The BBC reports today of a three bedroom property in Stockton which will be auctioned off with a starting price of £750. Fair enough, it's a bit of a fixer upper and in dire need of some TLC. After all, it will need new electrics putting in, new plumbing, a new kitchen and a new bathroom (not to mention a total redecoration of every other room), but even the cost of that won't be anywhere near the price of a move-in ready property. Slightly more disconcerting though is the report that it is in an area with "anti-social behavioural problems".
Now I apparently live in an area with a fair amount of crime (according to the Police.uk crime map) but I have never witnessed anything nor had anything happen to me or mine, and so I don't feel too worried. But there is something about the words "anti-social behavioural problem" which gives me the shivers. And so I pose the question: as a first time buyer with limited funds what should I look for? Should I stretch my funds as far as they can go to afford a property in a "nicer" area, or go for something I can comfortably afford in an area which is less desirable? Even if I feel safe in the less des area, the insurance companies won't think so and so my car insurance, property and content insurance will go up. Would all these added costs render the mortgage difference pointless?
What do you think?
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Budget food: Tomato soup with pasta and eggs
We probably have too many tins of soup in the cupboard, but soup on it's own isn't always enough to fill you up. So here is a trick to make tomato soup go further:
Tomato soup with pasta and eggs (2 portions)
2 tins of tomato soup of your choice and brand (pack of 4 Heinz for £2.99)
2 eggs (6 freerange eggs £1.85)
50g of dried Conchiglietti (one 250g bag is £0.49)
(portion cost from Sainsburys: £1.09)
1. Hardboil the eggs and peal them. Cut them into 8 pieces each.
2. Boil the pasta in another pan and strain them.
3. Use the same pan as whatever finished first to heat the tomato soup. I'm a fan of anything which cuts down on washing up.
4. Pour out the soup in bowls and add the half the pasta and eggs to each bowl.
...and that's it. It doesn't matter if the pasta or eggs cool down while the soup is heating. They'll heat back up when they are added to the soup. Add some basil if you want to. We have a basil plant in a bot in the kitchen windowsill so we use fresh basil, but dried will do just as well.
The best part is this meal is that the tins of soup and dried pasta last forever, and the eggs have a fairly long lifespan as well so you don't have to worry about having to throw anything out!
Tomato soup with pasta and eggs (2 portions)
2 tins of tomato soup of your choice and brand (pack of 4 Heinz for £2.99)
2 eggs (6 freerange eggs £1.85)
50g of dried Conchiglietti (one 250g bag is £0.49)
(portion cost from Sainsburys: £1.09)
1. Hardboil the eggs and peal them. Cut them into 8 pieces each.
2. Boil the pasta in another pan and strain them.
3. Use the same pan as whatever finished first to heat the tomato soup. I'm a fan of anything which cuts down on washing up.
4. Pour out the soup in bowls and add the half the pasta and eggs to each bowl.
...and that's it. It doesn't matter if the pasta or eggs cool down while the soup is heating. They'll heat back up when they are added to the soup. Add some basil if you want to. We have a basil plant in a bot in the kitchen windowsill so we use fresh basil, but dried will do just as well.
The best part is this meal is that the tins of soup and dried pasta last forever, and the eggs have a fairly long lifespan as well so you don't have to worry about having to throw anything out!
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Buying cinema food
How many of you have been to the cinema in the last 12
months? I know I have.
And how many have bought snacks and drinks that somehow cost
more than the cinema ticket? I certainly have!
Why does it cost so much? Well, a couple of reasons:
1. The cinema/cinema chain has to split the ticket revenue with
the distributor I think the cinema gets to keep about 40%-50% of what they
actually get in ticket sales. But they get to keep all of what they earn on
food and drink.
2. We are a captive audience. We have to buy it there,
because we can’t bring it in. Is that true though?
I've been looking through the Vue, Odeon and Cineworld Terms
and Conditions, and only Cineworld states that you can’t bring in any food or
drink.
