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Savings and Investments thread
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That'd be really frustrating, but surely the sellers would have that issue when they go to sell again so hopefully they can reconsider....Rob7Lee said:
The valuation will likely be accessible by the next valuer, so highly unlikely.jacob_CAFC said:House we were meant to be buying was valued 20k under what we put an offer in for... The sellers have said they can go down by £5k, but just wondered what the likelyhood is that we will be able to get another lender to value the house higher?
Assume the lower valuation means you can't get the mortgage you need?
Yeah unfortunately not, we can get a mortgage for 350 but they want 365 for it0 -
All RICS surveyors have access to previous valuations.
When you say they want £365k for it, how much of a loan are you taking? If a low LTV it really doesn't matter as the bank are only concerned with their security.
When I moved last year mine was low so the bank didn't even bother doing a valuation (they may have driven by to check it was there but not convinced).
If your bank have valued it at 345k they'll still lend up to their usual LTV (subject to all the usual affordability criteria).0 -
What is happening in Ukraine at the moment is having a negative effect on share prices.meldrew66 said:I have never bought shares before but reading about the 20% drop in Lloyds shares and the general views expressed/rationale for them being likely to shoot back up soon whetted my appetite. I hovered over buying at 41.96p late yesterday but didn’t go through with it. I see it’s up to 45p already today. What’s the general opinion……buy now at the current price or hold on for a dip back down? I’ve got £5k burning a hole in my pocket.
Any tips/thoughts from those ‘in the know’?
Wheather the war will end soon or escalate will have a direct effect on share prices.
Unfortunately I have no idea how things will pan out.1 -
We want a loan for 85% of property so if we did go ahead with the purchase at £365k, we've have to stump up an extra £15k on top of our deposit and everything else we need to pay for, which isn't really feasible anytime soon.0
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So, did you have an Offer accepted for £370k and the valuer is saying its worth £350k, so you are looking at an 85% loan on a £350k property, but the vendor will only reduce down to £365k ?.jacob_CAFC said:We want a loan for 85% of property so if we did go ahead with the purchase at £365k, we've have to stump up an extra £15k on top of our deposit and everything else we need to pay for, which isn't really feasible anytime soon.
just making sure the maths are right. Originally you were looking at a deposit of £55,500 and a mortgage of £314,500 but now the lender will only go to £297,500 and so you need to stump up £67,500.
Can parents help with the difference ?
Can you go to another lender who will lend you 90%. They might value it the same but you could borrow a bit more. Different lenders have different lending limits. Who are you going with at the moment ?0 -
Buying individual shares is a mugs game. That's why collectives (unit trust to us old 'uns) exist.meldrew66 said:I have never bought shares before but reading about the 20% drop in Lloyds shares and the general views expressed/rationale for them being likely to shoot back up soon whetted my appetite. I hovered over buying at 41.96p late yesterday but didn’t go through with it. I see it’s up to 45p already today. What’s the general opinion……buy now at the current price or hold on for a dip back down? I’ve got £5k burning a hole in my pocket.
Any tips/thoughts from those ‘in the know’?1 -
Lloyds will ping up & down like most shares in this current climate you need to look at the range it trades inline with the FTSE graph.meldrew66 said:I have never bought shares before but reading about the 20% drop in Lloyds shares and the general views expressed/rationale for them being likely to shoot back up soon whetted my appetite. I hovered over buying at 41.96p late yesterday but didn’t go through with it. I see it’s up to 45p already today. What’s the general opinion……buy now at the current price or hold on for a dip back down? I’ve got £5k burning a hole in my pocket.
Any tips/thoughts from those ‘in the know’?
