our1930sfixerupper - home improvements remortgage

As you’ve no doubt noticed from my previous blog posts, I never mention any of my clients by name. However, this particular post will be an exception to that rule.

A number of you may already follow Ross & Ian on Instagram. You also might know them better from their Instagram handle @our1930sfixerupper. For those of you that aren’t already familiar, the Instagram account started out a couple of years ago when Ross & Ian bought a house together in Reading. As the Insta handle suggests, it was a 1930s property that was in desperate need of a full face lift.

Over the 24 months since then we’ve watched them transform an old run down house into a beautiful home. Starting out with a handful of followers they’re now at the dizzy heights of almost 65,000 Instagram followers! We’ve seen walls come down and new ones go up with the extension resulting in a amazing new kitchen. The overall design and décor has been done so well. They’ve picked up some great pieces of furniture along the way including the famous Monks Bench in the hall.

So what’s all this got to do with me I hear you all ask?

Well, as is the case with projects of this magnitude, sometimes you need a fresh injection of funds to keep things moving. As we’ve discussed in previous posts, one of the main reasons people raise capital from their property during a remortgage is to help cover the costs of home improvement projects.

One of the big advantages to buying a ‘fixer upper’ is that, when done right, you can create a significant increase in the property value. What that means is that as you move along the timeline of your project, even if you’re only half way through the task at hand, there may become a point where your property value has already increased significantly. There is a great benefit of this. You can then use some of that newly gained equity to pay for the rest of the project. A return on all your blood, sweat and tears. Sounds pretty good, right?

Set out your plan and execute

When Ross, Ian and I first discussed the situation earlier this year we set out some clear plans. They wanted to finish the renovation off without having to use anymore of their own money if possible. Let the property give them something back in return – a reward for all their hard work up to this point.

All done - money in the bank

To cut a slightly longer story short, this week Ross & Ian completed their new remortgage. They now have all of the funds in place to complete the remaining work on their home. However, there was a little bit of extra icing on the cake for them. Although we have increased their mortgage balance to allow them to get the funds they needed, I have also managed to reduce their monthly mortgage payment significantly. This was done whilst still maintaining the existing mortgage term. More money, less cost, same term. Two happy chaps!

From my perspective, although not entirely straightforward, this wasn’t an overly challenging case. That’s simply because I help people with remortgages of this nature all the time. Therefore I was absolutely confident of getting Ross & Ian what they needed from the outset. I knew exactly where and how to place this case.

This has been one of my most enjoyable mortgages cases to work on. Not only have I been able to help 2 friends continue with a big home renovation project. I also saved them money on their outgoings at the same time. But most important of all, I played a key role in the second stage of possibly the greatest Instagram property modernisation project of all time!