Part 243: All-Time Highs

Hello and welcome back to Mortgage Advisor on FIRE.  This week I discuss some more developments with our BTL sale, and report some record highs in my finances.  Also, a look back at some meals out over the last week, and some thoughts on Euro 2024.

Weekly Update

On Sunday I went for Father’s Day brunch with my Dad and Oana.  It was our first time eating at this restaurant and we hoped for a good meal.  It’s a relatively new place that has already changed management, and it promotes itself as a higher-end place; not quite fine dining but a step or two above pub food or chain restaurants.  

We arrived at 11am for our reservation and there was only one other table occupied.  It took a while to place our order and this was just the first red flag.  There were only three items on the menu for Father’s Day brunch; a “Fully Monty” English breakfast, Biscoff pancakes, or fried chicken and waffles with a fried egg and maple syrup.  My Dad went for the English breakfast, whilst Oana and I went for the waffles.

As we waited for our food, the other table had their food served.  Every plate was sent back to the kitchen.  I don’t know what was wrong with the plates but they were all sent back and returned shortly after.  After this issue was resolved we just sat around chatting.  A member of staff came out of the kitchen and entered a stockroom.  A few moments later he came out with an armful of orange packets which I instantly recognised:

Yep, store-bought waffles.  I’ve never bought them myself but at my local Tesco, they are placed next to stuff we often buy, like tortilla wraps, pitta bread, and so on.  I can’t state with certainty that these packaged waffles were going to be served to us, but we were the only ones waiting for food, and we’d ordered waffles.  So, if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a pre-made processed waffle.  

Finally, our food was served…

My Dad’s breakfast came out first.  The “Fully Monty” consisted of; 1 small sausage, 1 rasher of streaky bacon, 1 hash brown blatantly from a bag of frozen ones, a small serving of baked beans, a few sorry-looking mushrooms, a rubbery fried egg, and half a slice of lightly toasted sliced white bread; the sort of bread you get from a loaf of Warburtons.  No butter and no sauce were offered.  It looked disappointing.

Five minutes later the waffles came out, and then shortly after some butter for the toast my Dad had just poured the beans over. 

Fried chicken and waffles can be a thing of beauty.  When you get some freshly made waffles with cinnamon and icing sugar, and a drizzle of maple syrup, with chicken that has been fried and has a crisp batter with moist meat inside, it’s amazing.  For a restaurant, it’s not that difficult to make waffles from scratch, and it probably works out cheaper than buying store-bought ones.  As good as waffles and chicken can be, what we were served was as far removed from good as you can get. 

The waffles were overcooked, and the chicken was obviously cooked from frozen.  Between the three of us, we had no more than a third of our respective plates.  It was poor.  The guy who took our order came over to ask about the food and I explained it was not good.  He said the waffles were made fresh, to which I asked about the guy bringing packets from the store room.  He didn’t have an answer for this.  Without us asking, the food was removed from the bill.

Cambridge Street Collective

You may, or may not, have seen the news about the largest purpose-built food hall in Europe opening in Sheffield, called Cambridge Street Collective.  We tried it out for the first time on Wednesday, and the hall itself is decent.  It’s spread over several floors with inside and outside areas.  

There are twenty independent vendors in CSC but I don’t think we chose the right ones.  We didn’t enjoy the food, and Oana came down with suspected food poisoning a short while after.  I also felt a bit rough, but not as bad as Oana did.  We will go back to the food hall but I think we’ll be trying different vendors.

Euro 2024

Other than some bad experiences with food the week has been taken up with the Euro 2024 tournament.  There have been some great matches, and England have also played, if that’s what we’re calling it.  

In addition to watching England, I’m also following Romania’s progress.  Those of you who’ve been reading my blogs since 2016 may remember my long-running series following Sportul Snagov, a team that was challenging in Liga 2 in Romania.  Back then I was much more clued up on football over there, but seeing as though Sportul Snagov folded due to lack of funds, I’ve pretty much stopped following their league. 

