Choice 1 was borrow enough thru Equity release, plus a bit extra, to make (sentimental attachment) house habitable/saleable
Choice 2 was to sell it as is, buy a plot of land and get Norwegian prefab and have money in the bank.
Age 60 want money for a holiday and to do some renovations
- Thread starter BrenWW
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Choice 2 was to sell it as is, buy a plot of land and get Norwegian prefab and have money in the bank.
Wow. Are you mining for bitcoin? How on earth is it that much?
I'm charging up the flux capacitor on my DeLorean to travel back to last year to buy a Euro millions winning ticket....
There you have my dilemma, get my costs down and I can afford to stay put rather than the unneeded hassle of the big move and being in limbo between houses for weeks+....
Another feature on equity release, but we've only one provider here, and a useless Financial Regulator. .goodhousekeeping.com/uk/consumer-advice/money/a30896158/equity-release/
BrenWW,
I've been watching this thread, and I think what happened/is happening is that you opened the thread/the thread was split off with one option, life loan for refurbishment and a holiday. This is possibly number 5 on the actual list of options you have (number 1 being stay put and do nothing, 10 being knock the house down and live in a caravan. (excuse the hyperbole)).
When questioned on this option, you got a lot of push back, as people were considering only that option, a lifeloan.
That has pushed you back to considering other possible options (see to 10 above). You may have already been doing that in your head/back of a fag packet.
What I guess is actually happening is that you are basically wondering where to go from here?
It might be an idea to do a money makeover thread on here and that will better help everybody to examine all your options and see which is the best one for you. This will set out your current financial state and also what you hope to achieve. I've seen it work wonders to clarify the issue.
I've been watching this thread, and I think what happened/is happening is that you opened the thread/the thread was split off with one option, life loan for refurbishment and a holiday. This is possibly number 5 on the actual list of options you have (number 1 being stay put and do nothing, 10 being knock the house down and live in a caravan. (excuse the hyperbole)).
When questioned on this option, you got a lot of push back, as people were considering only that option, a lifeloan.
That has pushed you back to considering other possible options (see to 10 above). You may have already been doing that in your head/back of a fag packet.
What I guess is actually happening is that you are basically wondering where to go from here?
It might be an idea to do a money makeover thread on here and that will better help everybody to examine all your options and see which is the best one for you. This will set out your current financial state and also what you hope to achieve. I've seen it work wonders to clarify the issue.
He was already asked this by me at post 3. He made a half hearted attempt at it, or in answering any suggestions, so good luck with your suggestion.
niceoneted
Registered User
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This thread is like marmite!
It can’t be a genuine question with a real wish for an answer surely? All attempts to help are batted to the side and more confusion added with each post. My head’s melted at this stage and I’m genuinely concerned for the op and his partner and the disastrous decisions they could be about to make..
Everybody is assuming it's a "he" 
I see it as someone, in their 60s who has a lot of time on their hands during covid, is probably cocooning at home and looking around for things to do. If that includes "shooting the breeze" on the internet like they used to do in the pub, then so be it.
They found us and decided to ask for some information. (reading back on the thread, it was hived off from lifeloans thread, hence the starting point).
We appear to be very problem focused here, "tell me your problem and I'll suggest solutions". "tell me your idea and I'll critique it".
Maybe their approach is a bit odd, or we're picking it up that way, but I can still see someone who is kicking around ideas. Some of them daft, in our eyes, but it's a lot cheaper to kick them around here with us than start down the road of either life loans or renovations without doing so.
Have you ever come out with a daft statement in the pub with your mates, only for it to wander around the houses and arrive at something really useful? Like "I'm thinking of opening up the roof and putting a spiral staircase up to a viewing gallery". By the end of the night, and a few too many pints in, you arrive at the conclusion that it might not be such a good idea, but a platform up in the tree at the bottom of the garden with a comfy chair and a telescope (for stargazing) is actually a runner.
Anyway, I'm happy to keep listening to the OP and kick around the suggestions.
Anyway, it's Friday, I'm off to the pub,
Oh wait
I see it as someone, in their 60s who has a lot of time on their hands during covid, is probably cocooning at home and looking around for things to do. If that includes "shooting the breeze" on the internet like they used to do in the pub, then so be it.
They found us and decided to ask for some information. (reading back on the thread, it was hived off from lifeloans thread, hence the starting point).
We appear to be very problem focused here, "tell me your problem and I'll suggest solutions". "tell me your idea and I'll critique it".
Maybe their approach is a bit odd, or we're picking it up that way, but I can still see someone who is kicking around ideas. Some of them daft, in our eyes, but it's a lot cheaper to kick them around here with us than start down the road of either life loans or renovations without doing so.