Aviva pay a decent divi and the next 2 years it will be higher stated by the CEO a couple of weeks ago. Additionally they are going to issue 1 'B' share @ £1 a share for every ordinary share you hold. Worth a thought if you are just looking for a punt. Obviously Lloyds are cheaper so you can buy more of them x the price, assuming you get it right.0 -
Golfie is right of course but if you are putting decent money in your pension and no large mortgage hanging over head then no harm in a punt on a single share if you fancy playing it in a volatile market. If you think the 5K is something you want to take an active gamble with.meldrew66 said:I have never bought shares before but reading about the 20% drop in Lloyds shares and the general views expressed/rationale for them being likely to shoot back up soon whetted my appetite. I hovered over buying at 41.96p late yesterday but didn’t go through with it. I see it’s up to 45p already today. What’s the general opinion……buy now at the current price or hold on for a dip back down? I’ve got £5k burning a hole in my pocket.
Any tips/thoughts from those ‘in the know’?0 -
If you can't afford it then go back to the agent and state mortgage company have valued it at x and therefore you can't proceed at the agreed price. They can only say no to a reduction........ they may meet you half way, don't ask don't get!jacob_CAFC said:We want a loan for 85% of property so if we did go ahead with the purchase at £365k, we've have to stump up an extra £15k on top of our deposit and everything else we need to pay for, which isn't really feasible anytime soon.
Or as Golfie says you could try a different lender but the rate may be higher so you will be paying more anyway.
It probably comes down to how much you want it and what you can afford, certainly I'd go back to the agent/vendor initially whilst you explore your options with other lenders either 90% LTV or a better valuation (although I think that unlikely).0 -
Harsh! - Whilst I agree to an extent, I've always done some dealing with individual shares but make it a small proportion of my overall portfolio. Done pretty well over the years.golfaddick said:
Buying individual shares is a mugs game. That's why collectives (unit trust to us old 'uns) exist.meldrew66 said:I have never bought shares before but reading about the 20% drop in Lloyds shares and the general views expressed/rationale for them being likely to shoot back up soon whetted my appetite. I hovered over buying at 41.96p late yesterday but didn’t go through with it. I see it’s up to 45p already today. What’s the general opinion……buy now at the current price or hold on for a dip back down? I’ve got £5k burning a hole in my pocket.
Any tips/thoughts from those ‘in the know’?0 - Sponsored links:
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Yes but you are by most objective measures a sophisticated or at very least a very experienced investor, with your finances generally in good order.Rob7Lee said:
Harsh! - Whilst I agree to an extent, I've always done some dealing with individual shares but make it a small proportion of my overall portfolio. Done pretty well over the years.golfaddick said:
Buying individual shares is a mugs game. That's why collectives (unit trust to us old 'uns) exist.meldrew66 said:I have never bought shares before but reading about the 20% drop in Lloyds shares and the general views expressed/rationale for them being likely to shoot back up soon whetted my appetite. I hovered over buying at 41.96p late yesterday but didn’t go through with it. I see it’s up to 45p already today. What’s the general opinion……buy now at the current price or hold on for a dip back down? I’ve got £5k burning a hole in my pocket.
Any tips/thoughts from those ‘in the know’?
We don't know (and probably should not know) what proportion of his total investments is the 5k that @meldrew66 is thinking about. If the answer is anything less than 200k, I would suggest he either sticks to funds, as Golfie says, or spread the 5k out across 3-5 shares each from different business sectors.
I recently started dipping into shares in search of some regular income from the dividends. Bad time to do it. Most taking a right hammering now. Mate of mine who knows his stuff holds Citibank. Banks looking a good sector, before end of year. Lo and behold, mad Vlad starts a war, Citibank reveals $10bn exposure to Russian market.0 -
I was simply thinking that taking £5k out of my premium bonds and buying £5k of Lloyds shares @42p would potentially give me a quick £1k (20%) profit if it went back to its price of over 50p. Seems likely and, therefore, sensible to an amateur like me?PragueAddick said:
Yes but you are by most objective measures a sophisticated or at very least a very experienced investor, with your finances generally in good order.Rob7Lee said:
Harsh! - Whilst I agree to an extent, I've always done some dealing with individual shares but make it a small proportion of my overall portfolio. Done pretty well over the years.golfaddick said:
Buying individual shares is a mugs game. That's why collectives (unit trust to us old 'uns) exist.meldrew66 said:I have never bought shares before but reading about the 20% drop in Lloyds shares and the general views expressed/rationale for them being likely to shoot back up soon whetted my appetite. I hovered over buying at 41.96p late yesterday but didn’t go through with it. I see it’s up to 45p already today. What’s the general opinion……buy now at the current price or hold on for a dip back down? I’ve got £5k burning a hole in my pocket.
