Ticha's Posts
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 Travel › Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 10:26pm On Aug 26, 2021 |
fatima04:No citizens don't need a transit visa - they're a visa waiver country - max 3 months stay as a tourist |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 2:18am On Aug 26, 2021 |
mrcodebreaker:Somewhat true. One default which gets paid immediately will not affect your rating or be registered. It is when it gets turned over to debt collection agencies, so it gets registered against your credit file and often your address too if it's an owned property. So the defaults have to be sustained enough for the utility provider to sell it on to a debt collection agency |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 2:14am On Aug 26, 2021 |
AirBay:Go to Money Saving Expert - Credit Cards and Loans section. It will guide you as to which cards to apply for and you can even check your eligibility and chances of being accepted for different cards. Capital One often has low limits (not necessarily a bad thing) and very very high interest rates (a bad thing). See link below for MSE https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/borrowing/?_ga=2.139892219.951649376.1629940320-1891191376.1629940320 https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/borrowing/?_ga=2.139892219.951649376.1629940320-1891191376.1629940320 19 Likes 9 Shares |
| Travel › Re: 8 Things You Need To Know About New Zealand by Ticha: 9:10am On Aug 20, 2021 |
ugsams:As in - it's interesting of all the 'visas' issued so far, none of them has come back to say they are now in NZ with that visa. People with Kiwi passports are struggling not come home o. |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 5:51am On Aug 18, 2021 |
umarwy: |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 9:24am On Aug 17, 2021 |
tushqueen:Guarantor needs to show proof of income for at least 3 months and will be liable for the rent if not paid - could potentially lead to CCJs and a ruined credit record. That is way above the call of duty o! 2 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 9:07pm On Aug 13, 2021 |
lightest:Hopefully things get resolved for you soon. Few things you can do in the meantime - 1. You don't need your wife to add your name to the tenancy agreement. All you need to do is contact the estate agent or landlord and say you want to be on it. They'd be absolutely stupid not to put you on for one main reason -joint and severally liable for rents and arrears. Plus if you choose not to leave, it'd be incredibly difficult to remove you as a squatter. 2. See the children daily - especially in the evenings to participate in bath and bedtime. Wherever you are, have them come stay with you. Establish your presence in their lives as a present father in all ramifications. Split pick ups and drops offs and keep contributing to their upkeep. It will solidify your position should it ever come to custody issues. 3. You have said several times you have no friends. PLEASE AND PLEASE, I beg you in the name of everything, go make some friends. Not only can they be mediators but when shit well and truly hits the fan, they are the guardians of your trustworthiness and honour. Imagine you apply for joint custody and wife says no cos, bla, bla, ba and brings out people to say that or this is so and you'll do what?! Say I'll speak for myself? Norwich doesn't have a lot of Africans yes but the few I met there were straight up awesome humans (we lived in Attleborough for 2.5 years) You need friends. They keep you sane, they could sometimes check your excesses but good ones will always be in your corner especially in a country that can be as lonely as the UK. 4. Keep all communications civil and keep a trail. Texts, emails, etc. If she does not allow you see the kids, please see a mediator and get an order drawn up - https://www.familymediationcouncil.org.uk/find-local-mediator/ to find a local mediator and it costs 215. Unfortunately you will have to pay it as per no recourse to public funds but when it comes to the children, DO NOT SIT AND WAIT. Last of all, I hope this is a storm that passes quickly for you. 7 Likes 1 Share |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 5:03am On Aug 13, 2021 |
Sohot:Yes there is a quite a bit of overheads as with any business really. Some are upfront and one off at purchase point - stamp duty, solicitors fees, application fees and sometimes broker fees. Then ongoing fees like the agent management fees, insurance, gas safety check (annually), electrical check (every 5 years or when tenants change and of course if you have to evict a tenant through the courts - lawyers fees. Apart from the last one, you can easily factor all the rest into your purchase price hence the need to buy right and choose the right tenants. 4 Likes 2 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 2:54am On Aug 13, 2021 |
Regex:Really?! There are lots of us married to non Nigerian men that we met in the UK! I know ow lots actually. Not just me. 4 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 9:22am On Aug 12, 2021 |
