To borrow money for home improvements in our early 50s

[AquaSub]

Am I mad to remodel the house at age 51?

The house is in many ways fine as it is, was a head rather than heart purchase (location is great, size fits our needs) but the layout is just not great. I’d love to make a more open plan kitchen dining sitting area with direct access to the garden, whilst keeping a separate living room (and we’d also manage a separate ‘tv room’.)

But the kids are teens and won’t all be at home forever, though very likely to stay for tertiary education.

We will downsize at some point, but I envisage living here for at least another 15 years. I’m very sociable , love to entertain but the house as it is doesn’t work so well for that.

We wouldn’t recoup the costs in full as such (who does with home improvements these days!) - but spread over 15 years is it unreasonable to spend money on improving our lifestyle?

Our pensions are ok, we’re are not in to flash cars or holidays, like an active & outdoor lifestyle. Mortgage is nearly done. But we’d need to borrow for these improvements. We have critical illness cover & work benefits that would be there in event of ill health etc.

PIL have said they will help support uni costs, which is amazing, but we also have some set aside.

What we don’t have is house deposit funds for the kids, which we could potentially have instead of house improvements.

Has anyone had a similar dilemma? It’s now or never really to make a decision!

AIBU to borrow money for home improvements that are lifestyle rather than need? And we plan to downsize anyway so it’s not getting the house ready for old age as such (though we could also factor that in?)

If you're planning to live there for another 15 years I don't understand why you wouldn't if you want to and you can afford it.

Your age is irrelevant imo.

I'd absolutely do it. It will put you in a great position if you decide to sell it in 15 years. Houses need to be updated, I personally won't be one of these people who don't remodel their house a single time for the 60 years they are living in it

I would go for it. You do what what you can to make your life how you want it now.

Do it

Soinds like you can afford it.

One thing I've learnt since retiring is that it's very prudent and financially better to do any major jobs while you're still earning a salary!

Loving these positive responses!

@Additup the reason I mentioned age is the hesitation with burdening ourselves with unnecessary debt - my Dad died at 59, and that may be clouding my view, as is the conflicting view of life is to be enjoyed while you can!

Do it but also future proof it as much as possible. Old age isn’t the only thing can affect your mobility so it’s better to do it now whilst putting some thought and design into it rather than settling for something you don’t like because you’re in a hurry when you need it done.

Yes, of course. Realistically, you’re going to be working for at least another 15 years or more. I would want the house to stay in good condition and be updated. For my own enjoyment, if not for maintaining its value. I’m 46 so not much younger and it wouldn’t even cross my mind not to. We’ve paid £60k in building work this year alone (not borrowed, but if I’d needed to).

Do it. 50s isn't old at all. You could still be living there in 30 years.

Of course you should do it. My husband was 60 and I was 54 when we borrowed money to do our house up. Our mortgage was nowhere near done either!

Do you think you are 'too old' for nice things? That's a bit of a funny attitude if so. I love my house and want it to be beautiful and comfortable.

This!
once retirement comes it’s much harder to do these things, so i would get done whilst you are working OP.

It wouldn’t even occur to me to consider age in relation to this.

You plan to live in the house for another 15 years - if you can afford to do it then why on earth would you not make it pleasant to live in and suitable for your needs for that period of time.

Only you can weigh up the home improvements versus house deposit for kids question.

Not one person has said not to do this . You won't regret it . You should enjoy your home and be comfortable - isn't that what you work for ? And even if you move in years to come , you should have equity if you need it .

Do it. Because then you get to live in a house you designed to reflect how you live.

We have lived in our house for 20 years and never remodelled the kitchen. It was never right but always good enough. Now it looks really tatty and in dire need of renovatioon but we will probably downsize soon, so it would be stupid to pay a fortune for remodelling the space to our taste when new owners might want something different. But its tattiness will affect sale price. I wish we had updated it 5 years ago.

What we don’t have is house deposit funds for the kids, which we could potentially have instead of house improvements.

You could downsize to release equity for this in due course

I also can't understand how your age is relevant to this? I'm older than you and planning to remodel my house next year. If you are planning to continue living in the house OR want to sell it you'll need to do this at some point anyway.

We have just had this same debate and have decided to bite the bullet and work due to start in the new year. We reckon we'll move in the next 15 years but have future proofed the house just in case we dont as we have a bedroom downstairs already and are adding a downstairs shower room. I have an autoimmune disease that affects my joints though so that was important for us. Also have 2 kids at uni so going through an expensive patch but really want the house to suit our needs and realistically we could end up staying here.

So I say - go for it!

Same as @mindutopia - I'm 48 and we've just moved to a house which we want to extend & remodel! It's a 20 year plan (all being well) and hopefully we'll reap the benefits when it comes to downsizing in our late 60's.

@AquaSub “The house is in many ways fine as it is”

I would only borrow money for essential work.

I think the question is how much, £40k might make sense £100k less so.

It depends on the costs and your finances.
You could sell it for an open plan property too save you doing the work.

Not at all.
In fact, we moved house last year at 60 and we completely remodelled the property we moved into. It’s our forever home and we have no plans of moving from here so we wanted to make it how we wanted.

Given that you’re planning to stay there for 15 years - I’d absolutely go ahead and re-model the house - you may end up making it your forever home too.

I think this is the crux of my issue, we don’t have any debt other than mortgage, cars bought (second hand) outright etc. we saved to get one bathroom done.

though @ACynicalDad if I add up my ‘dream’ list it probably could be close to 100k! That includes extensive garden landscaping though!

Best to do it now while you are both working so can enjoy it now and in your retirement. Wise, in fact, to do it now and couple it with ensuring plumbing, boiler, roof etc (those expensive costs if no longer on an income) are future proofed.