Any tips/thoughts from those ‘in the know’?
We don't know (and probably should not know) what proportion of his total investments is the 5k that @meldrew66 is thinking about. If the answer is anything less than 200k, I would suggest he either sticks to funds, as Golfie says, or spread the 5k out across 3-5 shares each from different business sectors.
I recently started dipping into shares in search of some regular income from the dividends. Bad time to do it. Most taking a right hammering now. Mate of mine who knows his stuff holds Citibank. Banks looking a good sector, before end of year. Lo and behold, mad Vlad starts a war, Citibank reveals $10bn exposure to Russian market.0 -
……apart from my mortgage-free house worth £850k, my total current assets are a mere £35k in PSBs.0
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…..and a part-used CAFC season ticket.4
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Thanks for the advice both, appreciate it.Rob7Lee said:
If you can't afford it then go back to the agent and state mortgage company have valued it at x and therefore you can't proceed at the agreed price. They can only say no to a reduction........ they may meet you half way, don't ask don't get!jacob_CAFC said:We want a loan for 85% of property so if we did go ahead with the purchase at £365k, we've have to stump up an extra £15k on top of our deposit and everything else we need to pay for, which isn't really feasible anytime soon.
Or as Golfie says you could try a different lender but the rate may be higher so you will be paying more anyway.
It probably comes down to how much you want it and what you can afford, certainly I'd go back to the agent/vendor initially whilst you explore your options with other lenders either 90% LTV or a better valuation (although I think that unlikely).
The problem is that the vendors have had a house accepted and have said they can't go any lower than £365k. However, I do think that if we get another lender to say again it's only worth £350k or whatever then they might be able to go "okay well we will have to find another place then"
Will discuss options about going for 90% LTV, but it's just so frustrating!0 -
The reason I said try another lender is that they might have better lending criteria if your current lender wont lend you 90%. As previously stated a different lender's valuer might come to the same valuation.....and probably will.jacob_CAFC said:
Thanks for the advice both, appreciate it.Rob7Lee said:
If you can't afford it then go back to the agent and state mortgage company have valued it at x and therefore you can't proceed at the agreed price. They can only say no to a reduction........ they may meet you half way, don't ask don't get!jacob_CAFC said:We want a loan for 85% of property so if we did go ahead with the purchase at £365k, we've have to stump up an extra £15k on top of our deposit and everything else we need to pay for, which isn't really feasible anytime soon.
Or as Golfie says you could try a different lender but the rate may be higher so you will be paying more anyway.
It probably comes down to how much you want it and what you can afford, certainly I'd go back to the agent/vendor initially whilst you explore your options with other lenders either 90% LTV or a better valuation (although I think that unlikely).
The problem is that the vendors have had a house accepted and have said they can't go any lower than £365k. However, I do think that if we get another lender to say again it's only worth £350k or whatever then they might be able to go "okay well we will have to find another place then"
Will discuss options about going for 90% LTV, but it's just so frustrating!
Only other thing you can try is comparable sold prices. Have any similar properties been sold recently for the value you offered at ? Usually you need comparisons of 3 properties sold within the last 6 months. That can be possible if you are buying a bulk standard 3 bed semi on a established estate/road but not so easy if you are buying a 2 bed cottage in the middle of nowhere.0 -
Help required please from those of you who understand this stuff.
You may remember I declined the services of an IFA last October (I know..I know) and decided to amalgamate my small private pension funds with Aviva into an Aviva SIPP. Seemed sensible and low risk. I chose a low risk managed fund (mostly bonds not equities). All of the of the info is accessible online and my extra contributions are tax deductible (up to usual limits) so all seemed good. I logged on every week or two to see my fund had increased modestly and all was well. Who the hell needs an IFA for this stuff I thought?
