Extension planned. Borrow now or wait?

Malky

We're currently looking at extending our home. We have the plans drawn up so just a case of getting planning permission and a building warrent. Architect reckons the plans should go through as the extension will be nothing out of the ordinary. The planning may not get passed until Aug/Sep and by then I feel it will be too late to get the extension started and finished before winter sets in.
Our current fixed mortgage deal ends early July so we were going to remortgage and borrow what we need to do the extension. Current mortgage owed is approx £76K against a recent valuation of £146K. Abbey have told us we can borrow up to 85% LTV for home improvements with estimated cost of extension at £45K so should be OK with that.
Sorry to rabble on a bit but the main question is, should we borrow what we need in July or wait until next year when we're ready to build?
I have a feeling we would get a better interest rate if borrowing this July compared to, say, March or April next year.
Opinions please?

CloudCuckooLand

No point incurring two sets of remortgage fees, I would have thought.

Unless you might just "follow-on" to the SVR and bide your time to remortage.

Fix a deal this summer, spend it when you need it. If you can offset, or put it away earning 2% or 3% in the meantime, that'd help.

Don't forget a contingency fund...

dimbo61

You should consider an offset mortgage and see who offers you the best deal with your LTV and if you want a fixed/tracker deal.
Getting planning permision is not that easy even if your plans are simple so try not to spend any money on fees /materials until you have planning permission in writing !
Building the right extension is very important ! I hope you add value to the propertyGOOD LUCK
I would be tempted to go onto the SVR for a while until I had planning confirmed.
The reason I think an offset mortgage would suit you is that you could put the money for the extension into the offset account until the building work starts and then pay in stages

Malky

Thanks for the replies.
I know planning isn't a given but would be very surprised if it wasn't passed as 5 out of the 10 houses on my street already have an extension or conservatory (my immediate neighbour included). Will have to wait and see. The only fees I will be paying is the fees for the drawings, the planning and the warrant. That's the best part of £1K but money I can afford to pay out in the meantime.
While I'm waiting, fixing up a new mortgage including the extra borrowing and then offsetting the surplus sounds like a good idea. Going onto the SVR might not be a bad idea also. A bit of a 50/50 as to what's best but still feel borrowing in the next few months will be cheaper than borrowing next year. I'd just like to have everything in place, whilst weighing up my options, before we lay a brick.

Malky

dimbo61 wrote: »

Building the right extension is very important ! I hope you add value to the property. GOOD LUCK

I'm aware of this as we've put a lot of thought into it. I'm pretty sure what we're planning on doing will add value albeit not necessarily for the whole amount we spend.
We currently have 3 bedrooms, one family bathroom, and a medium sized kitchen. We will be adding an extra bedroom (converted from existing kitchen), a large dining kitchen, a wet room and a utility room.

diable

Once planning permission is granted then it is usually valid for 10 years.

Malky

diable wrote: »

Once planning permission is granted then it is usually valid for 10 years.

I'm in Scotland and it used to be 5. It's now only 3.

dimbo61

I think planning permission only last 3 years in england now but please correct me if I am wrong ( in the middle of a planning battle with the council)
Making a 3 bed , 1 bathroom house into a 4 bed, 2 bathroom property is just what I am trying to do.
Consider a 5 year fix for security with a much bigger mortgage and like I have said many times I like YBS and the offset mortgages they have
GOOD LUCK

planning_officer

Yes, planning permission is valid for 3 years in England, although you can submit an application now to extend the time limit by a further 3 years. It used to be 5 years, and it's never been 10 years, so not sure where 'diable' above gets that from!

Dave_the_Ginger_Cat

It's three years in England, and the conditions usually say that work must have started three years from it being granted. My borough takes 8-10 weeks to grant.

So for an extension they would be happy if the foundations had been put in and it would be wise to have building control inspect this if you run close to time.

I've just had a loft conversion, and they were happy with having taken roof tiles off and some of the joists out to demonstrate progress.

If you've a sequence of works, I'd recommend putting them all in together on the same planning application. That way all of the work can complete in your own time, and you only need to have completed part of it.