Re-Mortgage + additional borrowing

FreshPrince78

Hi, I'm looking for some clarity/ advice.
I am due to re-mortgage as my current fix runs out at the end of the year and obviously expecting an increased monthly payment. I also want to make some home improvements and I am unsure whether to take additional borrowing on my mortgage for the remaining 20 years or whether to make the purchases on my credit card then switch to a zero % balance transfer then repeat once the zero % expires. 

With mortgage rates being so high and so much uncertainty with rates just now, using the zero % balance transfer option may be cheaper in the long run?

What are the pro's & con's of each scenario that I should consider?

The things that concern me most is the balance between higher monthly payments and if zero % balance transfers are no longer available in the future?

Thanks

Brie

Do you have the income to support the new, higher mortgage costs and the separate 0% BT card payments that will need to be paid off in a much shorter time period?  Don't forget that if you don't clear the BT you either have to find another deal to BT to (& pay a fee) or go to a silly rate, maybe closer to 30% APR.  

What about going for the higher mortgage which includes the home improvements and then make extra payments as and when you money allows it?  That gives you more wiggle room assuming the bank will allow the extra borrowing.

FreshPrince78

Thanks Brie,
yes I have the income to support the higher mortgage payments and the balance transfer payments.
I do not have the income to clear the BT before any deal is likely to end and will need to switch to another 0% BT which currently is around 3-4% which is significantly lower than the mortgage rates I am being quoted just now. My concern is that if I go down the BT route and 0% BT's stop in the future I would need to borrow at a higher rate anyway, although I would have had some years at 0% + the switching fee.

I guess the easy option is take the additional borrowing on the mortgage, but if 0% BT's continue into the future I believe this would be the cheaper option in the long run. is there a calculator anywhere that can confirm this for me? bearing in mind that currently some BT's are between 18-24 months.

grumbler

  FreshPrince78 said:

,,, or whether to make the purchases on my credit card then switch to a zero % balance transfer then repeat once the zero % expires. 

This is definitely a cheaper options with a big IF attached - if you can repeat. At that time you will already have two cards with big(gish) limits - your current one and the new one.
Also, can all your 'home improvements' be paid by a CC? If so, it will be cheaper to get a CC with 0% on spending instead of transferring the balance. However, if it's a BT, you can withdraw cash from a CC and then transfer the balance.

FreshPrince78

Thanks Grumbler,
Yeah I guess not being able to repeat in the future is my biggest concern.
I can cover the home improvements on two credit cards that are both currently offering me BT's at 0% with around 4% fee.

I'm wondering if the worry of switching and the actual task of switching is worth the saving as I could simply put it all in 1 loan (mortgage + add borrowing) and know my payments will be the same for the 5 years of my fix, then hope interest rates are lower by then?