Build wealth. Love your life
Securing a mortgage is a significant milestone on the path to homeownership. However, for individuals burdened with existing debt, it’s normal to have questions, such as: Can you get a mortgage with debt? How does equity release work? This article will delve into this topic and explore the options…
Thinking about relocating to Australia? Here is a UK vs Australia cost of living comparison so you don’t jump into anything blindfolded. Australia is a favoured relocation destination for Brits. After all, there are many ties between the UK and Australia, culturally, socially, on the sporting pitch and even family….
We’ve been writing about how to choose a house to buy, how to spot a great neighbourhood and whether it is better to rent or to own your house on The Money Principle. Recently I had a conversation with our niece who is looking to buy a house that…
Today, in Money Week, I saw that the Bank of England is expecting interest rates to be up to 3% by 2017. Now, this is only three years away; which means we all should pay more attention to the houses we have (and the mortgage), the houses we want…
We have a financial time horizon of 5 years. Why? Because we are of a certain age and want to have time to enjoy ourselves before the Grim Reaper arrives at our shores. We do have provision for a semi-comfortable retirement but have no intention of retiring. Life is…
For what seems like an eternity, those aspiring to get onto the property ladder for the first time have seen their dreams dashed as a result of astronomically high house prices. Even paying a deposit of around 10% or less of a home’s value is too much for many hopeful…
Moving up the housing ladder can mean a few different things. It could be about getting to a better location or upgrading to a new build rather than an older property – but for many it’s simply about upsizing. More rooms and larger rooms are one of the big changes…
Yesterday we were sitting in the garden – yes, we do have a bit of summer here in Manchester, England – having coffee and chatting. Then suddenly, John grinned and said: ‘Darling Prof, you did remember to lock the apartment in Sofia, didn’t you?’ …and I went from ‘relaxed’ to…
Let’s talk about knowing your net worth. What is the first thing that comes to mind? A number, right? This is great. At least it is much better than what I used to think about. When I was a ‘wealth drifter’ – you know, when I didn’t know how…
Remember some time ago I was saying that out sons can benefit from the legacy we’ll leave behind but shouldn’t expect inheritance? All calculations for our retirement build on this assumption and our sons will have to recognise that we are doing them a great favour. When my time…
The buy-to-let phenomenon was highly profitable for many British property-owners until the credit crunch of 2007. Almost overnight, sound investments became millstones around the neck of over-ambitious investors, and many were forced to part company with their properties at a significant loss. However, the property market is slowly recovering; rental…
Renting, on both sides of the property divide, has been a lot on my mind lately. Why you may ask? Well, after five years of boomeranging sons (I am not even sure that this is a proper verb but I mean that they moved in back with us multiple times)…