New house purchase, mortgage and using savings

Kernower

Hi,

Has anyone any experience to share in respect of purchasing a house with a mortgage and then having extension and modernisation work done to it?

What is the best option, using the motrtgage funds to purchase the house along with part of the the equity from the sale of my existing house and then using my savings and the remaining equity to complete the work?

Or

Is it more cost efficient to purchase the house outright and then apply for a mortgage to carry out the work?

The thinking being, if I won’t start the building work for 6 months (applying for planning and waiting for a start date from the builder) am I better to apply for the mortgage towards the end of the 6 month period? Hence saving on mortgage repayments and still saving at the same rate as I am now for an extra 6 months?

I’m trying to identify the best way to maximise the use of my savings.

I’d appreciate any shared experiences from those who’ve been in a similar situation and whether they’d do it differently if they went again.

Thanks