£60k ? Am I crazy ?! Or AIBU?

[Toomanyshillings]

Please help give me some perspective as I’m driving myself crazy !

Maybe, subconsciously I don’t think I deserve nice things ? But a part of me thinks ‘this isn’t my forever home’ I may only be here for 5 years (mortgage term), but then maybe I’ll be here longer. ?

Our house needs a full renovation, kitchen is tiny and the rest of the house is very dated.

I am spending £60k on the work which includes:
small side extension
wall between kitchen and dining room knocked out to have kitchen/ diner. I will still have a separate lounge.
new (small) utility room and downstairs loo and shower
new bathroom
new kitchen with quartz / Neff appliances etc
loft board boarded up for storage

the AIBU is that I keep thinking am I spending too much ? I could just get a standard kitchen fit instead of going for what I really want ?

Will I be the money back when I sell ?

part of me wants to just spend as little as possible but I know I wont be happy with the finish

So confused 😐

You've got to live in the here and now, as well as planning for the future. Sometimes things take an unexpected turn.

I'm South West. Just costing up single storey extension, kitchen, utility (with toilet & shower) some garden work. The extension alone is about 60k with vat. Kitchen before fitting 7.5k and utility we haven't costed yet. I think we're going to budget around 120k to be sure not telling the builder that

I would add we are going out of here in a box!

Do it - you’re not spending, you’re investing in your biggest asset.

As others have posted, thats a lot of work for £60k. Round our way the small extension on its own would be over £60k!
I'd be worried that the eventual cost would be significantly in excess of the amount you have budgeted. Have you taken into account things like electrics, plumbing, decorating new furniture etc?

Do it. It's your home, regardless of whether you plan to spend the rest of your life in it or not.

If there is one thing in life I splash out on, it's my home. It's Beautiful, even though I do say so myself. I love coming home.

I'd be rethinking that budget. It looks far too low.

Sounds like a bargain for that amount of work. And re this -

Will I be the money back when I sell ?

No one can possibly predict the market in this way but presumably you got the house cheaper as it needed a full refurb so you could look at it as paying the rest of the true price of the actual home you want to live in. Sure you could cut back on the brand name appliances etc but again am surprised your budget stretches to that. The extension alone would eat up most of the 60k around here. Even small ones take a lot of work and builders/materials costs have rocketed in recent years.

We chose our kitchen on the basis that we were going to be moving and then DH died and I had to stay. I don't like the kitchen and it doesn't suit me. :(

Hi OP. firstly, you deserve nice things, and it's completely fine to spend money on your home - even if you won't make it back. because you will enjoy it.

however, as others have said - 60k is way to low for this kind of work - unless you are outside the uk.

sometimes builders will purposefully give you a low estimate and then it will become higher and higher. I would start off by getting several quotes. you need to have a qualified electrician to install the electrics and a plumber for the bathroom. you also need to factor in added costs eg. a skip, materials etc.

personally I would not go for all neff appliances. some kitchen companies push neff appliances - I would subscribe to something like 'which' to really look into it before committing (maybe you have done this already and settled on neff, if so, I guess crack on). I didn't get the same brand for all my kitchen appliances as brands won't be the best at making everything.

That's a great amount of work and a bargain price plus it'll add loads to the value of the house. You can't lose. You are def NBU!

I rather think it depends on where the money is coming from. If you are borrowing it and it's going on the mortgage or is an extra loan, I wouldn't because it is dead spending, it will earn you nothing and cost you in interest. If it's your own money - well, actually I think the same. Why do you want a kitchen-diner? Why not extend the kitchen so that becomes a kitchen-diner and have a separate dining room as well (which is what my DD and her DP have done)? Standard kitchen is fine but if you do a very expensive one make sure you like it because that will be it, it must last twenty years - which is what I'd expect if I put in expensive appliances, my current range cooker was not expensive, but it is still working after 20 years, apart from a very cheap replacement of oven and grill elements (£45), if it was a Neff I'd expect my DGD to inherit it.

£60k sounds low for all that, I think we paid more for an extension alone. That aside, as long as you can afford it, I think you should go for it. You only live once, and life is too short to not enjoy your home.

If you can get all of that for 60k, you are doing really well! We paid 90k for our single storey extension with a new bathroom and kitchen. Definitely go for it, am sure you won't regret it!

Sweet Jesus where are you getting that done for 60k? my husband is a builder and currently what you are doing is between 100k and 130k. all depends on size and spec of course. I would actually say your quote is a little bit too good to be true. have you checked these builders out ?

60k seems cheap for all that work.
However whether it's "worth it" is relative.
If your home is a 1 bed flat in a cheap area then having a posher kitchen and bathroom isn't necessarily the wisest use of money, unless you plan to be there for ages.
If you live in a higher-end property then it's a bit daft to put in a super budget kitchen and bathroom.
Regardless, if you have the money then it makes sense to spend it on things that you like and will make use of. As you're thinking of selling in 5 years it'd be wise to also look at making sure you align your choices with the market somewhat (e.g. if people in your household only ever take a shower it wouldn't be especially sensibly to rip out the tub in the main bathroom of a "family" home as it is likely to put off future buyers).
Given the shocking state of the housing crisis in the country, demand for property in unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon and so putting money into your home is largely a sensible thing to do if you can afford to do it.

You can’t know that. It might not add as much value as it costs. Adding space yes, but knocking through walls often doesn’t, and so many people want their own kitchen that more expensive finishes on kitchens rarely add value - according to my estate agent SIL! She says if it’s a really high finish house in an expensive area, then an old kitchen can be a negative. But in lower size / desirability end of the market, it doesn’t.

@Toomanyshillings no-one can answer this for you. If it’s your life savings I’d say it’s foolish. If you can afford it, it’s not.

Better off putting that money in a fixed term savings account

I'm really surprised you can do all that for only £60k. If you have it to spare, then yes, it's worth making your home as comfortable as possible. I know what you mean about not wanting to spend a lot on something that's not a forever home, but it is worth making it something that simply makes you happy to be in. Don't think about it in terms of whether you will make the money back if you eventually sell.

Go for it, it sounds really cheap.

Depends on how affordable it is too you and your priorities.

£60k was half my modest mortgage and would have had me paying it for another 10 years and significantly impacted when I retired.

For others it is not a huge amount of money.

I just spent £120k on a side and back extension, new kitchen, new patio and new flooring. I love it.

but i don’t care if I get it back. I plan to be here for thirty years. This is my forever home.

sounds like you are getting a lot for your money. My kitchen alone cost £25k.

We lived with a 1970s for years when we moved in. It was a health hazard, cupboard doors would randomly fall off. We could have replaced it immediately on the cheap or wait until we could afford my dream kitchen. We spend £40k and I don't regret a single £ spent.

It will bring so much joy. If you can afford it, go for it.

You are getting your monies worth there. I had a quote for more or less the same and it was £60k just for the construction. Kitchen and appliances on top of that!

Where do you live and how much is the house currently worth?

What is the ceiling value of houses on your street/in your area?