If you are mortgage free...

[DarthVader]

how did you achieve this?

I think my colleagues would call it a legitimate planning technique. The rule is that you lose three years of the gain if you occupy it for any period in the three years prior to sale.

Truly this is not my area of tax, but one of my chums recently refused to do it because she thought it was legal but unprincipled. Caused much marital disharmony ...

Who is a tax lawyer?

but this really isn't my niche. Before anyone asks, i can't fill in my own tax returns never mind anyone else's. I haven't the foggiest about inheritance tax, I don't understand landfill tax, I don't understand the first thing about how company car taxes work and almost every section of every Finance Act is a closed book to me. All indirect taxes are a total puzzle and customs duties - well they're a bit of a no-no too. Oh and I don't understand rates either.

I call that Sailing Bloody Close To The Wind

Wouldn't try and pull that one meself

but no doubt you are shit hot on dublin docks

in a manner of speaking

Quattro - the rule is that you are exempt the last 36 months by virtue of PPR relief. The 36 month rule does not apply automatically by virtue of owning and living in a property.

Quasttro - Glad to hear CGT and IHT are not your area. I could hear sirens. Bed for me. Night all.

Minty, you're giving your age away with dublin docks references aren't you? Or at least indicating when you were last doing corporate stuff... (are you working at all these day - kept getting references to possible jobs?)

Minty/CD never mind the flipping mortgage - what's the deal on the Costco wine?

Was there at the weekend and didn't look at the wine - what did I miss?

yes I'm 105
and haven't worked for 72 years

no I'm just giving away that I know feck all about corporate tax and never did

however I have a vague personal interest in inheritance tax so try and keep up to date on that

going back to work in december, hitting the books to get back up to speed at the mo (hence my constant appearances on mumsnet - sitting in front of a computer all day is fatal)

were yuo in bristol?
CD's mate bought it all on saturday (well all the stuff we didn't buy on wed) lets see. You missed 2004 latour, haut brion, lafite at about £900 a case each.... what else....

Oh my one is not Bristol, so might still be in with a chance unless you and CD have been touring the country hoovering it all up

Well I might be wrong but I THINK that CD's mate really did buy everything good that we hadn't already bought
In which case there is nothing left to go to Reading, Bristol was supposed to be just the first stop on a 4 shop tour
They didn't bargain on DH and CD's mate emptying the contents of their bank accounts in Avonmouth
Sorry

You greedy boggers

Just as I was telling DH that we had to go to Costco as a matter of urgency - to which he said 'I think you'll find it's closed at this time of night!'

Silly sod - if you snooze you lose

1. Prudent husband - who saved all his payrises for the first 7 years of work.
2. set up a business together paid no salary for first year only covered costs of living.
3. took 15 year mortgage paid more off each time.
4. used proceeds to fund ultimate house - prosituted selves to bank for morgage.
5. used every spare bit of money when started paying salaries and bonuses ( no bonuses until business 4 years old! )to pay off mortgage.

Part of reason for being able to put more money to mortgage was decision not to take private pension but to use money against mortgage. so when we retire we will release money for pension fund (fingers crossed. For this reason went from first house to ultimate house without stopping inbetween.

Did you really resort to prostitution to pay off the mortgage.

I meantersay, I'm not fond of debt myself but I'm not sure I'd go quite that far to be debt free.

it felt like prostitution - 200% mortgage from having paid off our first mortgage. Only one bank would give us the money and only on their terms. but mortgage free at 40 is not to be sniffed at. now all we have to do is be able to afford to live here for the next 20 years!!

Tbh I would be more worried about being so exposed to the price of one highly geared asset. Especially now as many properties won't make the 9% per annum appreciation needed to cover the interest costs. There are a number of of investments which can make similar/better returns and are easier to switch between which avoids having your money tied up in slow appreciating bricks and mortar. I'm more than happy to have enjoyed the heyday of 50% appreciation on buy to lets having been out of them for several years. We probably didn't gear enough at the time, but we didn't do too badly.

I guess it matters less if you know you want to stay put for ages, and really get a lot out of value from living in the property. But especially under a Labour government with an affordable housing problem I would be concerned about relying on one property for retirement capital. I guess you may be protected from immediate interference with either a heritage house or by living in a conservation area, but the recently announced "New Brown Towns", or whatever they were called didn't leave me with the warm feeling that huge houses will keep their excessive premiums for ever.

I agree ladymuck serious investors haven't touched property for a few years now.I am a small time do-er upper sell and move on and have done reasonably well out of it when my health has allowed me to work but I sold earlier this year and am relieved to be mortgage free in a falling market.What people like minty are talking about is ok if you are financially astute enough to play the market and also if you have enough to ride out downturns.But your average Joe is better off mortgage free if they want to have a life while young and fit enough to live it.Don't agree with planning too far ahead as no one can predict what is coming. Apparently gold is the new property???

Only if you already have it! It is quite expensive at present.

we did it by selling a house in north london and moving to leeds. !

Haven't read all the thread, but I'd say if you want to pay off the mortgage, don't buy right now! We're looking at places that are 10 to 12 times the average salary, and they're still not great houses (live in an expensive area). Until I go back to work, we'll be doing all the wonderful frugal things suggested, and we'll still be in loads of debt, just because that'll be what it takes to just pay off the minimum.

agree lady muck. I expect to live and die in this house so actually if it drops in value 20% over the short term I don't care. over the long term it will always outperform the market because of the type of place that it is. I also completely agree not to rely on one property for retirement capital. but they don't have to be in England. in fact it may be sensible to have assets abroad (not just property) particularly if one is nondom

I do agree about the last 10 years thing but we are speaking with hindsight here and we are all wise after the event iyswim.

I don't however believe that the current market offers the same opportunities or has sufficient predictability with regards the economy and interest rates to make it low (or even medium) risk to take that gamble right now.

If you max out on your own home in the hope of market rises, do be prepared to have to move out of it to a smaller property if it all goes tits up. i.e. don't put your heart and soul into loving your property or depend on its location too much so that your life is miserable or full of day to day difficulties if you have to move.

We've lived in every one of our rental properties before letting them out. It's only recently that we settled, for school reasons, in our current property and won't be buying again until the market evens out or better still drops a bit.

New C.G.T. rules have made me pause for thought too.

Any relation to Ms Millard the Minty ?