Keep calm and carry on....

themadvix

I think that's our plan too!

enthusiasticsaver

Sorry about the DVT and yes it is definitely not a good idea to ignore the chest pain or coughing up blood.  Glad you are improving now.  On the remortgage front if you know you definitely cannot clear the mortgage before the fix runs out and you need to do some work I would err on the side of caution and do part overpayment and part save for essential repairs.  No point in having  a mortgage free home if it needs repairs in the forseeable future and I agree that borrowing more seems counter productive particularly if your income has suffered a drop. What essential repairs are needed and can you cost them and prioritise? 

Grogged

Can you do what I do with loans?
I always borrow £7,500 to get the best rate and then immediately OP what I don't need.
You could borrow the £25k and then OP the difference (assuming unlimited OP).

South_coast

Hi both, thanks for the thoughts, and for the well wishes enthusiasticsaver 😀 

I am seriously loathe to borrow any more money unless it's 0%. Everything is warm and watertight so there's no emergency, it's perfectly liveable (I know this as I've been here living in it for 4.5 years 🤣). It needs a new kitchen and bathroom, new windows and internal doors, a few bits of plastering and new sockets etc and then carpets, decoration and a new bed and sofa. I'm hoping the fact that a) it's very small and b) I want a high-spec finish will balance each other out! 

The way I see it, having a home is a long-term project (I was six years saving for a deposit, so I've definitely got staying power 😀) and by paying off the mortgage early and saving as much interest as possible and then moving on to the refurb with my own money I'm doing it the most cost-effective way overall. I work hard for my money (well, I did when I worked!) and I want to make the best use of it. That's the plan for now anyway, I may review once I've seen my first wage slip!

enthusiasticsaver

Refreshing attitude and it is definitely the way to go. It is always cheaper to borrow your own money. If it is liveable and obviously it is I would do as my DD does now and make a list of all the things which need doing and cost them up so you know how much to aim for savings wise. Obviously decoration and carpets would come last although you could focus on one room at a time. Kitchen and bathroom will be most expensive and you will get a better deal on windows if you do them together or maybe front and back separately. If it is a small flat you might get a good deal. 

South_coast

It's definitely a small flat - I only have 4 sets of windows, and two of those make up a corner window 🤣! I've been doing a bit of research, but not really thought about the cost (I have a figure in mind, but plucked it out of the air and no idea if it's feasible!) Will give it some thought, thank you x

rugbymadfamily

Good idea on thinking about the cost of all these thing, I have a list of jobs (big and small!) that need doing around the house, none of them are costed just have some figures in my head which I have also plucked out of nowhere - good thinking! Glad nothing that needs doing is serious, definitely means you can take the time and save up for them to get them done.

South_coast

Things are looking up on the money front! I've arranged to start work next week (I'm feeling so much better, but figured the only real way to test if I'm up to it is just to give it a go). This means I don't need the money I had set aside for December and January bills, so they have been re-jigged and christened "10% payment 04/2021" and "10% payment 04/2022" ( yay for small mortgages!) So assuming all goes to plan, all additional money I can get my hands on is now going to be funnelled into OP's again. And if it doesn't go to plan, well then I'll just spend the money out of those accounts and work on building them up again. 

I think I'm going to set up a holding account and then empty it into the mortgage every Friday, as I enjoy a Friday OP - actually, decision made, I'm going to go and do that now!

newgirly

Glad you are feeling better now and hope all goes well starting work 🙂

ruby_eskimo

Glad to hear you're feeling better and ready to start work.  As long as you don't push yourself too hard!  Money plans sound good and I love holding accounts for things like my LISA payments so I know I can't touch that money.