extending not-forever-home, worth it?

[DiggersRest]

We are in London, in a 2 up/down with utility room extension. We aren't quite ready to move but need a bit more space. We've had an architect draw up some ideas and basically it will be 3m x 2m extension to make the kitchen, dining room and utility room one big space with a bit more floor space.

I had hoped we'd naturally outgrow our house and move. I never thought / wanted to be here for a long time. But we're just not ready to make a move yet.

I think for the £50,000+ plus more importantly pain-in-the-arse actual building process it's not worth it but dh has seen the drawings with shiny new things and wants to do it

My suggestion has been to put french doors in the kitchen / diner and take out chimney breasts from this room and the bedroom above and at a push convert loft to a hobby room (can't do loft conversion for proper room).

just wondering what others have done/would do?

[PamBagnallsGotACollage]

We are thinking of doing the same. Would love to move to a bigger, 3 bed house (currently in a 2 bed with two kids) but we won't be able to afford a new house. An extension will enable us to stay here but be more comfortable as the children grow and will also enable us to change the layout a bit so we can change our living/ dining room into separate rooms, one of which can be used for guests to sleep in occasionally.

We haven't got to the drawing up plans/ costing stage yet but I am hoping. It won't be anywhere near £50k! If it was we'd probably just move.

[PamBagnallsGotACollage]

This is all with a view to being able to move house in 5+ years.

[DiggersRest]

The architect said the build would be close to £40k then I'm just assuming £10k for fittings plus contingency.

We are looking at around 3 more years, should have said that in my OP.

Are you getting an extra room then with your proposed extension? I think if we could do the loft I'd do the ground floor extension but it will continue to just be a 2 bed with a bigger ground floor space then the other 2 beds.

[yomellamoHelly]

I'd do it personally. In a small house with dc a larger living area would make a massive difference to the quality of your life. You could go as far as getting quotes from builders and then get an estate agent round that you trust for a sense check.

[BurningGubbins]

Have you looked on estate agent's websites to see if there are comparable properties and how much they are on for compared to yours now?
We are thinking of doing extensive work to the place we have just bought and our estate agent has been helpful I.e. Don't spend more than X as you won't get it back.

Just being nosey, how much did you pay for your plans? That's our next step.

[bolshoii]

OP, we are in a similar position to you.

What is the current layout of your house? Is the kitchen at the front or back?

I am shocked by the £50k quote, have they given a break down of the main costs?

[DiggersRest]

We don't have plans, they're just drawings (as we wanted a few different options) which cost £450. Proper plans will be another £1250.

There is one property listed with a similar extension on for a ridiculous amount. It's been on about 5 weeks which is a long time for around here at the moment.

[DiggersRest]

bolshoii kitchen is at the back. This was just a ball park figure the architect gave.

[bolshoii]

how much value do you think the extension would add?

[DiggersRest]

It's hard to know, houses are going at higher and higher prices.

[MissTurnstiles]

Might be worth getting an agent in to advise on what the work would do to the value of the house. Are other houses in the road similarly extended?

[dotdotdotmustdash]

It doesn't sound worth it to me if the house remains a 2 bed. Your potential buyers are always going to be single, couple or 1 child family who may not need the extra downstairs space that your 4-person family feel you need.

Can you extend and make a 3rd bedroom with loo downstairs instead? That would be more likely to get you back your expenditure.

[DiggersRest]

No Miss no other houses have done this. We're in a part of London that has gone a little crazy price wise so l expect more extensions for people to be able to stay longer but there's nothing to compare to at the moment.

[PamBagnallsGotACollage]

"Are you getting an extra room then with your proposed extension? I think if we could do the loft I'd do the ground floor extension but it will continue to just be a 2 bed with a bigger ground floor space then the other 2 beds."

Yes, hoping for a ground floor extension to create a playroom/ dining room on the back of our kitchen so an extra room downstairs but stay two beds. Would afford us the space to use a ground floor sitting room as a guest bedroom though.