A lot of people seem to think that England are underperforming but I don’t think it’s that simple.  When you look at our supposedly better players, they play for clubs where they are surrounded by truly world-class players.  Kane at Bayern Munich, and Foden at Manchester City for example.  I’m not saying our players are bad, but if you were putting together a World’s best XI how many English players would make the starting line up?

Glitch in the Matrix

I’ve been browsing the Glitch in the Matrix subreddit recently, and some of the stories are hilarious because they demonstrate a serious lack of understanding when it comes to how the brain works.  However, there are some instances where there seems to be a genuine mystery, with no obvious explanation.  I just need to point out that the lack of an obvious explanation does not mean there’s a supernatural one.

Thinking about my own experiences, there is one that stands out from over twenty years ago that I can’t explain.  I was coming home one night on the tram and there were a few other passengers.  One of them was a non-descript guy who I saw get off the tram ahead of me and was then walking a few paces in front of me as we headed in the same direction. At this time there was repair work going on in, and around, the station which meant everyone had to walk the same way for the first few minutes before the paths split off.  

Shortly after the paths diverged there was a sharp turn before the path straightened out for a hundred meters or so.  On either side were high barriers that would be impossible to quickly climb.  This guy was only a few steps ahead of me and when he turned the corner, I was just a few seconds behind.  When I turned the corner he was nowhere to be seen.

It would take an Olympic sprinter in the correct kit to sprint far enough ahead to turn the following corner before I came around the previous one.  The barriers on either side would take time to climb and would make a lot of noise.  Where did this guy go?

I don’t have a simple explanation, but I suspect it lies inside my own brain rather than in some supernatural cause.  

I’d be interested to hear about any similar experiences you’ve had, so please leave a comment.

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

Rishi Sunak was interviewed on LBC this week where he faced questions from callers.  Saying it could have gone better would be like saying Brexit was not optimal.  My favourite takeaway from the interview was Sunak being labelled as the “pound shop Nigel Farage”.

There surely can’t be many people left who are buying what the Tories are selling.  A study reported by The Guardian this week argues that this Tory government, which has run from 2010-2024, is the worst one we’ve had since the Second World War.  This is based on several factors such as economic growth and global standing.  

If anyone reading is still supporting the Tory party I would love to know your reasons.

Poppy

It’s been a little while since I mentioned Poppy but she continues to be an amazing little friend.  She has her routine each day which starts with jumping on our bed and clambering over us to remind us she has not been fed in such a long time.  She will headbutt my hands to get head scratches but also to keep me from falling back to sleep.  

Our little goose then has a busy schedule of napping on one of the ten different beds located around the apartment.  Around lunchtime, she will let out a big yawn and stretch, and then ask for more food.  

Mid-afternoon is time for her to jump on our shoulders so she can purr and recharge.  There may be zoomies as well, but this isn’t guaranteed.

In the evening she walks to the front door, signalling to us that it’s time for her to patrol the corridors of the apartment building.  We walk up and down with her as she sniffs and explores.  After a few minutes of flying the flag, so to speak, we return to the apartment where she hones her hunting skills which, if I’m being completely honest, are sub-optimal.  

Our little Poppy also does this thing that just melts me every time.  When I lean down to pet her, she will go on her back legs lifting her head to rub against my hand.  This is usually when we are walking around the building, and she’ll stop every few meters just to check I’m still there.  She really is the best.  

Also, when she drinks milk she often gets it on her chin:

Letters to Oana

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

Looking Back

Part 13 of the Looking Back series is also live.

What I’m Doing

Listening: Earthburst Saga Book 4 by Craig A. Falconer (audible).

Watching: Euro 2024

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Financial Update

Assets

Premium Bonds: £13,450.00.

Stocks and Shares ISA: £75,228.42.

Fuck It Fund: £145.69.

Pensions: £79,226.27.

Residential Property Value: £229,818.00. 

BTL Property Value: £148,301.00.

Total Assets: £546,169.38.

Debts

Residential Mortgage: £172,098.97. 

BTL Mortgage: £104,864.820.

Total Debts: £276,963.79.

Total Wealth: £269,205.59.