Vue's Guest Admission Policy mentions food and drinks twice:
“3.8 Hot
food brought from outside of the cinema may not be consumed on the premises.
“
“3.13 No
alcohol or illegal substances may be brought into or consumed on the premises –
save that alcohol may be purchased from any licensed bars or licensed screens
within the cinema (where available). Alcohol purchased from the licensed
bars or screens within the cinema must be consumed within the licensed areas
only. Licensing laws shall be strictly enforced.”
So, as long as what you
bring in isn't hot or alcoholic, it seems like they can’t stop you.
Odeon's General AdmissionTerms don’t actually seem to mention food or drinks at all, so it seems like
all is fair game here.
Cineworld's however are
quite covered. Their Entry Policy states that
“2.2 Alcohol and Food
Policy: No alcohol, food or soft drink may be brought onto the premises. Only
food and drink bought on the premises may be consumed on the premises. Alcohol
may only be purchased and consumed in Cineworld licensed bar areas or in
licensed screens and licensing laws will be strictly enforced.”
As my nearest cinema
is a Vue, I'm very tempted to bring my own popcorn next time.
Has anyone actually
tried this? What happened? Please let me know.
Friday, 5 October 2012
What is an Interest Only Mortgage?
In short terms, an interest only mortgage is exactly what is
says on the tin. It is a mortgage where your monthly payments are only the
interest of your mortgage and not the mortgage itself. It means that your
monthly payments are much smaller than if you were to pay back part of the
mortgage and the interest each month.
Here is the catch though: when your mortgage ends, you have to
pay back the full amount you borrowed. So if you've borrowed £150,000 over 25
years, during those 25 years you only have to pay back whatever the interest on
your mortgage is. But at the end of those 25 years, you've got to somehow find
that £150,000 you borrowed in the first place. Remember, you haven’t actually been paying
back the money you borrowed 25 years ago, just the money the bank is charging
you for lending you the money.
For some people, this may be a good idea. One of my old
co-workers has an interest only mortgage and as she is a contract worker, it
seems to work out for her. That means that the months she’s out of work, she
only has to pay back the interest, and the months she is working, she has the
money to pay back more. She also rents out one of her rooms, so that
contributes towards the mortgage as well. Her parents gave her the money for the
deposit though, and in 2012, you need a rather large deposit to even get an
interest only mortgage.
Understandably, the banks are really reluctant to grant
them. Most of them will only give them to people who can prove that they can
afford to make monthly repayments of mortgage and interest anyway.
Nationwide and Co-op have now completely stopped now. They
are not granting interest only mortgages to any new mortgage applicants. Santander
and HSBC are only granting them to borrowers who have minimum 50% deposit.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
I think most other banks still have them, but they are
difficult to come by and for a reason. Check with the bank you’re going with,
if they still have them.
Personally, I wouldn't touch interest only mortgages with a
bargepole.
Monday, 1 October 2012
Ed Balls Calls for Stamp Duty Holiday
Ed Balls called for a stamp duty holiday for first time buyers during his speech at the Labour party conference in Manchester today. He also called for 100,000 new, affordable homes to kick-start the construction industry.
Considering that stamp duty is up to 3% of the property value on top of the property price itself, it would certainly help first time buyers who are struggling to not only find money for deposits, but the extra thousands of pounds for fees and expenses as well. A stamp duty holiday would be very welcome indeed.
"Let's commit that money from the 4G sale and build over the next two years: 100,000 new homes - affordable homes to rent and to buy - creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and getting the construction industry moving again.
"Add to that a stamp duty holiday for first-time buyers, and we can deliver real help for people aspiring to get on the property ladder."Considering that stamp duty is up to 3% of the property value on top of the property price itself, it would certainly help first time buyers who are struggling to not only find money for deposits, but the extra thousands of pounds for fees and expenses as well. A stamp duty holiday would be very welcome indeed.
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