Sohot:That's where insurance comes in. I have rent guarantee insurance for all my rentals. After 60 days on non payment, it kicks in and will pay for upto 24 months. 6 Likes 1 Share |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 10:04am On Aug 09, 2021 |
cutieb:Oh yes! Happy to chat 1 Like |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 10:05pm On Aug 07, 2021 |
JustAPasserBy:2nd jobs and savings. Print off 3 months bank statements - go through and highlight anything that you can live without. Cut it out. Shop around for utilities - several companies will pay you to join them(use QUIDCO to search), jump ship if it's cheaper. Pare down your food budget by batch cooking. Set yourself a target x amount in 6, 9, 12 months - and aim to meet it. Go through your stuff - sell off anything you haven't used or worn in 3 months (raised almost 5k by selling off clothes, shoes, baby stuff that was just accumulating dust in my house) - do not spend the money! If you're renting a larger house, take a Mon to Fri boarder. With 95% mortgages, it's much more easier to get a mortgage. 13 Likes 6 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 7:52pm On Aug 05, 2021 |
Bluetherapy:Leaseholds are fine as long as the lease is long enough (more than 100 years) and the covenants not too restrictive - some might say you can't rent it out or have pets. If the lease is lease than 98 years, factor the cost of extending the lease into the purchase price. Banks won't lend on leases of less than 78-75 years and extending a lease can cost as much as £25k! Our very first home and property purchase is a leasehold flat which we still have. Make sure it's close to facilities, public transport and has a parking spot as well. Mainly because flats are starter homes so you'll often have turn over. 5 Likes 3 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 7:44pm On Aug 05, 2021 |
Josh121:Yes totally. You will meed a broker though as not all banks will lend to you. And your visa has to be longer than 24 months ifrc. Some banks like Paragon will even lend at 20% deposit for a BTL. If you don't own any at all yet, then a 10% deposit will be accepted too. However the higher your deposit, the quicker it is to leverage . 1 Like |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 11:38am On Aug 05, 2021 |
dustydee:Hehe teaching is my daytime job. But that teaching eh, can't sort my future the way I want. So property it is. Interestingly, although property is our side gig, it pays us way way more than our daytime jobs. But packing in the daytime job will kill our affordability. Chicken and egg situation 2 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 11:36am On Aug 05, 2021 |
EngrSaks:You're right. And we need to learn to JV as well. Cos sometimes it's hard to go it alone. Partner up with someone (either cash rich time poor or vice versa) and grow from there. 1 Like |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 3:05am On Aug 05, 2021 |
Using our latest family home purchase as an example - we bought a 5 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 garage semi-detached in 2017 for £225k. We put down a 15% (£35k)deposit as we were buying as a family home. Interest was 2.18% so monthly payments just under £700pcm. We then spent £55k (cash reserves) on the renovations. It included taking it back to brick internally, putting new windows (was single glazed), central heating, kitchen, re-wiring, created a 2nd bathroom by splitting the garage, carpeted it throughout. It took 5 weeks because we know people in the industry and also had somewhere else to stay so weren't living in a building site. Remember we have 3 children (they were 3, 1.5 and 1.5 then) so we're a family of 5. All completed - we had spent £90k cash to include the deposit upfront luckily the money came from the sale of our previous family home. Let's imagine that we did it on a budget we would have needed at least a 10% deposit (£22.5k) and another £15k min for a cosmetic renovation (central heating, double glazing, new bathroom, and kitchen) and if we were living in it then it'd be a room by room reno - taking longer and most likely costing more. That's by the by. Our total expectation was that the value would be at least £300k. As it's now a 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom house. If we had taken a bridging loan for the £55k for 6 weeks, interest wold be around 8%, application fees about £1,500, broker fees around £500. We then left the UK, asked for consent to let and put it in Airbnb for 1 year and did make quite a substantial amount of money from that because it can sleep upto 12 people. CTL was granted for the duration of the rest of our fixed period so 5 years and we were expressly told at the end of that, we would have to revert to a BTL mortgage. CTL cost £199 and we have to re-apply annually. In 2019, we broke the fix and refixed it for 2 years at 1.8%. The bank did a valuation and the