re mortgaging or moving

[tatty33]

We got our mortgage agreed when I was working full time - I'm now only part time and dh salary has only gone up a little. We bought a 2 bedroom 1st floor flat in South London

As many are I'm worried about going into negative equity/ not being able to sell/ not being able to afford anything else. I was thinking about a loft extension so if we can't sell at least we can have a bit more space, but now I'm thinking a) maybe we won't get the money for that b) if the bank were willing to add extra for the mortgage is that not the same as lending us a bit more to move.

Apologies for rambling post, hope it makes sense and would love any advice

Thanks

Negative equity per se is not an issue in itself - but what it will affect is your ability to borrow more, leave you in debt if you do sell etc. Banks / BS are very cautious about loans and if the loan to value rate is very high then you may not be able to get another mortagage so easily - but you could borrow through other routes which could be secured on your property. Have you an estimate / budget for a loft extension - guess its got to be £20k minimum (do you know others in your area that had it done recently?). Get a reasonable estimate of what you want to borrow and go ask the bank what they would lend. Moving entails quite a few other costs too - try to think about what you want / need and agree the priorities / pros and cons of a move / stay. Just a few thoughts!