horizon? If no, I'd take a 2 year fix. If yes, then the 5 years so you have certainty.

Solicitors - I always always go based on recommendation and reviews. They can make it an easy process or a frustratingly stressful process. The quote is fair - ish. There will be cheaper ones but I bet the developer will be keen to get the property sold so delays will be minimal. However, do be careful that the solicitor is on your side rather than the developers side.

For that reason, I'd suggest get another quote. Ask friends and colleagues who they've used and get 3 quotes. Then choose one.
My main solicitor is based in Didsbury and is very responsive - they know I'll go camp at their office if they don't respond within 24 hours 😅 but then we paid him £1300 so I expect excellent service plus his mobile number 🤣

Ticha:


The mortgage rate is pretty good for now I'll say. Although rates seem to be dropping. How would you feel if 1 or 2 years in, rates drop to sub 4%? Do you have plans to move soon? Any other big financial plans (like more babies) on the horizon? If no, I'd take a 2 year fix. If yes, then the 5 years so you have certainty.

Solicitors - I always always go based on recommendation and reviews. They can make it an easy process or a frustratingly stressful process. The quote is fair - ish. There will be cheaper ones but I bet the developer will be keen to get the property sold so delays will be minimal. However, do be careful that the solicitor is on your side rather than the developers side.

For that reason, I'd suggest get another quote. Ask friends and colleagues who they've used and get 3 quotes. Then choose one.
My main solicitor is based in Didsbury and is very responsive - they know I'll go camp at their office if they don't respond within 24 hours 😅 but then we paid him £1300 so I expect excellent service plus his mobile number 🤣

To be candid, I've refreshed this page for the upteempth times cos I know you would make your response robust. A ticha indeed

The rate is currently one of the best in the market.

I hopenit all goes through smoothly! I'm rooting for you.

It seems like a new build and that price would most likely be around the North East, correct?

babajeje123:
Hello! We've been talking to a builder and we are going there today to pay reservation fee and ID checks. We used the builder's financial advisor and it appears as if they are reasonable however we need to double check. This is what they are offering us, what do you think? We're initially looking for something that our monthly repayment won't be up to 1k however it seems as if that won't be possible due to the purchase price.
Secondly, the builder recommended a solicitor and their charge is £824 excluding the fee for acting as our mortgage lender which is £150, can we get something cheaper? Any recommendation?
@Ticha @Lexusgs430 @all

LaXxOnebody:
The rate is currently one of the best in the market.

I hopenit all goes through smoothly! I'm rooting for you.

It seems like a new build and that price would most likely be around the North East, correct?

Thanks bro, you're correct

Jamesclooney:
Testimony time

(Ushers please be on standby with the offering basket )

The Lord built (bought) us a house!!!!

Signed, sealed and delivered. The bunch of keys dey our hand now. Very heavy lol.

Jokes apart, just an appreciation post for everyone ‘s contribution on here (as well as Chidera Peters on YouTube). The guidance received from this forum has been invaluable. Visited over 12 developers/sites; didn’t care about the fuel burnt because a house is a big deal and even if I didn’t like some houses/location, it helped us narrow it down as we discovered what we liked/didn’t like.

KEY DETAILS
House type - Newbuild
Developer - Persimmons
Lender - Halifax (90% LTV)
Incentives - 5% deposit boost plus flooring package
Mortgage rate - 4.97% ,5yrs fixed (although rates dropped to 4.87% when it was 2 weeks to completion)
LISA bonus - £6k (my wife and I) in the space of 15months, took advantage of the tax windows
Mortgage adviser - Threshold Financial Services (got the recommendation from this thread)


Ps - send funds because everywhere don dry. Surviving on tap water till further notice.

Congratulations!

jedisco:


A good thing about the UK is the generous savings allowance each person has i.e the amount of money you can save or invest yearly without ever paying tax on the gains. It's currently 20k (25k from next year). This is about the most tax efficient means of saving and since most wouldn't maximise it, no need to look further.

1. LISA. The govt gives you 1k. Total you can put in in 4k per year. You also have the option of cash LISA or stock and shares LISA
2. Cash ISA- fixed or flexible if looking to buy soon. The returns had been low until just recently. Now interest rates are falling, the interest on them would also fall. If you are not looking to buy immediately and have spare cash around, then this might be a good time to lock in better rates for 6m - 2 yrs https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa/

3. Stock and share ISA- Personally, I'd say if your timeframe is above 3yrs, this might be a better option. It comes with the risk that unlike a cash option, you might lose money but overtime, the market tends to trend up and should well outperform interest on cash. Your time treshold (e.g 3 or 5 years) would all depend on your risk appetite. Most global indexes have historically yielded 5-8% above inflation on average which cash would not come close to. To give an example, a while ago, I was looking to buy within a 2 year window used the cash isa offerings (in addition to LISA) and got upto 3k at least aside LISA bonus over the period I was in. Now, I'm looking at a rental and chucked the sum saved in a global fund as I'm not bothered about how soon or not I do it. I've attached the portfolio screenshot (shaded area= net contributions). It's up 13% within a year. Cash over this time would have been 3% max. Infact if you asked me 2 weeks ago, the returns were over 20%. It's that volatility you don't have with cash.