value came back at £265k. Remember adding all our costs means we need it to be £315k to break even. Anyway refixed and rented it out properly. Tenant was paying £980pcm. Mortgage was now just over £600 a month but a repayment mortgage. Meant we could square away £280 ish a month (agent fees and commission is 10%) Luckily, we're not working in the UK now so no tax but if we were working in the UK then £980 - expenses = whatever is left is liable for tax. That tenant left Dec 2020 and we spent about £5k tarting it up for the new tenant. New tenant is now paying £1250pcm. The mortgage is still just over £600 pcm and it's repayment. Now 2021 - we have overpaid that we now owe about £150k on the house. So have equity of about £100k. We are remortaging to refix again and take some money out to buy a house in Glasgow. First and foremost, we have to come off the CTL cos we want to leverage the existing equity. It means higher interest rates however it also means lower payments because we will move to an interest only mortgage. The house is now valued at £290k 4 years later. We must leave a 25% equity in it and have a 25% deposit for the Glasgow house (Looking at max £80k (£20k deposit). It means we need £75k as deposit for the existing house and £20k for Glasgow. The equity just about covers it. Mainly because it's a cheaper house. Much more cheaper. Then we need solicitors fees, stamp duty (2nd home so 3% of purchase price), survey fees, application fees (all BTLs charge it) and the house must be in walk in condition otherwise we need reno costs so maybe another £5k/6k ish. Our new re-fix is for 5 years at 1.3% and interest only so our payments will around £360 ish a month. Remember the rent is £1250pcm. Then iya Charlie takes her cut re tax. Now compare that to the very first house we bought in the UK in 2010. 2 bedroom leasehold flat - paid £105k in Bristol. It's now worth almost £300k. When we rented it out in 2012, the tenant was paying £280pcm. The current tenant is paying £650pcm and we've almost paid off that mortgage. 11 years. property is a long game. Recycling cash out of property is the way to go however it pays to know exactly what you're letting yourself in for. Buy right and hold. Property is a long term game. You buy and sit on it and you make the gains. We haven't had to front up a cash deposit in a long time. You want to go into property? Ignore all those property gurus on YouTube. Do not pay for any training courses! Join a PIN (Property Investor Network) group in your area - they usually meet monthly and network. Join Property Tribes. There are some useful UK property groups on FB. Get clued up on financing property. Find a very good broker and lastly, have a source of income no matter how little. Property goes through lean and good times. In 2015, 2 of ours were empty at the same time, one with extensive pet damage. It's also incredibly hard to remove a tenant. You have to go through the courts and in the meantime, they can stop paying rent. It currently takes at least 14 months to remove a tenant through the court system. But it is by far the best investments we have done. So my advice? Do it but with eyes wide open. 54 Likes 24 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 2:05am On Aug 05, 2021 |
EngrSaks:Bridging loans are incredibly expensive and are best used only in the short term. Interest rates and fees on it are high. You need a solid exit plan. Majority of banks will give CTL (consent to let) for a max of 3 years. Natwest will give upto 5 years and then you're forced onto a BTL mortgage. Plus you do always need a deposit to start. I'll give a real life example below |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 11:24pm On Aug 04, 2021 |
EngrSaks:It's not actually that easy. In a rising market, remember you are also buying in that market. Plus add stamp duty, 25% deposit min, affordability costs and you most likely won't get the plans off the ground. I agree that property is the fastest way to growing generational wealth but it is a slow process. The days of slapping paint on, new kitchen and bathroom to get instant equity are long gone. Plus BTLs are stress tested at higher interest rates than resi mortgages. HTB is a good way to get on the ladder if you are struggling to get there. The most important is to get on the ladder. Once on it, recalibrate and grow. It's easier to leverage once you have one than starting from scratch. New builds do carry a hefty premium - I'll never buy one. They also don't stack up in value properly compared to older houses. I completely agree with you on that one. I'd rather buy a leasehold flat than a new build house but that's because property is my side gig so whatever I'm buying has to be work for leveraging purposes. If I would ever live in a new build, it will be me building to spec for myself on my own land. PS - Homes Under the Hammer does not replicate real life o! Lots of unseen calculations that they never ever show! In addition to life insurance, write a will too! If you have children, stipulate the guardian for them in the will too. 4 Likes |
