Renovation/releasing equity timeline

[BathmatOfDoom]

Getting ahead of myself here solve I haven't yet got figures from the builder, but the house we're looking at needs work. It's marketed at the home report valuation (Scotland) but this failed to account for the asbestos in the roof, and houses here are routinely being overvalued by the EA, as evidence by our own recent sale and the constant reductions on Rightmove, so we are likely to offer under. Anyway, we could put a 27% deposit against it but since it needs work we will probably only put 7% down (if we can get it for under the valuation, assuming mortgage valuation agrees, which I know is anyone's guess, then the % deposit would be greater) and spend the rest on the central heating, rewiring, sorting roofing and insulation then commence decoration with what's left.

My question is that obviously I'm tempted by a long fixed rate, but in this case the house is likely to be worth significantly following the work, and so a remortgage afterwards seems sensible. In addition, it could benefit from an extension eventually, in which case we would probably look to release equity to carry this out provided the value hadn't bombed. So my question is would you grab a long fix while you can, or in this situation does it make more sense to go for a more flexible mortgage product?

since, evidenced, *significantly more

Clearly my fingers are still asleep.

Little bump

Lots of people do not make much money from house renovations unless the market is forging upwards very strongly. It depends what reduction you get and, as you are not doing the work yourselves, it might cost more than you think to put all of this right. What about kitchen, bathroom and garden? Do they not need sorting out too? Also, there is always more wrong than you think! It always costs more than you think due to unforseen problems and expense. As most places are not going upwards in value, and you have said your area is falling, I think you are being very optimistic with making money, or even selling at a profit given the amount of work you need to do.

You can get mortgages where you do not have to complete the full term.You can pay them off early even if they are fixed. If the fix is at a good rate, presumably you could pay it off if you decide to sell. You just need to make sure you do not have to pay a whacking amount for doing that. Take expert adviced on the products available. Somewill let you pay the mortgage off early for a smallish fee or let you overpay.

Ah this isn't a house we would be looking to sell - house prices and values only come into it if we need to release equity in future, for example to extend (luxury rather than necessity). The kitchen and bathroom are both manageable for now, we just need it to be safe (electrics), dry (roof) and warm (heating and insulation). We can decorate ourselves - but yes, the garden will need to be fenced. Otherwise it's low maintenance lawn and gravel :)