It’s the boring, difficult, middle of my FIRE journey.  I got paid last week but I was only able to invest a smaller portion of my salary.  We’re in a situation where we have a few things to pay off and we’re still feeling the impact of having only one income for a few months.  Things are improving though and we should be able to start ramping up our investments over the next few months.

This week sees my total wealth figure hit a new all-time high, which is a knock-on effect of my total assets hitting a new all-time high.  2024 is looking like a great year for gains.  At the start of the year, I’d hoped to get my pension and ISA balances to £80k by 31st December.  I’m a whisker away from hitting that target for my pension, and I should easily hit the ISA target as well.

With things like this, I’m never fully comfortable referring to them as targets.  A target is something you are actively and directly working towards; something you directly influence.  Investing is a little different in that you can choose how much and where to invest, but once you invest you are at the mercy of market forces.  If anything, these targets are more like milestones on a journey.

BTL Update

We had issued an ultimatum to our buyers that we wanted to see significant progress by Monday last week.  It’s been eight weeks since we accepted their offer and normally, by now, the buyer should have a formal mortgage offer on the table.  As of the last communication I had with our agent on Wednesday, they did not have an offer.  They were not even close.

In general, the process of buying a house with a mortgage will follow a fairly standard format.  First, you get an indication of what you can borrow from your lender.  This is sometimes called an Agreement in Principle.  Now, this indication carries no real authority as it’s all based on what information the lender has been given verbally.  Nothing at this stage has been verified.  There’s no point in giving false information because you’ll only get a mortgage based on what you can prove.  

Once you have an AIP you find a property and make an offer.  The agent handling the sale will ask for a copy of the AIP as well as other documents proving the buyer has funds for their deposit, as well as proof of ID.  

Following this a valuation of the property is arranged so that both the lender and buyer can be happy the property is in good enough condition.  Valuations can, in many instances, be completed within a couple of weeks of being booked in.  Whilst this is going on, the lender will request proof of income from the buyer.  

In total, it’s not unreasonable to assume all these checks should be completed within 2-4 weeks, at which point, assuming the checks were all fine, a full mortgage offer would be presented to the buyer.

The legal work involved in the transaction can take a couple of months to complete.  The point is, under normal circumstances, you would expect a serious buyer to go from the initial enquiry to having a full mortgage offer in just a few weeks.  Our buyers, after eight weeks, have only done the AIP.

I was frustrated with our agent as well because on day one they told me the buyer had an AIP.  Then, eight weeks later, the progress they’ve been chasing has resulted in the buyer now having *checks notes* an AIP.  I asked the agent to tell me specifically what they’ve done to chase this up since the offer was accepted.  What they’ve replied with is a list of a few phone calls and emails.  There doesn’t seem to be any urgency, initiative, or proactive efforts to get the sale completed.

My conversation with the agent ended with me setting a deadline; evidence of a full mortgage offer by 28/06 or I’ll be withdrawing from the deal and potentially moving to a different agent.  There are properties near to ours which are almost identical which were listed after ours and have already completed their sale.

If I was making a prediction, I’d say that I think this deal will collapse.  I suspect the buyers are having trouble obtaining a mortgage; either that or they’re having doubts.  

If the deal does collapse…

We will have a big decision to make if the deal does fall through.  Every month that passes the property costs us several hundred pounds.  We can either look to sell with a different agent, or potentially rent it back out again but that would be a last resort.  I’ve mentally checked out from being a property investor.

The Week Ahead

I’ve got a CT scan booked for Monday.  I don’t mind these types of scans, and they’re less hassle than having an MRI.  It’s suspected that I have kidney stones again, so I may need another operation.  I had some stones surgically removed a couple of years ago.  It turns out that the channel running from the kidney to my bladder is very narrow meaning stones can’t easily pass.

Next weekend Oana and I are going to the theatre, which is something we usually enjoy. 

The next post will also be the last one before the general election.  

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:

StepChange

MoneyHelper

Biolink 

You can now find all my social media pages by checking out my Biolink:

bio.link/davidscothern.