Loft conversion or total renovation?

[Invisiblewoman1]

What would you do? I have a limited budget and I’m buying a new house - 2 bed end of terrace. It has been owned by same couple for 50 years so in need of some updating.

A house a few doors down sold for £130k more than what I’m paying for mine and has had a loft conversion to make a 3 bed.

I live alone.

My limited budget will either pay for a renovation of the house, including new kitchen, new windows, new roof, new CH, new bathroom and total decorate everywhere. Ie everything new and how I want it. Or it will pay for a loft conversion and new CH.

What would you do?

Did you buy it for an investment or a long term home?

How urgently do you need the new roof? If it’s needed, then I would do the renovation; if not, then the loft conversion.

If it needs new roof, kitchen, windows and central heating then I think you'd be mad not to do those in preference to a Loft

Long term home but I’m single so investment is important too.
The roof can be patched but it’s Victorian and never had a total roof replacement so it’s due

Renovation definitely as it sounds like you don't need the loft conversion yet. However, I would prepare for the future conversion by making sure all services went up to the loft, you had a big enough boiler and even possibly put stairs in at this point. Then when you can afford it or if you sell it, it would be much less disruptive and cheaper to do. I think it would be pretty miserable to live in it unrenovated and it sounds like you will definitely need to renovate and rewire etc. in any case.

I would do the other stuff first

You don't seem to the the extra rooms, total renovation makes much more sense. Is the alternative having a bigger but mostly grotty donwstairs plus a nice loft?

I wouldn't put a new roof on until you can afford the loft extension, especially if you can patch it.

I hadn’t thought of putting the stairs in without the full conversion. I wonder how much that would cost.

I think I’m inclined to agree with you all though that living in a house in its current state just to have a room in loft which I don’t need is silly

I would do the roof first then , it’s the first thing I look at , then electrics & plumbing
Anything else I could live with

If you do do the roof then you should put the veluxes in etc. when you do it... which you will probably need planning for. So you can crack on with the renovations right away and move in and then once you get planning (for the loft conversion if needed as well) do the veluxes and new roof. That also gives you a couple of years before the planning runs out if you don't need to do the roof right away.

Do the basic 'infrastructure' such as roof & electrics & heating. All of these will enhance the house for you, and will make it easier to sell in the future.
Adding a 3rd story (loft) means meeting fire regulations for stair and doors, which are expensive. If you don't need it, don't waste your money.

Further down the line, say a few years before you sell, you could always apply for planning permission for the loft, even if you don't need it, as it may widen its appeal to other potential buyers. PP is valid for several years (5 maybe?).

I think I'd go for the renovation. As you'll be living there that's something you'll enjoy every day, unlike a loft conversion which would simply be adding value to a property that you're not currently planning to sell.

As you are doing the roof, putting in velux, stairs and doing all preparations would be so wise.
Closing a door on it until you have the money to finish it and add value.

The thing is though that doing work like that is dirty work so at a later date you will be doing a messy job in a lovely house.

Years ago we bought our large old house and it needed full renovation.

We did all the dirty work immediately including a full attic conversation.

At the end we were left with a clean shell of a house and then did the polishing of old floors, painting etc.
The kitchen went in last.

I would do the basics of the attic conversation so you won't have the job to do and scale back on the save for the kitchen over the coming year.

But I am practical.

You will be adding enormous value by doing it now.
We actually had our old garden cleared (huge job) before I put a new kitchen in, which for us was a great decision.

With a limited budget, I'd focus on the basics in the existing house space first.
Not just the feel good new bathroom and kitchen, but the essentials like rewiring, checking the plumbing, CH if there isn't any, what state are the windows in, how old is the boiler, do the walls need replastering under 50 years worth of wallpaper?
You might be eligible for the green home grant to fund some of the work?

If you live alone, more rooms are always a nice to have, but presumably not essential, so a project that you can move on to in a few years. Making sure the house is safe and fuel efficient should be your priority

If you need storage space, is boarding the loft to give you that, rather than a full blown extension an option?

Agree with a previous poster - new roof including velux windows. Board it out for storage.

Then tackle central heating/ kitchen and bathroom.

When I did my roof they took all tiles off to build out the back. Depending on what you have done you may only need 50% of tiles you have now. Seems silly to pay to that to potentially get rid of half of it. Plus a lift conversion will potentially need internal walls removing.

I'd do basics is of loft along with refurb.

I would patch the roof and do everything else first: Victorian houses are generally well- built, so unless the roof is causing problems like leaking, there should be no need to replace the slates or tiles completely.
If you’re on your own you also probably don’t need a 3rd bedroom right now, so that’s something for future savings, and if you decide to sell in a couple of years, get planning permission for a conversion then - that can also make your property more saleable

If it needs things like new roof and new windows, I would definitely prioritise getting these sorted first. It's pretty fundamental to have these sorted to a good standard. The loft conversion can wait until further down the track when you can afford it.