Have you ever come out with a daft statement in the pub with your mates, only for it to wander around the houses and arrive at something really useful? Like "I'm thinking of opening up the roof and putting a spiral staircase up to a viewing gallery". By the end of the night, and a few too many pints in, you arrive at the conclusion that it might not be such a good idea, but a platform up in the tree at the bottom of the garden with a comfy chair and a telescope (for stargazing) is actually a runner.
Anyway, I'm happy to keep listening to the OP and kick around the suggestions.
Anyway, it's Friday, I'm off to the pub,
Oh wait
OK, 'blood from a stone' as Bronte might say. Back in the day I was able to make extra cash buying/fixing/selling cars alongside the day job, took early retirement and a small lump that I put into being a sole trader. Car business dried up and I was left with a few yokes that stood me 20k and basically scrapped them after a few years of fruitless ads, so did a few summer jobs to supplement income. Then along came a few unexpected disasters with the cars I was using, new engine /transmission/ turbos etc took about 15-20k over the next few years, now have a new yoke but Covid struck so have a hold on repayments, but for how long???Bottom line is that I was working 7/7 before Covid but discovered that all in all I'd be better off on the dole/pup because of all my expenses meant that I was only earning the basic wage for all the 7/7 effort and thought that fixing up the house would possibly be more profitable re saving energy costs as a start and making it more saleable if we decided on that route. Money makeover...? 'Scrooge/Cheap Charlie' sums up my title in the house, washing machine is Hoover Twin Tub 1960 ,nearly as old as myself, only reason cooker/fridge isn't as old is I couldn't get spares..
The wheels would have been as old if I didn't need it for business over the years, so you can see I'm not flaithiúlacht with the cash. Saving on energy is my main focus via insulation / double glazing / making rooms 'warmer' with a dividing curtain ... but I need money even to do that so it's Catch 22, need cash before I can save cash..... SEAI do grants but they still don't pay for all, and even going on the dole to get it done isn't an option because they'd probably say I have a big place. I will also say that this current lockdown means that a hell of a lot are probably in a similar situation. I compare neighbours in say Finglas and Foxrock who used socialise together, in Finglas you might have a barman and a council worker as neighbours, in Foxrock it could be a pilot and a senior public servant. Covid has caused the barman and pilot to lose their income while the council worker and senior public servant have been earning their regular salaries and have been able to save loads becasue they can't spend it.. Back to the drawing board.....Everybody is assuming it's a "he"
I see it as someone, in their 60s who has a lot of time on their hands during covid, is probably cocooning at home and looking around for things to do. If that includes "shooting the breeze" on the internet like they used to do in the pub, then so be it.
They found us and decided to ask for some information. (reading back on the thread, it was hived off from lifeloans thread, hence the starting point).
We appear to be very problem focused here, "tell me your problem and I'll suggest solutions". "tell me your idea and I'll critique it".
Maybe their approach is a bit odd, or we're picking it up that way, but I can still see someone who is kicking around ideas. Some of them daft, in our eyes, but it's a lot cheaper to kick them around here with us than start down the road of either life loans or renovations without doing so.
Have you ever come out with a daft statement in the pub with your mates, only for it to wander around the houses and arrive at something really useful? Like "I'm thinking of opening up the roof and putting a spiral staircase up to a viewing gallery". By the end of the night, and a few too many pints in, you arrive at the conclusion that it might not be such a good idea, but a platform up in the tree at the bottom of the garden with a comfy chair and a telescope (for stargazing) is actually a runner.
Anyway, I'm happy to keep listening to the OP and kick around the suggestions.
Anyway, it's Friday, I'm off to the pub,
Oh wait
Back to the beginning before things went off on tangents...and I'm FAR from 'ccooning' - hate that 'in' word of Simon Harris. My original,'simple' Q was similar to the thread title. I just asked for an opinion about Lifeloans because there's not as many on offer here as the UK and I'd be happier/prefer if the 'big banks' were offering them as I don't trust smaller unknown names. I wondered if the compound interest was equivalent to what it would be on a mortgage/personal loan over a year (if you paid back just the interest every year) and the 'holiday' part was if I borrowed 100k and the renovations cost 90k then there'd be a few bob there to cushion things, including maybe spend 200 on a Ryanair to Paris for a weekend in a cheap hotel...that's my idea of a 'holiday'....
)That's the sad part. But there's no talking to some people.
In Ireland, there's only on provider currently. It is very unlikely that the main banks will offer these, due to a number of reasons, but primarily around capital requirements.
At 60 years of age, the maximum you can release is 15% of the value. You've put out a number of 100k, which would require your house to be worth at least 666k. The reason you could only get 15%, is because the's a guarantee that they will never seek repayment above the value of your house when you die. 100k at 5.5% for 40 years, without any repayments, leaves 898k owing. (after 30 years it's 520k).
