To remortgage or not

I would remortgage. It will give you flexibility.

I think it depends whether you plan to stay in your house long term or to downsize when you retire? If you do plan to downsize, I’d get an estate agent to value you it now and advise you whether it is financially worth you spending £35k to upgrade, or sell in the present state.

It seems you'd only remodel if you intend never moving house. If you intend to sell, as people tend to rip out new and remodel for themselves, it would be money wasted for a remortgage, my opinion.

Yes I agree with Casdon and Norah.
Check the value of your house first. An estate agent once said to me ‘a house will only fetch a similar sale price to others in the same postcode. Anything added on by you will only be for your own pleasure whilst living there’.

I also agree with Casdon and Norah. Absolutely no point in spending £35K unless you plan to stay in your home long term and be happy there.

I would seriously consider selling the house. Personally.

At your age I would focus on paying off the mortgage in 2 years AND hold on to your savings.

Without being too cynical you're on the threshold of a decade when life often takes a downward turn; unexpected health or financial problems, family bereavement. .In the run up to a planned early retirement, you should be consolidating your financial security ; anticipating big changes in lifestyle.

£35 K is a very optimistic estimate for the renovations listed. It makes no sense to sink all your savings OR remortgaing, into massively repairing a tired middle aged house. The building and location probably were ideal for your past working life and circumstamces 20 years ago. It's no longer in its prime; may be time to sell it as it is and move on. Let someone younger endure all that hassle long mess and upheaval of renovation.

Now would be a good time to consider your future housing needs and lifestyle post retirement.. Downsizing; or a move to a better location . Maybe a place in the sun, or closer to family/ old friends./ retirement hobby plans. A lock up and leave penthouse so you're free to travel the world.

I am planning to stay here forever. The downstairs is adapted for disabled, widened doors, bedroom, wet room etc from prior owner.

35k is a reasonable guesstimate as

Guesstimate as I can do most of the work myself, my mates are the sparky and plumber and are willing to show me the bits I can do like chasing out laying most of the wiring ( not connecting or disconnecting). A plasterer owes me a big favour n is happy for me to cash that in. The window fitter lives 2 doors away and has given me a price 2k under my previous best quote. The roof I'll totally do on my own.
I'm still reasonably fit enough to do this ( if that changes I'm screwed lol).

It's the finance side that I can't get my head around. My missus issue is 6 months of mess lol

Thanks so much for your replies so far

FTGD

Guesstimate as I can do most of the work myself, my mates are the sparky and plumber and are willing to show me the bits I can do like chasing out laying most of the wiring ( not connecting or disconnecting). A plasterer owes me a big favour n is happy for me to cash that in. The window fitter lives 2 doors away and has given me a price 2k under my previous best quote. The roof I'll totally do on my own.
I'm still reasonably fit enough to do this ( if that changes I'm screwed lol).

It's the finance side that I can't get my head around. My missus issue is 6 months of mess lol

FTGD I've got about 20k in savings and my fag packet maths says I need at least 35k. Am I better off using savings and earnings to start the work now, wait 3-4 years and save 1 -2 years mortgage payments or remortgage and keep my savings for emergencies.

I'm a fan of savings and not a fan or mortgage debt. That said, as you plan to stay in your home forever, I'd begin the work now, using half of your savings whilst continuing on with your current mortgage.

We purchased quite young and paid off quickly. We've renovated a bit, added a conservatory and Mansard addition, done electrics, plumbing - our home and old kitchen will see us out.

Are there cuts to be made on the kitchen and bathrooms - perhaps postpone as you do the windows, roof, windows, doors, electrics and heating?

Costs to remortgage, if not paid, could be used towards renovations.

The roof is the only thing I can leave as the plastering will need to be done because of the windows plumbing and electrics which will also involve ripping the kitchen and bathrooms to bits.

I think waiting 2 1/2 years is going to be the most sensible idea then there will be at least 10k more in the pot plus about 1k a month whilst the work is going on. Windows need ordering around 12 weeks before so approx Feb 28, plan sparks n plumber for june, plasterer kitchen n bathrooms July. That's £29kish which hopefully would leave a £6k contingency. Decorate the rest of the year. Then the roof the following summer. Then decide when I can think about retirement, probably when I'm about 60.

Does that sound feasible?

FTGD

The roof is the only thing I can leave as the plastering will need to be done because of the windows plumbing and electrics which will also involve ripping the kitchen and bathrooms to bits.

I think waiting 2 1/2 years is going to be the most sensible idea then there will be at least 10k more in the pot plus about 1k a month whilst the work is going on. Windows need ordering around 12 weeks before so approx Feb 28, plan sparks n plumber for june, plasterer kitchen n bathrooms July. That's £29kish which hopefully would leave a £6k contingency. Decorate the rest of the year. Then the roof the following summer. Then decide when I can think about retirement, probably when I'm about 60.

Does that sound feasible?

It's feasible, however is the contingency enough to suit?

Must you do both bathrooms, can you slash costs in the kitchen?

Would the tax free lump sum from your workplace pension cover paying off the debt? Just a thought.

Have you considered an offset mortgage?

Below is an AI-generated explanation in case I got anything wrong, as I'm no financial advisor:

An offset mortgage in the UK links your savings and current account balances to your mortgage, reducing the interest you pay. Instead of earning interest on your savings, the money offsets your mortgage balance, effectively lowering the amount on which you're charged interest.

Here's a more detailed explanation:
How it works:

Link Savings:
You open a savings account (and potentially a current account) that is linked to your mortgage.

Offsetting:
The money in your linked savings account is "offset" against your mortgage balance.

Interest Calculation:
You only pay interest on the difference between your mortgage balance and the amount in your linked savings.
Example:

If you have a £200,000 mortgage and £20,000 in a linked savings account, you'll only pay interest on £180,000, according to Halifax.

Flexibility:
You can still access your savings and current account balances at any time.

Benefits:
Tax Efficiency: You won't pay tax on any interest earned on your savings (as you're not actually earning it), which can be beneficial for higher rate taxpayers.

Faster Mortgage Repayment: Because you're paying less interest, your mortgage balance reduces faster.

Flexibility: You can adjust your savings and therefore your interest payments as needed.

Things to consider:
Higher Interest Rates:
Offset mortgages may come with slightly higher interest rates than standard mortgages.

Alternative Investments:
Your savings might earn more interest in a high-interest savings account or other investments, according to Uswitch.

Comparison:
It's crucial to compare the potential benefits of offsetting against other mortgage options and alternative savings strategies.

In essence, an offset mortgage can be a smart way to manage your finances, particularly if you have a significant amount of savings and want to reduce your mortgage interest and potentially pay it off faster.

Yeah both bathrooms would need to be done because pipes are in the wall and wiring which will need replastering and tiling. ( Doing the tiling myself so not a big cost) Can't really skimp on the kitchen as it's the only thing my missus Is excited about.

I think I've gone off the idea of remortgaging because I was so looking forward to paying the house off. Maybe I could find a good deal on finance, I know the windows could be payed off over 12 months interest free. Maybe I could find a kitchen deal the same,

Not going to release cash from pension for the house because that's going towards a campervan when the time is right.

Patsy70

I also agree with Casdon and Norah. Absolutely no point in spending £35K unless you plan to stay in your home long term and be happy there.

Agreed, do not spend money on a house you plan to leave, if you do renovate do the roof first, if you think £35k will cover the cost add 50% to be realistic, it always costs more.