N.B. putting 4k in a LISA leaves you with 16k balance for the rest. You could split between all three if undecided.
P.S. I see you are also on the UK to Canada bus-stop. Also worth considering but don't let it deter you too much

thank you for this detailed explanation. I have opened the LISA account with Moneybox. I still don’t know how to go about the stock/share ISA.

Can I PM you?

Hello seniors...
We are in the process of buying a 7 year old house as our first house. We have mortgage offer for this already. We just received a pre-contract search report from our solicitors and the following are a few gray areas I need advice on before taking further steps:

1. The road is not maintainable at the public expense, as it is private road. It is also does not appear to be the subject of a road agreement or a plan by the Local Authority to make it up to adoption standards. The road was originally intended to become an adopted highway prior to the original builder going into liquidation.

2. The sewers are not yet adopted and there does not appear to be any agreement in place for the adoption to take place.

3. The property developer has gone into liquidation and there is no management company or arrangement in place.

Are these issues to worry about?...We would appreciate all the advice and insights we can get.

Pardon my ignorance, people. Are first time buyer exempted from stamp duty? https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers
If the are, would it be right for solicitor to be asking for Inland Revenue Stamp Duty Land Tax Admin fee?

babajeje123:
Pardon my ignorance, people. Are first time buyer exempted from stamp duty? https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers/stamp-duty-land-tax-relief-for-first-time-buyers
If the are, would it be right for solicitor to be asking for Inland Revenue Stamp Duty Land Tax Admin fee?

Yes, FTB are exempted up to £425k. It appears that a form has to be filled to declare you're not required to pay stamp duty and while some solicitors (like ours - I just checked their quote again) include that as part of their general conveyancing fee, some list it separately.

I'd say the overall quote is more important because it may be that your ones just like to break things down some more.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5162003/buying-my-first-house-stamp-duty-land-tax-admin-fee

Goodenoch:


Yes, FTB are exempted up to £425k. It appears that a form has to be filled to declare you're not required to pay stamp duty and while some solicitors (like ours - I just checked their quote again) include that as part of their general conveyancing fee, some list it separately.

I'd say the overall quote is more important because it may be that your ones just like to break things down some more.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5162003/buying-my-first-house-stamp-duty-land-tax-admin-fee

Thank you brother

sholadele4:
Hello seniors...
We are in the process of buying a 7 year old house as our first house. We have mortgage offer for this already. We just received a pre-contract search report from our solicitors and the following are a few gray areas I need advice on before taking further steps:

1. The road is not maintainable at the public expense, as it is private road. It is also does not appear to be the subject of a road agreement or a plan by the Local Authority to make it up to adoption standards. The road was originally intended to become an adopted highway prior to the original builder going into liquidation.

2. The sewers are not yet adopted and there does not appear to be any agreement in place for the adoption to take place.

3. The property developer has gone into liquidation and there is no management company or arrangement in place.

Are these issues to worry about?...We would appreciate all the advice and insights we can get.

I would walk away from this. There's lots of potential undefined expenditure that will come your way.
Long story short, all unadopted roads and sewers have to be maintained by the owners of the houses in the estate. It's too much of a palaver when it's not your forever home or the only one of it's kind.
The absence of a management company makes it worse.

babajeje123:
Hello! We've been talking to a builder and we are going there today to pay reservation fee and ID checks. We used the builder's financial advisor and it appears as if they are reasonable however we need to double check. This is what they are offering us, what do you think? We're initially looking for something that our monthly repayment won't be up to 1k however it seems as if that won't be possible due to the purchase price.
Secondly, the builder recommended a solicitor and their charge is £824 excluding the fee for acting as our mortgage lender which is £150, can we get something cheaper? Any recommendation?
@Ticha @Lexusgs430 @all

Mortgage lender fee of £150 thats very cheap or you meant £1500?
If its £150 extra thats a very good deal

Ticha:


I would walk away from this. There's lots of potential undefined expenditure that will come your way.
Long story short, all unadopted roads and sewers have to be maintained by the owners of the houses in the estate. It's too much of a palaver when it's not your forever home or the only one of it's kind.
The absence of a management company makes it worse.

Thank you for the response.

Ticha:


Hmnn, we have been incredibly lucky with a series of being in the right place at the right time, finding friends who were open to combining resources with us and Covid. Covid has been both a blessing (sorted our finances and gave us clarity of thought around plans) and a curse (lost a few friends and family).
...
The US would have been our best move - for finances, for lifestyle and for travel. However, we firmly made a heart decision. With little changes, we can achieve the same thing on less income and see our family as much as we want.

...

I am perimenopausal and was actually beginning to struggle a bit work wise. This is my 20th year away from 9ja and my 26th year working non stop and it's been GO! GO!! GO!!! I am happy to ease off the rat race a bit, drop down a bit career wise and just be.