Sadly since the start of this year the fund had tanked about 12% of its value. At first I thought this must be a market blip and things would recover but it seems the only way is down.
If that lost cash of mine was in a briefcase and someone I had trusted to look after had set fire to it I would be very upset.
Is this to be expected and if not, any ideas what should I do?
Many thanks0 -
@grumpyaddick - without knowing the exact details of the fund it's hard to tell, but as you've probably noticed there's a war going on and shares and bonds have gone down in the main! That said 12% does seem on the high side.
Looking on AVIVA's website their mixed investment fund (less than 35% shares) is down about 6% this year
FWIW I've never viewed bond or predominantly bond funds that low risk to be honest, very much depends what bonds they invest in.
We may have done this already, but don't know your age, unless you want the monies ASAP don't worry, just keep investing and whether the fund is suitable for your needs only you know that.
Also watch what the charges, both overall and the fund itself. I seem to recall they were very competitive once you get above 500k.1 -
I knew there was a war going on but I didn't know I was funding it.Rob7Lee said:@grumpyaddick - without knowing the exact details of the fund it's hard to tell, but as you've probably noticed there's a war going on and shares and bonds have gone down in the main! That said 12% does seem on the high side.
Looking on AVIVA's website their mixed investment fund (less than 35% shares) is down about 6% this year
FWIW I've never viewed bond or predominantly bond funds that low risk to be honest, very much depends what bonds they invest in.
We may have done this already, but don't know your age, unless you want the monies ASAP don't worry, just keep investing and whether the fund is suitable for your needs only you know that.
Also watch what the charges, both overall and the fund itself. I seem to recall they were very competitive once you get above 500k.
Seriously though, thanks for that. You make it sound slightly par for the course which puts my mind at rest.2 -
What are the thoughts on Japanese funds. Both my pension and ISAs are very underweight in Japan (in fact virtually nil). From the 80's to about 10 years ago they were abysmal but I notice the last 10 years the Nikkie has almost doubled and been as good as S&P and outperformed Europe and UK. Having said that the index is still below what it was in 1980's. I still have £10k of my shares ISA to invest this year. What are the thoughts on Japan?0
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Time to invest in my Fidelity ISA, any thoughts on what are good fund areas at the moment, or should I just sit it in cash for the time being.
For context, this is pension related, although still working and will double the investment from 20k to 40k.
I invested in a wide ranges of fund last year, not followed them till now, looks like most were doing okay until obviously starting to bomb this year, annualised return is 1.86% but I guess that will keep falling.0 -
I have a question on behalf of my niece.
She works for a company called ThoughtWorks, and happily she is included in a scheme where the company, having successfully floated on the NASDAQ, is rewarding employees with free shares.However I’m surprised to learn that the company believes – and I’m sure they didn’t just make this up – that these shares, on vesting, are treated as taxable income for the employee. I’m quite surprised by that, it doesn’t seem fair; and I certainly don’t remember this happened to me in a similar situation, albeit in the 80s, when my ad agency was bought by Omnicom. Obviously I understand that when she comes to sell some of the shares she is liable for CGT, but income tax too? That seems a bit much.They plan to deduct this tax through payroll too, and at the top tax rate even though she doesnt earn that much, but she thinks they will somehow deal with that. But she will still seem to face a big tax deduction for income which is not actually income. Is this the normal and correct way such an event is treated?0 -
redman said:What are the thoughts on Japanese funds. Both my pension and ISAs are very underweight in Japan (in fact virtually nil). From the 80's to about 10 years ago they were abysmal but I notice the last 10 years the Nikkie has almost doubled and been as good as S&P and outperformed Europe and UK. Having said that the index is still below what it was in 1980's. I still have £10k of my shares ISA to invest this year. What are the thoughts on Japan?I have one Japanese ETF that overall has been a good performer. I took some profit out about last September which was a good move since it's slowly dropped since then and is now about 15% down from that peak but still well up on when I bought.I think it's a good alternative to my US and UK dominated portfolio and whereby most makets tend to follow each other to an extent, it is a little different and doesn't seem quite as volatile. If something major ever occurred in China, however, who knows what might happen.Personally, and I'm no expert, I'd say give it a go and I think the timing could be good for a long-term investment; who know's what'll happen anywhere in the short term?0
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Completely normal, If you simply receive shares as part of your employment for free then yes they are subject to NI and Income tax. If you didn't every exec would get tax free income by simply taking most of their 'package' as shares.PragueAddick said:I have a question on behalf of my niece.
