Stupid questions about remortgaging and improvements

[GOODCAT]

My fixed rate is coming to an end and I will be remortgaging. I have been overpaying regularly and I have seen this as saving as my mortgage rate is higher than any savings rate I can get.

The house needs new flooring in the wetroom and I would opt to get the ceiling replastered and the room redecorated at the same time.

The exterior needs re-rendering but I could postpone it for a few years.

Four windows ought to be replaced because they are misted up and cannot be sorted out otherwise. They are watertight though. Ideally all the windows would be replaced.

I am thinking of adding to the mortgage when I remortgage to get these jobs done.

We still need four lots of storage to be added in the form of cupboards and still have stuff in boxes from when we moved in, but I will pay for that from income. I do have savings but those are earmarked for things like future car replacement and a general safety net.

I read a lot about people saying that they would never add the cost of improvements when remortgaging. Does anyone have any comments or views?

Yup I tend to be in the camp of not remortgaging to cover improvements, the only exceptions being where (a) you have a tiny mortgage/very low LTV rate so the interest payments are tiny (b) the remortgaging will significantly add to the value of the house (so large extensions etc.) or (c) where it's urgent structural maintenance type work (e.g. new roof where current leaky roof is damaging house).

For the kind of mainly cosmetic work you mention, I would say save up and pay for it outright rather than borrowing more - the rationale being that if your mortgage rate is high (higher than you can earn in savings) then you'll be paying a lot extra for that money in interest over the lifetime of the mortgage. As you have some spare money at the moment I would save up from monthly income (stop making or reduce the over-payments for a while). There are calculators on the likes of Money Savings Expert where you can put in the numbers and play around with how much extra interest you'll pay on the additional borrowing vs saving up and paying outright...

How recently did you buy, and what is your LTV?

If I were you I'd stop overpaying the mortgage, save up instead and make a plan of home improvements and when you'll be able to carry them out.

Wet room & cupboards I would certainly cash-flow.
If the exterior re-rendering needed to be done because it was causing other issues, then I would perhaps add that cost to the remortgage along with doing all the windows.

I wouldn't just do 4 windows if you think they'll all start to fail in the next few years, because I think you'd probably get a better price/discount on a bigger job. And I would want to get them done at the same time as any exterior work.

But if I were you I'd leave that until the next re-mortgage (e.g. 3 years?) and re-evaluate then instead.