| Travel › Re: New Zealand Skilled Worker Category by Ticha: 8:44am On Jul 30, 2021 |
Pelaiye2703:The visa rules are changing. It was supposed to take effect from November but has been pushed to mid next year so do some reading up first. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/employ-migrants/introducing-new-accreditation-and-single-work-visa/employer-leads-visa-application-process |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 4:01am On Jul 30, 2021 |
zeezaa:The tenant has to leave it in the same condition as when they rented it. You should have been given an inventory and pictures when you moved in. |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 7:04pm On Jul 27, 2021 |
Ceesnation:I'd take Bristol a million times over Essex. I am biaised though. We lived in Bristol for a long time. I've only commuted through Essex but looking at house and rental prices, Essex is expensive! Proximity to London cos it's a commuter area for London workers. Although depends on where in Essex as well. I'd check rental prices and commute costs for both and choose based on that. 1 Like |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 6:37am On Jul 27, 2021 |
AlakeOfEngland:Your best bet is a broker mainly because being on a student visa somewhat narrows pool of available banks. Be prepared for slightly higher interest rates. clean up your credit - if you have credit cards with large sums available to you, close them down, tighten your spending. Banks will allocate certain amounts to certain expenditures whether you spend at that limit consistently or not as long as it shows once in your accounts - ie if you paid 400 for childcare in May and 200 in June - they will use 400 x12 as that's a worst case scenario expenditure for you. Your max borrowing will be 4 x times income and maybe less cos of being restricted to working 20 hours only. So your perceived 15% deposit might not be enough if you can pass the stress tests. Also even though interest rates are currently very low, it'll be stress tested at around 3% or even more depending on the bank. So they'll be wanting to see that if interest rates rise to that level, you can still afford it. You say you're switching visas - from what category to student? Can you buy now before switching? I use 2 brokers - one charges and the other is free (I use the free one for all residential and the fee one for all BTLs). Both will advise and do a fact find for free. Their details are - Fee paying one - works miracles and wonders hehe and has always got us a mortgage no matter what. Ezra Le Mon - Ezra.LeMon@johncharcol.co.uk 020 3334 9967 Free one - any straight forward cases Ed Wales - ed@mcbfinancialservices.co.uk M: 07709 316927 | DD: 01603 964924 9 Likes 9 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 7:42pm On Jul 19, 2021 |
Bluetherapy:It's called Property Log. Link below https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/property-log/jccihedpilhidcbkconacnalppdeecno?hl=en-GB 2 Likes 1 Share |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 6:54am On Jul 19, 2021 |
Luvdmx:PS - download the chrome extension property log. It shows you all price changes, reductions, increases, and changes like properties being removed and then re-listed. It gives you a good insight into how the market is tracking. PSS - If it's a leasehold house on the other hand, run away! 4 Likes 2 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 6:19am On Jul 19, 2021 |
Luvdmx:Leasehold is fine. You need to check a few things. What kind of lease is it? What is the service charge? Any covenants on the lease? ie some leases does not allow you have a pet in the flat or rent it out. Ask for the last time repairs like roof, guttering and external cladding was done if any. Stay away from blocks higher than 4 floors (lifts issues) and if possible aim for either a ground floor flat (will give you some outside space) or at most the 1st floor. Most importantly, ensure the lease has at least 110 years left or factor the cost of extending the lease into the purchase price. This is especially crucial if it is a block of flats as freeholders can be arseholes for lease extensions. If it's a split house - split into flats, ensure that the lease is a cross lease with the appropriate rights (conveyancer will sort that out anyway) . If a split house, it's crucial that it has been converted properly otherwise it'll bite you at resale. Houses that have been split into flats recently tend to have 999 year leases as well so it's a good as freehold. Plus you get a cross lease over the over flat so you both hold the freehold in the lease if that makes sense. Where is it located in Bristol? We own a leasehold flat in Brislington (lived there for 3 years then rented it out and bought a house just outside Bath) and my in laws are Bristolians and still live there and own lots of real estate mix of residential and commercial. That's how we got into property as well. Flats are a good first step onto the property ladder. Plus it's easy to resell especially in Bristol to other FTB when you trade up. PS - Ex council flats are also very good in the right location. They have heaps and heaps of space and hold their prices very well. I agree on staying away from shared ownership. If I were you, I'd buy and fix for 5 years if that's what fits within your budget. Overpay by the minimum in the 5 years and then re-mortgage to buy a house. Buy close to transport links, make sure it has a dedicated car park and you're good to go! 9 Likes 3 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 10:31pm On Jul 16, 2021 |
