Topping up loan, by extending?!

JamesBro

Hi there.

Is this completely unrealistic?

I have a £16,000 loan with Sainsbury's. I pay back £266 a month and begun two years ago. The payments have been manageable and easy to make. I have a mortgage and don't have any other major monthly repayments.

However, I'm looking to borrow £5,000 more to help with updating my kitchen. I don't currently have the money to pay for this, but it does need doing as the kitchen is unhealthy to live in and I have a young child. If I save for it month by month it could take me two/three years to save the money, which I don't really have the time for. I don't want my child and future children living with such a run-down kitchen.

So, is this completely naive, or can I simply top up my loan by adding a few years to the repayment? Initially, it was a seven-year loan. Now it's down to five years. Can I just keep paying the same amount, but adding two years to the loan and therefore bringing the total repayments up to approximately £21k?

Or is this unrealistic? Hope that makes sense.

Thanks.

[Deleted User]

It's unlikely you can 'top it up'. You would need to take an additional loan, which may be at a different rate or term.

Consider also whether you will pass affordability. Your risk profile will be very different as you have an existing loan and no savings.

foxy-stoat

You will need another loan, either £5,000 or £5,000 + whatever is outstanding on the first loan.

I would suggest if the kitchen is unhealthy give it a good clean now.

JamesBro

I wish it only needed a clean!

More to do with gaps in the wall and floor, allowing for dust and drafts to come into the house. It needs, ta the very least, sealing with wall and floor tiles. Potentially the lowest cost of the work would be £3000.

But thank you. So I would essentially keep the same term of the loan - coming to an end in 2024 - but have to increase the monthly payments?

EDIT: Sorry, saw your note re term and rate. Thanks.

MallyGirl

I would be very careful with any sort of 'extension'. I have seen more than one instance on here where people ended up losing good rates and having the remains of the existing loan bumped up to the same (higher) rate as any 'top up'.

DCFC79

JamesBro wrote: »

I wish it only needed a clean!

More to do with gaps in the wall and floor, allowing for dust and drafts to come into the house. It needs, ta the very least, sealing with wall and floor tiles. Potentially the lowest cost of the work would be £3000.

But thank you. So I would essentially keep the same term of the loan - coming to an end in 2024 - but have to increase the monthly payments?

EDIT: Sorry, saw your note re term and rate. Thanks.

Speak to the lender re your options.


Don't agree to anything before you think it over or post it on here for further advice.

JamesBro

Thanks all.

No, absolutely. I do not want to be paying far more interest nor do I want to put myself under any stress with repayments. Am only looking to do something whereby I won't notice the extra monthly cost but will make a big difference to my home-life.

Thanks. Will post.

foxy-stoat

Have you received some quotes for a new kitchen yet? £5,000 seems a bit low if it is as you describe.

JamesBro

It's a small, galley kitchen. I'm trying to do it cheaply, I admit.

Essentially, my priority is to tile the floor and walls to make it air-tight, at least! Just to block the holes in the wall allowing dust and a breeze in. The labour for this plus materials for tiles will come to, I estimate, around £2,500. I already have basic IKEA cabinets (with sink inbuilt) which I could perhaps re-attach to the wall, at a cost of £500 labour. And then I could get a new free-standing basic oven and dishwasher, installed and plumbed in for, perhaps £2,000-£3,000, bringing it up to £5,000-£6,000 which I can pay for the excess out of savings if it was up to £6,000. As I say, my priority is to just make it healthier/safer to live in.

ratrace

JamesBro wrote: »

It's a small, galley kitchen. I'm trying to do it cheaply, I admit.

Essentially, my priority is to tile the floor and walls to make it air-tight, at least! Just to block the holes in the wall allowing dust and a breeze in. The labour for this plus materials for tiles will come to, I estimate, around £2,500. I already have basic IKEA cabinets (with sink inbuilt) which I could perhaps re-attach to the wall, at a cost of £500 labour. And then I could get a new free-standing basic oven and dishwasher, installed and plumbed in for, perhaps £2,000-£3,000, bringing it up to £5,000-£6,000 which I can pay for the excess out of savings if it was up to £6,000. As I say, my priority is to just make it healthier/safer to live in.

Hi mate, you have holes etc... in the walls what you can do for now is just patch them upwith filler or some expanding foam,let it go solid cut it flush to the wall and paint over it of cover it with somthing

i did similar with a window that was letting air in expanding foam is great and blocks out a lot of cold its not a long term solution but will give you a chance to save up a bit

in terms of making it safe for the little one i understand but try to keep them out of the kitchen as much as possible as its not really safe place even if you had a fully done up kitchen as there are gas and other hazzards around

all in all i would try to patch things up as much as i could and if that didnt work then maybe look into doing it up a bit, but dont get to carried away mate as kitchens costs can run out of hand, i know a few people who have got into lots of debt just for a kitchen because "its the hub of the house" a mate of mine just spent £15k last year and is struggling with the repayments

Ben8282

https://www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/borrowing/bor_borrowing_zone#tab--top-upyour-loan-

This may be of help