Remortgaging

[Moneynomoneymoney]

Would you (or have you) remortgaged to pay for school fees?
Our DC has the opportunity to go to a great school but we will need to remortgage to be able to afford. This would enable us to pay the 5 years of fees in advance with a small discount - but would add considerably to our mortgage, obviously. We are both in secure jobs and would be able to afford the extra payment - but will need to keep working full time until 65-70. Is this feasible?
I would be really interested if anyone else has gone down this route?

If DC didn’t have a great independent school to go to.....how much “worst” is the alternative?....is the difference worth the financial cost?
Think it depends a lot on individual circumstances.

How financially secure is the school? Do they put your fees in a protected pot if they go bust (as have a number of schools recently).

Each situation is unique so whether it is worth it only you can decide. Factors include quality of alternatives, security of your jobs, what else you might not be able to afford, your health, your hopes to be able to assist with university fees or house deposit.

We didn't. But we didnt want to be tied into a mortgage that late. It was a huge thing over us for a while.

There's been some downsides to the state option, but we just couldn't afford it (even if tbey gave us half off the fees...). Theres been a lot of pluses too (not having to commute, local so local friends, especially in juniors there was time to get to local sports clubs.

Can you also afford to support your child through university afterwards if that’s the path they choose? The reality is that it’s not just five years. It’s also uniform and trips and other extras. It’s costing me almost £1,000 in uniform and kit for my child starting at an independent school in September.

However, it does depend on the alternatives. We had the choice of an amazing all girls grammar or independent. It was only after she sat the 11+ that we knew we had the money for the independent school. Until then we were of the mindset that what was being offered by the independent was not £25k a year better than the state school and it was pointless to bust a gut financially to pay for it. Same went for our local comp. But we are lucky and had fab state options.

Private is not always better. One school we visited has an amazing reputation for academic results but the facilities were poor in comparison, the kids looked miserable and there was no buzz about the place. Another school had the most amazing facilities but felt all a bit fur coat and no knickers.

If you truly believe that this is the absolute right school for your son and you can comfortably afford it then why not? I would agree with a previous poster about ring fencing any fees paid in advance. Schools can and do go bust!!

My parents did. So did DHs. It was well worth it. But I wouldn’t pay fees up front. To be quite blunt, unless Your children are very able, the school will no longer have an incentive to please you which is half the point really.

Is the discount you get for 5 years of fees upfront worth the extra debt/ interest on your mortgage? Is it better to pay it out of regular income and not have upfront discount? I think working to 65-70 is fine providing your job is doable and people in your industry do it often (they do in mine)

No - I wouldn't / haven't. We fund out of our monthly salaries and would only use re mortgage as a back up. Pressure on bursaries is immense (particularly at the moment) and priority given to children in the two years of GCSE. Do not rely on them as future-proofing

We struggled through paying term by term and as time went on and our careers progressed writing the cheques got easier. then came university ....I think you need to look at the alternatives. Are the local schools Really so bad?
If you do go down this route, the teachers won’t know you have paid in advance and certainly won’t be complacent but Please don’t forget the extras. Not just the uniform but every text book had to be paid for.
We sent our son to private school on the advice of his Primary HT and it was definitely the best decision we ever made but his sister did just as well in the State Grammar School.
I’m sorry, I don’t have a definite answer for you except to say that you need to think very carefully before you remortgage your house And maybe over commit yourselves in these uncertain times.

No. I know there are various tax planning schemes of remortgaging and using pensions but for me, the house is the ultimate security and thing that I have to pay. I don’t want to be at risk of losing my home in my 60s if I couldn’t afford to work because of ill health etc. I want to fo private for secondary but remortgaging is a line I wouldn’t cross.

OP, what job sectors are you in? How old are you both?

If DC has gotten into Westminster/Eton/St Pauls or something along those lines then it's certainly worth thinking about remortgaging.

If not, then I wouldn't recommend unless your other options are really bad?

Alternatively, I would opt for a decent state school and top-up with additional activities.

Thank you for all the replies.
DC is already in a private prep - so we are already paying fees - and they will be staying in the private sector.
eXistenZ - yes they have got a place in one of the the top schools. Remortgaging would enable us to keep our outgoings as they are - but we would be paying this for 10 years as opposed to the fees over 5 years. We wouldn't be looking at extending the length of our mortgage, just accessing some of the equity we have built up.
I think the next step is further visits to the school to decide it is definitely the best one for them.

If you’re staying in the private sector anyway, then your question is about the methods of funding it, not whether worth remortgaging is worth private. A very different question.

I remortgage for the prep school and then DD got a very good scholarship and a small bursary at senior school so it was worth it. But DD worked very hard