Part 242: He’s Just a Poor Boy…

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.  This week I look back on a break from work and a busy week of socialising.  Also, thoughts on the election campaign, and a frustrating BTL update. 

Weekly Update

I’ve had a week’s holiday from work and it seems to have flashed by.  I’ve not rested as much as I’d hoped and this is partly down to me waking up early all week and not being able to get back to sleep.  Most days I’ve been awake before 6am, and I’m not sure why.

On Monday I had another appointment with my psychologist.  I’ve been seeing her for a few months and she’s been amazing.  Until now I’ve only had bad experiences with psychologists, and I feel like I’ve landed on my feet with my current one.  I think part of this is because I decided to cast the net wider.  In the past, I’ve only looked for local professionals, but this time I started my search in London.  I thought that post-Covid it would not be an issue having video calls rather than in-person appointments.

I have one more session that my insurance company have authorised, but if I need more I don’t think it will be an issue getting them to agree.  

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I met up with friends.  I had coffee with a friend who is also following a FI plan, and on Wednesday Oana and I went for Mexican food with a mutual friend.  I always give this friend some friendly abuse and she responds exactly in kind and it leads to some great fun.  

We tried a restaurant that I’d eaten at once before when it was in a different location.  Oana and the other friend have eaten at this location once before and enjoyed it.  The food was a mixed bag.  The Padron peppers and fried chicken were great, but my tacos were possibly the worst I’ve ever had.

Al Pastor

If I’m in a Mexican restaurant and I see Al Pastor on the menu then my decision has already been made.  I love Al Pastor.  It’s generally a taco made with a soft tortilla, pork, onion, pineapple, and coriander, along with a salsa. 

All the previous times I’ve had this the pork just melts in the mouth as it has been slow-cooked for many hours.  This one was chewy to the point that I just had to spit it out.  The meat was very tough and there was a huge amount of fat on it.  I left most of the dish, and although they asked what was wrong, they did nothing to address it which was disappointing.  

I also had a hospital appointment this week and it looks like I have kidney stones again, which is frustrating.  I’ve got to wait for a scan, and if I do have stones I’ll probably need them removing surgically again.  I’m not sure why I’m seemingly so prone to kidney stones.  I’ll have to properly talk this through with the consultant.  

As the week drew to a close I was able to meet my Dad, and then have some more Mexican food with Oana to wash away the poor experience we had earlier in the week.  

We were going to try salsa dancing this week but for a few different reasons we ended up not bothering.  Also, I had something else to occupy my time…

Lego

As it was my week off work, I started building my Lego Venator Attack Cruiser.  It took a few hours each day but I finally finished it Friday morning.  It looks incredible.  The build is fantastic, and it seems as though the designers learned a few lessons from the UCS Star Destroyer which I bought a couple of years ago.  The Venator seems more stable and less prone to pieces falling off.  I’m delighted with the finished product and I think it’s my favourite ever build.  I really enjoyed it.  

We’ve decided to try and sell my old UCS Star Destroyer as we just don’t have room for it.  

Cats

On the route we normally take to our local supermarket, we often see a cat, which we’ve called Squirrel because of the way it holds its tail.  This cat is really friendly and loads of people stop to say hello to it, and take pictures.  One time I saw it run into one of the houses on the street so I know it’s not a stray.  On Thursday I was walking down that street and saw Squirrel with an open tin of tuna.  It looked as though someone opened the tin and left it for them.  

Poor Squirrel was licking the top of the open tin but couldn’t get any of the tuna out because it was tightly packed in.  I wanted to help, but didn’t want to stick my fingers into a tin of tuna.  So, I tried using one of my business cards to scoop some of the meat, but it didn’t work.  Next, I picked up the tin whilst my little buddy watched and tried banging it on the pavement to get the meat out, but this also didn’t work.  I then realised I had an old credit card in my wallet, so I ended up using that to scoop some out.  As I left, Squirrel was busy enjoying the fish.

Normally I wouldn’t look to feed a random cat, but someone had left this tin, and it was next to the house I saw the cat run into.

Weather

I hate this unpredictable weather.  As an autistic person I already struggle with body temperature regulation, and this is made worse by some of the meds I take regularly.  This all means that deciding what to wear when I go out is a nightmare.  I often find myself way too hot or cold, and trying to find the middle ground is almost impossible.  At least when it’s either always very cold or very warm you can plan around that.

On a more general note though, this weather is ridiculous.  It’s almost July and it’s like we’re in the middle of Autumn.  I’d rather be too cold than too warm but I also want to see distinct seasons throughout the year rather than every season crammed into six hours on a random Thursday.

In Romania, Oana’s country of birth, we are hearing that the heat is so intense that roads are melting.  I’ve not been able to verify this, but having experienced a Romanian summer I am not surprised.  It can get very hot there.

On a more general note, climate change is going to influence where we look to retire.  I would like to live on the Mediterranean coast, but if climate change continues along the projected path it could be a difficult place to live.  I’m normally fine with temperatures up to the high 30s but if temperatures in the 40s become commonplace I think it’s going to have a real impact on the sustainability of living in some countries.  I wouldn’t want to live somewhere that requires you to stay indoors for hours in the middle of the day; what would be the point?

Changing Name

Oana is going to be changing her name this coming week.  Her current name is not actually Oana, but that’s what she prefers to be called.  We don’t get on well with her parents or her siblings, and we’ve had no contact with them for a few years now.  Oana has decided to cut ties completely and is leaving behind the name they gave her.  

