Releasing funds in my house to invest

Hi All

I'm looking at releasing funds in my house to invest in other things i.e. Stock market, loan to a fmaily member.

My mortgage is with the EBS and what i want to do is release 20k. i have a mortgage of 200k and the property is worth 350k.

When filling out the form i told them i wanted the money for an extension on the house as if i had of told them what i really wanted it for they would have turned me down. They have now asked me for building estimates etc... I plan to supply them with a building estimate.

How would they find out whether i have built the extension or not? Is what i am doing totally illegal?

What if i say my intention was to build an extension and then change my mind at the last minute?

Thanks

Brehon

In my experience, certain banks can be cautious about giving top ups for stock market investments and if they are asking for estimates for building work now, they will more than likely ask for receipts later for work done, so you may be giving yourself further headaches down the line. A better solution if you really want to do this might be to remortgage for 220,000 e.g. with Ulster Bank, who will pay your solicitor fees involved in the transfer and may even give you a better rate (not sure about details of your mortgage with EBS, but UB U-First tracker is quite good and it might be worth your while switching anyway). It's best to be honest I think.