Seeking advice on reorganising finance

Hi here is our current position

My wife and I are in late 40's, she does not work outside the home, i am state employed on about 53,000 gross with secure pension prospects we have 4 children all schoolgoing eldest due for college in sept 2010, while its difficult to put a price on our home in current climate 400 thousand would be a reasonable guess, our mortgage is with EBS at 5.38% the amount outstanding on same is low at 55 thousand. our mortage has 11 years left.

we have recently borrowed 35 thousand from credit union due to unforseen expenses. I suspect that the credit union is not the best source for this size loan from reading other threads.

We are considering something like remortgaging, to enable us to 1) incorporate the credit union loan, 2) get some landscaping done around the house/ home improvements, 3) if possible purchase campervan/caravan to reduce cost of family holidays, 4) possibly update our car (definately needed if caravan is the chosen purchase) .

landscaping would cost about 10 thousand. campervan 30 thousand

I would welcome all views on these courses of action before i make a decision to take any/all of them

Personally, I would not remortgage. None of the things you want are "necessary", and some of them could be done for a lot less money. For example, I am sure you could landscape your garden yourself for a lot less than 10k.

Perhaps I am biased though, because the idea of being mortgage free really appeals to me, and you are nearly mortgage free.

Could your wife get a part-time job while the kids are in school? The extra income from that could be put towards paying off your loan early.

If you believe the quality of your life will be improved with a camper van and a nicer home (as in, is it worth having a large amount of long term debt), then go for it.

thanks for your comments flax, re the landscaping unfortunately this is not just a case of digging holes and moving plants, it refers to a large gorse covered mound which would require large machinary to get under control. thanks for your views

Without knowing more about your other outgoings it is hard to advise on the spending but you could reschedule the new mortgage and probably get a lower rate so the cost might not be too high.
€30k for a camper van seems high (unless you are buying one that is quite new. Have a look at the motoring section here on buying one in the UK.