[Cinnamon2013]

We are in a similar position - 2 beds, we have 2 kids - and hoped to do a similar extension. All the advice we got from estate agents was don't bother - it won't add that much value bearing in mind the inconvenience and costs etc and would not have given us the space we ultimately need. So we're moving to a 3-bed, compromising on area a bit earlier than we wanted to, but excited about the space. That move is costing us (gulp) £40k. Stamp duty, agents fee etc. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Cinnamon2013]

Maybe get an estate agent to value your property and ask their advice? I got two to do this, no obligation - they were happy to and I found it helpful

[DiggersRest]

I'm leaning towards not doing it and just re-jigging the space we have. I'd like to eventually move to a house with a drive shallow....oh and the 3rd bedroom!

[PippaFawcett]

We were going to do a loft conversion but then decided to just bite the bullet and move sooner than we initially planned. I didn't want to fork out for the conversion and then fork out again for moving costs.

[mrsplum2015]

It has to be a simple cost transaction if it is for 3 years surely (unless you consider it so important to improving your quality of life it is worth spending cash on?).

It would be easy to say that you would easily make the money back because of the current ridiculous price rises (which you obviously would!), but you need to make sure you are making your money back on the change to the property, rather than just the capital accumulation that would happen anyway, as you will need to utilise your capital accumulation to buy your next property if you want to stay in the same area - perhaps different if you're thinking of moving outside London/commuter belt....

[citychick]

Hi
Our 2up/ down came with a kitchen extension when we purchased. The 2 ground floor rooms have been opened into one with door thru to kitchen. 2 beds and bathroom upstairs. We went into loft and created 3rd bedroom and extra shower room. We already had the kitchen extension, so we went into the loft. It's made a huge difference. We love it. The two beds and bathroom was tight upstairs.

However, we spend most of our time in the living quarters so, I'd say do it.

Are you open plan downstairs? That really opens up the smaller homes.

Have you had someone round to tell you how much you'd gain with the proposed extension? You would surely add value? Fifty grand seems a lot. Our loft conversion was £30 k plus £10k for the fixtures and fittings. 4yrs ago.

Good luck with whatever u decide.

[FrikkaDilla]

I don't agree with MrsPlum's assertion that you will make money. That depends very much on the area plus a house price crash is well overdue.

[Georgina1975]

We are having a 5m x 4.5m extension done. It will probably cost £43,000 and £12,000 for kitchen, lightening and flooring.

It is not our "forever" house either, but we will be here for at least another 5 years.

The backend of our house REALLY needs doing though, and the kitchen is 25 years old. It is not just going to mostly benefit future owners in other words.

[smearedinfood]

I do wonder if estate agents would say "move" as that would make estate agents more money.

Although saying that we are going to move to a 3 bed, and we are looking at 30K for stamp duty and moving costs, if you want another bedroom in London it suddenly goes up a lot.

So it may be worth it, but have a look on rightmove and get some comparison.

[catbasilio]

I am thinking of a small 3m x 1.5m extension to extend my kitchen diner at the back of the house. I am told it will coat in the region of 20k. It seems insane money for 4.5 sq.m, however I am leaning towards doing it because: It will make life more convenient (good size kitchen dining living space instead of train carriage shaped kitchen diner), added kerb appeal (high ceiling with skylight and and large patio doors for extensions) and usage of dead corner in the garden. I expect to just about recoup the cost of extension when I sell (in 3 years time) but moreover I expect that the house will sell quicker. It is very hard to judge but I hope it is worth it.

[DiggersRest]

Interesting replies, thanks

I have found getting decent trades people almost impossible and everything that has been done (new boiler, kitchen refurb, new bathroom and rendering ) so stressful. If l could walk away for 6-8 weeks and come back with it all finished l probably would do it.

But I've no where to go for that time and couldn't afford to pay what the architect quoted as their daily rate to project manage!