With my current role, I can work and earn full time and still have all that as well as support my own health and mental well being.

Long story short - we made a completely emotion driven decision because our finances can support it for now.

Go for it! I advise anyone who can go live in another country to do so. You won't regret it especially as you're planning in advance.
You'll get good international exposure, expanded worldview and hopefully your finances will get an awesome bump in the process!

Missed this
Very interesting story and good life experiences to learn from.
One thing I see from your post is that you put in he work early on and thanks to fortunate events, you have yourself in an enviable position.

I'm hoping your kids cherish those memories into old age. It also does give them a sense of family. A good pull factor of the UK is it's 'proximity' to 9ja and the increasingly robust Nigerian community here. Over the last few years, as a group, we've become more visible especially in the workplace and hopefully, that should give way for better access.

With the japa journey, I personally think there's a sweet spot age wise. 20yrs in, most including me would be aiming for stability. Doubt I'd have the strength for family relocation when I get to your age. I feel like I have another 10-15 yrs of really hardwork mode in me before I start applying the brakes- reason why I want those 15yrs to count.

Recently stumbled on a interview of an established person stating the most significant factor in him being wealthy was being born white in America and at the time he was born. A good number of successful entrepreneurs share same view. Got me thinking. It's interesting what being in/leveraging the right location can do to ones earning potential and life goals. In my about 10yrs in active work, 3 out of my 4 of major increases in earning has been largely down to my location with only one due to a new qualification. Same was true in 9ja. Down to location alone, I was on 2-3x what I would have been on in other parts. That income helped me self-fund my japa journey which saw me 10x my take home while doing same work. From calculations, CAN move should 1.5-3x+ my take home. I'm approaching my mid-30's and now close to a summit of earnings here with further increases likely to be additional except I get into the business side of things which is something I have my eye on but would do in CAN. I am sure going for it. Na my red kpali I dey wait.

I believe you are a teacher (correct me if I'm wrong)- what do you think of the recently streamlined pathway for teachers to come in and career prospects in that field.

bharkarh:
thank you for this detailed explanation. I have opened the LISA account with Moneybox. I still don’t know how to go about the stock/share ISA.

Can I PM you?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/stocks-shares-isas/

This is a good resource to get more detail. All you have do is choose a broker/platform, sign up, decide on it to buy funds or individual shares and how to do that (I.e manually or recurring direct debit). I buy funds so I don't bother about the price of individual stocks. Investengine and Trading212 are about the most competitive for most people now. Both have mobile apps you could onboard with. Trading212 has the added advantage of paying competitive interest on cash not yet invested and they're also giving a cashback on any sum invested this year which is why I used them this year. Investengine has a cleaner app.

This https://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/ is a good comparison of brokers with all the technical bits involved.


I would typically not respond to PMs not out of spite but mainly to maintain my privacy. You could mention me on an old thread in a 'dead' section of NL

Did anyone buy their house from Persimmon here? Can you share your expereince since you move in in terms of quality, after care, responsiveness to issues, etc.

Lexusgs430:


One education I did not receive, was gradual overpayments, pushes down the term and interest payable (it was not massively talked about)......

I hope future landlords, subject to extra cash + mortgage terms, would cultivate the habit of overpayments .......😲😞

When you overpay does it automatically adjust the repayment year?

justwise:


When you overpay does it automatically adjust the repayment year?

Yes...... It would shorten the length of your mortgage term.........

justwise:


When you overpay does it automatically adjust the repayment year?

Depends on the Lender actually. Some will shorten it, others will reduce your subsequent monthly repayments, many others will do nothing till your contract expires. Again, some lenders give you the option.

babajeje123:
Did anyone buy their house from Persimmon here? Can you share your expereince since you move in in terms of quality, after care, responsiveness to issues, etc.

My personal experience from Persimmon has been fantastic.

As an aside, you can refer and earn £500. The person referred also gets £500. So if anyone wants to reserve with Persimmon, try and get someone's Referral Voucher first.

Lexusgs430:


One education I did not receive, was gradual overpayments, pushes down the term and interest payable (it was not massively talked about)......

I hope future landlords, subject to extra cash + mortgage terms, would cultivate the habit of overpayments .......😲😞

If anyone with a Mortgage has the Monzo app, they have a really sleek feature where you can pull in your Mortgage and see details like "what happens if I overpay by £100", "what's my LTV", etc.

Solumtoya:


If anyone with a Mortgage has the Monzo app, they have a really sleek feature where you can pull in your Mortgage and see details like "what happens if I overpay by £100", "what's my LTV", etc.

And you can also put all your debit and credit cards, under the Monzo umbrella (premium feature)...... 😁

Hi Chief,

Please do you know if Persimmon gives 5% deposit contribution as incentive for the their developments in NW, Lvpl precisely?

Thanks

Solumtoya:


My personal experience from Persimmon has been fantastic.

As an aside, you can refer and earn £500. The person referred also gets £500. So if anyone wants to reserve with Persimmon, try and get someone's Referral Voucher first.