financing donor conception

[roshi42]

Hello all! I'm just wondering what everyone else's experiences have been financing fertility treatment. Obviously it will run into the thousands of pounds... I'd like to borrow some money on my mortgage as it will be barely anything as a monthly cost that way and I have decent equity. But would a bank accept fertility treatment as a reason to borrow, do you think?

Has anyone else tried? Or taken loans? I am saving but it's a bit of a trade off between waiting to save and risking my fertility dropping due to age vs borrowing money and potentially finding it difficult to afford repayments and a baby.

Any advice or experiences people are willing to share? Thanks x

Hi Roshi
I'm thinking of doing the same thing as I've built up a little bit of debt since I started fertility treatment.
You need to bear in mind that any change of your circumstances will need to be included into the affordability assessment of your further advance on your mortgage.
So if you say you're borrowing to have a child then the lender will take into account the cost of childcare etc to assess whether you can afford the loan over the next few years.
I'm also borrowing to finance my house extension so the fertility money will only make up for about 10% of the loan so I don't intend to mention it. I'm just trying to get a few months of clean bank statements that do not show the huge monthly payments I've been making to the fertility clinic these last months!
Yes it's a lie but I know I can afford childcare and would probably pass the affordability test but I'm too scared to risk it.

What I would say though, is borrow enough! There are always unexpected costs such as bloodwork, additional meds and also most of the time more than one try (I've done 3 IUIs and 1 IVF cycle so far and I have no known fertility issue - all have been self funded). You don't want to end up in the position where you have to re-apply for another small loan a few months later. If you have some leftover then save it in an emergency fund which will most likely come handy at some point!

The cheapest loan you will get will generally be with your existing mortgage lender (further advances on your mortgage are only around 2-3% as opposed to 6% with a UPL) and then you could remortgage the whole lot to another lender at the end of your incentive period to get a better deal. Bearing in mind that when you do you will need to be able to afford the monthly payments as a parent with one dependent.

Lenders won't ask you for the proof of what you're using your money for. A lot of people borrow on their house to repay their holidays or buy a new car (not that I agree with this but it shows that as long as you can afford the payments the bank will lend to you)

Good luck with it all

Thanks for this Pez! Really helpful, and kind of you to take the time to reply. Exactly what I was thinking re: extra borrowing on mortgage... (and re: the reason I might give to the bank!)

Totally get the risk of waiting to save -v- declining fertility so IIWY I would go for it sooner rather than later.

I'm not sure how honest I would be about the reason for the loan, mortgage criteria is getting stricter and stricter based on affordability so I might be tempted to say it was for something else.

I look at money from a new angle since I started treatment. It is just a vehicle to get me my dream of a child. I'm only 34 but I wasn't willing to wait any longer.
Just say you want a new bathroom (a luxury one 😉)