Debt free (virtually), but now need a loan

grocerjack

So after clearing substantial debts down in 2016, leaving just a car lease and the mortgage and one zero balance credit card (the Halifax Clarity card for holidays spending as recommended by MSE) we get the 2 bits of bombshell news....

1.) Eldest daughter is getting married in November. our agreed contribution is £3.5k. I have some shares maturing then to cover this so no issue here.

2.) Our bedroom roof is leaking and a repair isn't viable as the felt roof is over 20 years old! We have been quoted £1650 to replace this with traditional roofing felt and £6k for all 3 roofs using felt. However yesterday i was quoted £4.5k for all 3 roofs (and they are large flat roofs) replaced with EPDM (a sort of vulcanised rubber with a 20 year guarantee and expected life of 50 years so outliving me!)

The thing is we'd need a loan as the roof is damaged now and the other 2 are in bad condition so more trouble is imminent. I'm minded to replace all 3 rather than keep making do and mending and risking/suffering more internal damage with each leak. But I feel guilty or wrong because I have a 999 credit score and great eligibility for cards and loans I never thought I'd need again. My worry is that I am undoing all the good work of last year and that I might be opening floodgates of accruing debt?

How does everybody else feel who got debt-free? Would you risk it. Is it a bad move? Or should I view it as an investment in the house? Is the way I'm feeling normal? In some ways I am comparing myself to an alcoholic who's got clean but then wonders if a coiuple of pints would be OK.

Thanks for any advice people, you were all massively helpful and inspirational last year.

Cheers Jack

sourcrates

Hi,

Is this a job you can do yourself ?

I've done our kitchen flat roof, and the garage, mind you it's only about 8 square meters, took me an afternoon to do.

Quality roofing felt is about £12-£18 for a 10m roll, and about the same for some bitumen flashing, hot air gun, easy job.

how big a roof is yours ?

MrsTinks

Assuming you decide the work needs doing then remember - Debt isn't bad, Only BAD debt is bad

Obviously make sure you get a fair quote etc etc etc

This isn't exactly frivolous spending on shoes or gadgets, these are house maintenance issues. Yes it would have been great if you'd had a chance to save for it in advance, but I don't think you should beat yourself up on this one. Put a plan in place for paying it off so you know your NEXT DFD

Bluetonic123

I wouldn't want my parents to pay for my wedding if their roof was leaking and they couldn't afford to pay to fix it. Can you talk to your daughter about reducing the contribution to her wedding.

louby40

I shall be debt free in July (apart from car and mortgage) and will need a £10k loan to replace my kitchen. There is no way I could save that amount, it would take years so I shall have to get a loan.

Like someone said there's a difference between bad debt and good debt!

You could always get 2/3 other quotes

grocerjack

Hi, 27sq.m for rear dormer, 18 sq, m for front dormer and 30 sq.m for garage so 75 sq metres in all. I'm hopeless at DIY and this EPDM stuff has worked out cheaper thn the felt quote (which surprised me). I think it has to be done, and done professionally.

Thanks Jack

grocerjack

MrsTinks wrote: »

Assuming you decide the work needs doing then remember - Debt isn't bad, Only BAD debt is bad

Obviously make sure you get a fair quote etc etc etc

This isn't exactly frivolous spending on shoes or gadgets, these are house maintenance issues. Yes it would have been great if you'd had a chance to save for it in advance, but I don't think you should beat yourself up on this one. Put a plan in place for paying it off so you know your NEXT DFD

I have to say, that's a very optimistic reply and very positive, thanks very much. In all it's 30 sq.m of coverage and I work all week so if I tried myself (having never done this stuff before) then it would take weeks or months, even if every weekend had weather you could work in. I am beating myself up about it, but I like the idea of a plan to get to the next DFD day and with any luck there is nothing else major in the house that could fail. The main roof is pitched with tiles so is a bit better in poor weather.

I'll check with my better half but this might be the reply that decides it

grocerjack

louby40 wrote: »

I shall be debt free in July (apart from car and mortgage) and will need a £10k loan to replace my kitchen. There is no way I could save that amount, it would take years so I shall have to get a loan.

Like someone said there's a difference between bad debt and good debt!

You could always get 2/3 other quotes

I take your point, saving for it would take a while and of course the price could go up in the meantime so i could be chasing a moving target. We save around £200 per month so even at that rate £4.5k is 2 years off and the roofs are already in poor condition. I think we'll be taking the plunge.

grocerjack

Bluetonic123 wrote: »

I wouldn't want my parents to pay for my wedding if their roof was leaking and they couldn't afford to pay to fix it. Can you talk to your daughter about reducing the contribution to her wedding.

Bless her, she's being very frugal about the whole thing and not being ostentatious in any way. To be fair she's on low money as is her partner and they're putting in the same as are his parents! Its just I can't get that share money until September and i fear our roofs won't last that long without something major going wrong with them!

kazwookie

In general terms EPDM rubber is porous, ie it lets water through...........not much use on a roof. I've used it for the last 20 odd years to build kids playgrounds!

The company that has quoted your for this product is it a decent one,? If you go down this route, please make sure they know what they are doing and the product is suitable.

grocerjack

kazwookie wrote: »

In general terms EPDM rubber is porous, ie it lets water through...........not much use on a roof. I've used it for the last 20 odd years to build kids playgrounds!

The company that has quoted your for this product is it a decent one,? If you go down this route, please make sure they know what they are doing and the product is suitable.

I've read a bit about this and it's guaranteed for 20 years. it has an expected life of 50 years. it's by Firestone and the company is approved by them. I think flat roofs are a poor design and I have no idea who thought they were a good idea, but it seems to me that felt/bitumen has been around for years and has a built in obsolescence which means guaranteed work. That might be overly cynical but residential builders do seem reticent to embrace new materials and techniques. I will weight both options up though as I'm sure there's no foolproof surface and it depends as much on the installation.