She works for a company called ThoughtWorks, and happily she is included in a scheme where the company, having successfully floated on the NASDAQ, is rewarding employees with free shares.However I’m surprised to learn that the company believes – and I’m sure they didn’t just make this up – that these shares, on vesting, are treated as taxable income for the employee. I’m quite surprised by that, it doesn’t seem fair; and I certainly don’t remember this happened to me in a similar situation, albeit in the 80s, when my ad agency was bought by Omnicom. Obviously I understand that when she comes to sell some of the shares she is liable for CGT, but income tax too? That seems a bit much.They plan to deduct this tax through payroll too, and at the top tax rate even though she doesnt earn that much, but she thinks they will somehow deal with that. But she will still seem to face a big tax deduction for income which is not actually income. Is this the normal and correct way such an event is treated?
If it's part of a share incentive plan then no, not usually taxable, but quiet tight limits on that from memory, think it's £3,600 per annum free, other limits for matching or partnership shares.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, as a lower rate taxpayer she's still getting circa 80% of the value for free!3 -
Where does she live/get paid? Certainly here in the US any benefit is taxable as it’s most definitely income. Our company scheme always had an option where they would sell some of your shares to pay the tax bill.PragueAddick said:I have a question on behalf of my niece.
She works for a company called ThoughtWorks, and happily she is included in a scheme where the company, having successfully floated on the NASDAQ, is rewarding employees with free shares.However I’m surprised to learn that the company believes – and I’m sure they didn’t just make this up – that these shares, on vesting, are treated as taxable income for the employee. I’m quite surprised by that, it doesn’t seem fair; and I certainly don’t remember this happened to me in a similar situation, albeit in the 80s, when my ad agency was bought by Omnicom. Obviously I understand that when she comes to sell some of the shares she is liable for CGT, but income tax too? That seems a bit much.They plan to deduct this tax through payroll too, and at the top tax rate even though she doesnt earn that much, but she thinks they will somehow deal with that. But she will still seem to face a big tax deduction for income which is not actually income. Is this the normal and correct way such an event is treated?But that’s the US. Different rules applied for folks in other countries. She appears to be describing the US rules, her local rules may be different.0 -
Could the "free" shares be part of her employment package or a bonus. I know a few clients who are "given" shares (or share options) as part of their contract. If so I would expect they would be taxed as income.PragueAddick said:I have a question on behalf of my niece.
She works for a company called ThoughtWorks, and happily she is included in a scheme where the company, having successfully floated on the NASDAQ, is rewarding employees with free shares.However I’m surprised to learn that the company believes – and I’m sure they didn’t just make this up – that these shares, on vesting, are treated as taxable income for the employee. I’m quite surprised by that, it doesn’t seem fair; and I certainly don’t remember this happened to me in a similar situation, albeit in the 80s, when my ad agency was bought by Omnicom. Obviously I understand that when she comes to sell some of the shares she is liable for CGT, but income tax too? That seems a bit much.They plan to deduct this tax through payroll too, and at the top tax rate even though she doesnt earn that much, but she thinks they will somehow deal with that. But she will still seem to face a big tax deduction for income which is not actually income. Is this the normal and correct way such an event is treated?