If you are repaying the interest, then the compounding doesn't really matter. But, the interest on a 100k loan is 458 per month (5,500 per year). That's a big chunk of a state pension gone.
It is more expensive than a mortgage because the rate is higher. It might be cheaper than a personal loan, because the rate is lower, but you have to pay legal fees to set it up.
At 60 years of age, the maximum you can release is 15% of the value. You've put out a number of 100k, which would require your house to be worth at least 666k. The reason you could only get 15%, is because the's a guarantee that they will never seek repayment above the value of your house when you die. 100k at 5.5% for 40 years, without any repayments, leaves 898k owing. (after 30 years it's 520k).
If you are repaying the interest, then the compounding doesn't really matter. But, the interest on a 100k loan is 458 per month (5,500 per year). That's a big chunk of a state pension gone.
It is more expensive than a mortgage because the rate is higher. It might be cheaper than a personal loan, because the rate is lower, but you have to pay legal fees to set it up.
Back to the beginning before things went off on tangents...and I'm FAR from 'ccooning' - hate that 'in' word of Simon Harris. My original,'simple' Q was similar to the thread title. I just asked for an opinion about Lifeloans because there's not as many on offer here as the UK and I'd be happier/prefer if the 'big banks' were offering them as I don't trust smaller unknown names. I wondered if the compound interest was equivalent to what it would be on a mortgage/personal loan over a year (if you paid back just the interest every year) and the 'holiday' part was if I borrowed 100k and the renovations cost 90k then there'd be a few bob there to cushion things, including maybe spend 200 on a Ryanair to Paris for a weekend in a cheap hotel...that's my idea of a 'holiday'....
So we have managed to figure out one thing. You working doesn't bring in proper income. Little over the dole, living in a house, of some good value, that is slowly crumbling. How about this Bren, we deal with one issue at a time. Maybe we can get you to an annual trip for a weekend in Paris and a two week holiday in Spain as well.
Question 1
How much does electricity cost you in a year, and is that also you heating.
There's no way he's going to be able to pay the interest.
Great, Thank God, now, there's clearer figures I can comprehend and relate to at last. Later on I'll put them down on a big chart so that will help me plan the way forward. I was looking at the AnPost SEAI energy upgrade loans that work out at c.700mth for a 70k loan over 10 years.. (?)
Yes, the big difference is you pay off the 70k over the 10 years, so you owe nothing at the end.
With that particular loan product, I believe you need quotes from an SEAI approved contractor? I'm not too familiar with it, so might be mixing it up.
And, as with all loans, you would need to be able to afford the repayment on the amount you borrow.
4,900 / year Dec19-Dec20. Plug in electric fires for heat. Another mystery is how our electric bill went UP after getting a gas (bottle, not mains) cooker....? Did double check on our consumption v's meter reading on 'My electric account' page, found a discrepancy of 3000kW between my reading and their figures....?? Going to get on to ESB about a Pay-as-you-go meter that'll lighten the load. Looking at AnPost SEAI energy loans, money I save might pay for a city break........
The pay as you go will actually cost you more, yes it's spread out and you can't spend what you didn't feed it but the cost per unit is usually higher with those.
When you say plug electric are you talking about oil filled radiator or something else? Some electric heaters are worse than others, is electricity the only form of heating in the house?
When you say plug electric are you talking about oil filled radiator or something else? Some electric heaters are worse than others, is electricity the only form of heating in the house?
4,900 / year Dec19-Dec20. Plug in electric fires for heat. Another mystery is how our electric bill went UP after getting a gas (bottle, not mains) cooker....? Did double check on our consumption v's meter reading on 'My electric account' page, found a discrepancy of 3000kW between my reading and their figures....?? Going to get on to ESB about a Pay-as-you-go meter that'll lighten the load. Looking at AnPost SEAI energy loans, money I save might pay for a city break........
Thank you for answering question 1. Added details are good, well done. (€96 Euro a week.)
Question 2
What exact income is coming into the house? (do not say PUP say € amount X to the Euro) and how many people in house.
As a general rule, renovations/remodelling do not enhance the value of a house rather make it more saleable in a competitive market.
It's a seller's market right now due to lack of supply and all the state money being handed out.
If I was in your situation, I would improve the kerbside appeal at low/no cost by decluttering, pressure washing, strategically placed plants et al and get the house on the market asap with a view to significantly downsizing.
I did similar a couple of years ago and only touched up the paint in the reception rooms and gave the front door a coat of varnish and polished the brass door furniture for the first impression and left the (badly in need of redecorating) bedroom walls untouched.
The house achieved an unprecedented price for the area.
Good luck.