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Move house or extend.Need your advice please
My wife and I are in disagreement of wether to move house into a bigger one or extend.Shes wanting a four bedroom house but without the hassle/mess of extending ours but I would sooner stay where we are and extend.We have about £100,000 left on our repayment mortgage.we originally bought our house for £182,000 and had it valued last week at £160,000-£170,000(max).In our area we are looking at around £220,000-£230,000 for a four bedroom semi.The extension I was looking for was a standard one over the driveway of our 3 bedroom semi which would effectively extend upstairs only and our kitchen/dining room to be knocked through to make one large room.We were also thinking of a small conservatory or sun room at the back but this would come later maybe.
The road we live on now is very good and have great neighbours.
My wife said it would be cheaper to move also.
What would you do?
The road we live on now is very good and have great neighbours.
My wife said it would be cheaper to move also.
What would you do?
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If you moved it would cost you approx £70k to do that going off youre figures, so if youre extension costs £20k, its a no brainer, stay.
But if it costs £140k... ok thats a exageration
Stay and extend of those figures, take into account its a nice area, stay.
Trust me once most of the mess/work has been done, she will be well pleased.
its suprising how quick you forget about all the mess and work once its decorated and youre back to normal.
Plus the markets slow at the moment, so you could be waiting years to sell. thats the case around this area.
Your pricing for the extension seems quite low though. Am i right in thinking its a two storey side extension, with the lower part being a garage or car port?
It doesn't hurt to have a look around to see what is available in your area but it's unlikely that you will find the perfect home in the perfect location at the perfect price. If you end up having to do building work on the new place then what's the point?
Of course in the end it all comes down to budgets and how you are planning on paying for whatever you decide to do.
I don't know about regional differences, but that sort of extension down here in the South would cost you at least 65k.
You wont be able to make an informed decision until you get a couple of proper quotes from builders.
I probably wouldn't look at it as saying that you are losing £12k to £22k because I suspect the type of properties you are looking at have probably come down even more. And yes, add £7k to £10k in moving costs.
So looking at your figures, you will need to increase your mortgage by £70k vs spending around £50k (guesstimate) in building work so it will be cheaper to extend.
There is no harm in looking around and you may find something that you both really like but if you like your current house and area then I would be inclined to stay where you are.
But do think about the whole house, will it 'work' with more bedrooms? Do you have enough bathrooms/toilets, big enough kitchen, big enough communal area and enough parking for the house to properly work as a four bed?
You currently live in a 3 bed semi but you now need a 4 bed semi. If you are semi-detached then the BiB is worth it's weight in gold. Seems like a no brainer, I'd extend the current house.
If you've estimated £25-30K, you'll not get much more than a watertight shell for that, and you'd be boarding it and doing the plumbing/leccy yourself.
If you go the extension route, keep the neighbours well informed, get their opinions on the scheme before you go to planning and bear in mind Party Wall Act issues, else you might end up with an extended home in an area with nasty neighbours.
One thing I would be wary of is building a top floor extension only as you may end up with a top-heavy unbalanced house in terms of downstairs and upstairs space and facilities, which could make the house unattractive when / if you ever want to sell.
Certain types of facilities and rooms, both up and down, are expected to go with the concept of a four-bed family house - at least around here. Generous ground-floor space, with large kitchen /dining / informal family space, plus separate sitting room and study room or area is the sort of thing. A conservatory won't do in lieu. It could only be an addition, not a substitute. A downstairs utility room and wc / cloakroom are another highly desirable facility in a four bed. Upstairs a family bathroom and en suite shower room would be standard.
Plan it well, taking a broader view than just the immediate family need for an extra bedroom or two upstairs. A badly designed house is very offputting and can be a disaster, lowering the desirability and even the value of the house. Well worth spending time and a bit of money planning how to make the most of your house with a pleasing, practical, harmonious layout and the facilities that are expected in a modern family house.
You may spend more than you initially thought of but not
more than it would cost to buy another house and may even work out less but with a more valuable house at the end. It's not worth all the trouble, expense and disruption not to do it right.