Yemolu:One of the major issues with non inclusive bills is that the bills are deceptively low in the summer. Come Autumn, Winter and Spring and you get nasty shocks! I'd hang out for all inclusive. Helps you budget better and manage money better. Plus in my experience, sharing bills after is always fraught with but you always leave the heating on, I was home only 2 days this week, you're always washing and flat mates will be close marking each other's use of utilities. 8 Likes 2 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 7:25am On Jul 15, 2021 |
Sohot:A pre-nup is almost next to useless in the UK. It will be vetoed or set aside by the divorce courts if it is unfairly balanced against one spouse or disadvantages the children in any way. Plus you both need to also pay for separate legal advice before a pre nup is signed. My advice is be prepared to ask and fight for 50/50 custody where children are involved and get involved in the rearing of the children from day 1 so the mother is not the de facto primary care giver because that is where most issues arise from |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 7:19am On Jul 15, 2021 |
Irenenwaka:You were subletting a room in the whole house that you rented alone - I bet way before the new tenancy changes that now makes eviction almost next to impossible unless you have deep pockets. And then of course some agents can be very unscrupulous and only care about tenanting the house so they can pocket their commission. It's not impossible but highly unlikely. |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 2:24am On Jul 13, 2021 |
olaness:It depends on how much you use. If you're someone who likes 9ja style heat then you'd spend more than someone who is happy to put on more layers. Gas is generally cheaper. |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 2:19am On Jul 13, 2021 |
fatima04:We absolutely do not allow pets in our home for many reasons so it's just a blanket no. We will swap to a home with an outdoor cat but not dogs cos I'm not willing to take on the responsibility plus my children have no 'petiquette'. Some swappers ask you to leave the house as clean as you found it. Some say just leave everything and some will give a list of things to tackle ie start laundry, empty bins etc. We employ a cleaner regardless of swap so she comes every week and will come just before and after a swap. For longer and back to back swaps, she's invaluable cos people have different cleaning standards. She knows mine and maintains mine. Our only additional cost is paying for a subscription to the swap website. Until last year, we always paid for 2 sites which is about £300 a year which is on average what we'd spend on 2 nights and sometimes even 1 night's accommodation in most places! 1 Like 2 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant by Ticha: 1:58am On Jul 13, 2021*. Modified: 2:27am On Jul 13, 2021 |
davide470:Nigerian born, bred and raised! Didn't leave Nigeria or even enter a plane till I was 27! Was also brought up quite conservative. I have lived in about 7 northern Nigerian states though. My adventurous spirit somehow appeared after my first 3/4 years in the UK. I worked as a support worker to a lady who absolutely loved travelling and the 3 years I spent working with her, we basically visited the length and breadth of the UK. Na there ajala bug catch me. My husband is British born and raised but he's a lot more conservative in everything. Till he met me, he lived in the same city he was born, raised and working in. In the last 11 years, we have moved 6 times including a country move. When he was offered a transfer with work to NZ, he wanted to write a pros and cons list and I was like dude really? Let's go joor!  Saying that, my father was a civil servant who got transferred round the north of Nigeria a lot so maybe the ajala vibes was dormant? 11 Likes |
My whole point is i don’t think the applicant is in a difficult or complicated position really But hey as you rightly said the cost for a spouse visa is very high as such application should be done meticulously. The applicant can decide to take up your suggestions to be on the safest side. Also dear applicant it wouldn’t be a very bad idea to voice out your concerns to a lawyer who does free consultation (i hope the applicant reads this)1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ... 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (of 22 pages)