Also, I was part of my employers "share award" scheme with the expectation that when the Company was sold then we would get a pay out. The Company said that any tax implications would be for us as individuals to get advice on.0 -
Can't help some people can we. Wouldn't touch Aviva funds with a barge pole so can't comment on the merits (or not) of your particular fund. However, Bonds have fallen along with equities since November & most client portfolios are down 8%-10%, although have picked up this week with the FTSE rising around 3.5% and the US and Europe over 4%.grumpyaddick said:Help required please from those of you who understand this stuff.
You may remember I declined the services of an IFA last October (I know..I know) and decided to amalgamate my small private pension funds with Aviva into an Aviva SIPP. Seemed sensible and low risk. I chose a low risk managed fund (mostly bonds not equities). All of the of the info is accessible online and my extra contributions are tax deductible (up to usual limits) so all seemed good. I logged on every week or two to see my fund had increased modestly and all was well. Who the hell needs an IFA for this stuff I thought?
Sadly since the start of this year the fund had tanked about 12% of its value. At first I thought this must be a market blip and things would recover but it seems the only way is down.
If that lost cash of mine was in a briefcase and someone I had trusted to look after had set fire to it I would be very upset.
Is this to be expected and if not, any ideas what should I do?
Many thanks
I've been looking at some alternatives to Bonds atm as they are losing money instead of being the 'safe' part of a portfolio. I hate to say it but even holding Cash might be a better bet.
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As per my above post you should have invested a week or 2 ago as markets have gained close to 5% this week. As long as you are in for the next 5+ years then now is better than 6 months ago to be investing. No point missing out on your ISA allowance - as long as you intend to use it every year that is.Salad said:Time to invest in my Fidelity ISA, any thoughts on what are good fund areas at the moment, or should I just sit it in cash for the time being.
For context, this is pension related, although still working and will double the investment from 20k to 40k.
I invested in a wide ranges of fund last year, not followed them till now, looks like most were doing okay until obviously starting to bomb this year, annualised return is 1.86% but I guess that will keep falling.0 -
You should always have some exposure to Japan, but probably no more than 3%. My current favourite fund is MAN GLG Japan Core.redman said:What are the thoughts on Japanese funds. Both my pension and ISAs are very underweight in Japan (in fact virtually nil). From the 80's to about 10 years ago they were abysmal but I notice the last 10 years the Nikkie has almost doubled and been as good as S&P and outperformed Europe and UK. Having said that the index is still below what it was in 1980's. I still have £10k of my shares ISA to invest this year. What are the thoughts on Japan?
But you didnt hear that from me.....right 😉2 -
Yes par for the course over the last couple of months to see funds drop in value, but you may or may not be invested in a poor performing fund/funds, I don't know, but like Golfie says if in one of Aviva's funds they are generally lower percentile performers. You should have seen the last couple of weeks you take back 2/3rds of the paper loss, I broadly have on mine, I'm about 2-3% down now.grumpyaddick said:
I knew there was a war going on but I didn't know I was funding it.Rob7Lee said:@grumpyaddick - without knowing the exact details of the fund it's hard to tell, but as you've probably noticed there's a war going on and shares and bonds have gone down in the main! That said 12% does seem on the high side.
Looking on AVIVA's website their mixed investment fund (less than 35% shares) is down about 6% this year
FWIW I've never viewed bond or predominantly bond funds that low risk to be honest, very much depends what bonds they invest in.
We may have done this already, but don't know your age, unless you want the monies ASAP don't worry, just keep investing and whether the fund is suitable for your needs only you know that.
Also watch what the charges, both overall and the fund itself. I seem to recall they were very competitive once you get above 500k.
Seriously though, thanks for that. You make it sound slightly par for the course which puts my mind at rest.
Post up exactly what you are invested in so we can take an informed view. From memory (I had an Aviva pension at a company about 10 years ago) they do more than just their own funds.
A go to fund manager for novices are often the Vanguard one's as fairly steady performers (not earth shattering) and fee's tend to be quite low as are L&G funds.0