Although this comes from a place of frustration and sadness, this step is seen as a positive one by Oana.  She will be taking my last name but we are not getting married.  This is going to raise a few questions by various companies we will be dealing with, and is a prime opportunity for some trolling because that’s the sort of person I am.

Going into this process neither of us knew what it involved.  It turns out you can change your name in one of two ways; enrolled deed poll or unenrolled deed poll.  So far as I can tell, the only real differences are whether the change of name is logged centrally or announced in The Gazette.  Other than that, it doesn’t seem to matter.  If anyone knows more about this, I’d be interested to hear from you.

We looked at completing the process ourselves but when we read through what was involved we figured it was just easier to pay someone to do it.  As such we are using the solicitors who are handling the sale of our BTL.

Diabetes UK Step Challenge

From July 1st until September 30th Diabetes UK are running a step challenge to raise money for their cause.  There are three step targets to choose from; 500k, 1m, or 1.7m.  I’ve gone for the 1.7m target.  It’s a tough target but I’d rather set an ambitious goal.  Also, I have some time off work during those three months to hammer out the steps.

If you’d like to follow my progress or make a donation, it can be done here:

https://step.diabetes.org.uk/fundraising/david4047

This Week’s Tory Clusterfuck

I think we all need to spare a moment to reflect on the tragic revelation that Rishi Sunak did not have access to Sky TV as a child.  This is somehow supposed to make him more electable.  It’s like they’re not even trying anymore.  The Tory party is, hopefully, broken for a good long while.

It’s not just our PM who manages to make everything worse whenever they open their mouth.  Penny Mordaunt has not come across well in the televised election debates.  I acknowledge that she’s on a hiding to nothing but, again, it seems like she’s not even trying.  It’s just the same bullshit being repeated over and over.

The Tories have had 14 years to try and govern this country, and by virtually every measure we are worse off than when they took power.  There is no reason to believe that they will suddenly gain competence or respect for the general population.  They can’t be trusted and have shown time and time again that they have nothing but contempt for the people of our country.

Reform UK and Nigel Farage

I know he’s not a Tory but I wanted to point out something about Nigel Farage.  He’s been banging on about the supposed population explosion we are experiencing because of immigrants coming into the UK.  According to Farage, these people are causing public services to collapse.  However, Farage also stated that he wants British people to have children and seems to be promoting the old-school version of the “typical” family.

The issue here is that he can’t have it both ways.  He can’t claim the population is increasing out of control whilst at the same time encouraging people to have more kids.  What is it, Nigel?

Farage is dangerous because, purely on a superficial basis, he appears to have the trappings of a respected politician.  He’s well-spoken.  He dresses well and is presented as a sort of elder statesman.  He has a veneer of credibility, and when people concentrate on how he speaks rather than what he’s saying, there’s a danger that he’ll become increasingly popular with his right-wing views.

Letters to Oana

If you missed it, Part 2 of the series Letters to Oana is now live.

Looking Back

Part 12 of the Looking Back series is also live.

What I’m Doing

Listening: Earthburst Saga Book 3 by Craig A. Falconer (audible).

Watching: Various political debates and interviews.

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Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £13,400.00.

Stocks and Shares ISA: £74,069.28.

Fuck It Fund: £45.69.

Pensions: £78,846.57.

Residential Property Value: £229,818.00. 

BTL Property Value: £148,301.00.

Total Assets: £544,480.54.

Debts

Residential Mortgage: £172,098.97. 

BTL Mortgage: £104,864.820.

Total Debts: £276,963.79.

Total Wealth: £267,516.75.

BTL Update

On Tuesday I called our solicitor to get an update as things seem to be dragging.  They explained that they were still chasing up various bits of info from the buyers and their solicitors.  On Wednesday they called me back and explained that they were growing concerned about the lack of progress. 

It’s been almost two months since we accepted the offer on the property and the buyers have still not completed some of the basic steps in the process.  We’ve decided to give them until Monday to make serious progress or we are going to pull out of the deal.

We are getting to the stage where, if this deal does fall through, we could end up having this property into 2025.  If we relist it for sale, it will take a couple of weeks minimum to organise viewings, and then a couple of more weeks to hopefully get offers.  Then there’s the process of getting valuations done, and then all the legal work.  A typical house sale involving a leasehold property can take 3-4 months to complete, so a scenario that takes us into 2025 is not that unrealistic.  

Other than the BTL frustration there’s not a lot going on financially for me at the moment.  I’m in the quiet period between all my bills being paid and waiting for my next salary payment.  It just feels as though everything is in a holding pattern until the BTL is sold.

So what next?

If, as I expect, the current sale falls through then we will have an important decision to make.  Each month the property is empty, it costs us around £450.  The way I see it there are a limited number of options…

1 – list the property for sale again.

2 – rent the property out again.

3 – sell via auction.

I’d rather not have to let the property out again.  I’d always be stressing about the next thing to go wrong.  The reality is that we can only pay for the property for a finite length of time.  Spending a grand every couple of months just to keep things ticking over is not sustainable.  

The Week Ahead

I’ll return to work this coming week and enjoy as much of the football as possible. I can’t quite decide how I think England will fare this year. Part of me thinks it could be a disappointing tournament with us flying home early. Hopefully, I’m wrong and we end up winning the whole thing. It’s going to be a few weeks until my next holiday so I need to get my head down and push through to the end of the year. I hope you have a great week ahead, and as always thank you for reading.  

Disclaimer

The views and opinions in this blog are my own, and do not represent the views or opinions of my employer, nor should they be considered advice.  

If you want personalised financial advice, seek an appropriate professional.  If you are in financial difficulty, seek advice via the resources below:

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