best way to get a loan/pay for roof repairs

[GlomOfNit]

This is probably going to sound really naive, so please bear with me.

Our rather knackered 1920's ex-council house needs some remedial repairs to roofing, including some guttering repairs/replacement, a flat roof re-roofing (over an extension) and a side porch/utility room re-roofing. We've been quoted over 5K which, to be honest, is about what I was expecting. 😕

We can't pay outright for this. We have a pretty minimal mortgage these days but obviously would like to continue to work towards paying that off, rather than putting more on it. DH could put the roof repairs on the credit card but that would pretty much max it out (and he's really careful about not using the credit card for more than he can afford to pay off every month, save in extremis). Before we go for one of these two options, are there any other things we could do that wouldn't have us over a barrel?

For instance, are there low-interest loans for household repairs that we could find? Would the bank that holds the mortgage likely offer a low interest loan because it's a house they have an interest in? Are there any government schemes where you can borrow money for this sort of repair? (I know it's not insulation or anything like that.)

I don’t think you’re going to find a lower rate than additional lending on the mortgage. There’s nothing stopping you making overpayments on this though (to the tune of the amount that you would have needed to pay off the credit card each month). They may not let you do it for just 5k though.

I would be getting an interest free credit card personally. Apparently NatWest have one for 19 months at the moment.

Increasing the mortgage lending and a low-interest loan from the bank that does your mortgage are one and the same thing.

If if were me, I’d apply for a 0% balance transfer credit card (go to moneysavingexpert and search via them) if your builder will accept a credit card payment. If they won’t, you want to look for a 0% money transfer card instead - this gives you the cash to pay the builder into your account.

Most 0% credit card deals are for 18-24 months, maybe longer if you’re lucky, allowing you to treat them like a loan and pay off gradually month by month whilst the 0% interest rate lasts.