Extend or move?

[Choufleur]

we have a 3 bed detached house at the moment - by the middle of next year we should be able to afford to either extend it to make a 4-bed with ensuite or move to a bigger house.

TBH neither option is terribly appealing but in your experience what do you think is the most hassle?

We have an okay, albeit on the smaller size, garden, and are in a quiet cul de sac, 5 mins from school. If we moved I'd want to stay in the same village and most 4-bed homes that come up for sale aren't generally on much bigger plots (well the ones we could afford anyway).

Hmm, both are lots of hassle!

I think I would wait untill the money was ready, and have a good look at the local market then. Once you know if you would be able to get a better garden/plot etc (or other features that would make a house better for you), you can make a decision based on that.

Presuming the extension would only affect directly one side of the house (although the muck and workmen get everywhere!) I would think that would be less hassle than moving.

Oh will obviously have to wait tilnext year just thinking about it. Extension would be mostly one side, extending behind the garage and then 2 storey but also want to rebuild the porch to and move family bathroom fromback to front of the house.

Thats quite a bit of disruption then, I would say you are probably looking at an equal amount of hassle! Obviously moving means packing everything up which is a nightmare, but I think you will have to pack up most of your house for the work, and I would recomend moving out to stay with someone while they do it.

Then you have workmen all over the place, your garden will take a hammering, you will probably need to re carpet and re decorate a large part of the house too. Moving would be quicker!

Also have you priced the work? Including the new bathrooms and decoration etc it may well cost more than buying a 4 bed 2 bath. I suppose that will depend what the market is like in your area and also what happens to the housing market in the coming year or so which is pretty much any ones guess at the moment

I don't think I'd make the decision based on how much hassle it is. Both are hassle. But have a really good look at all the property in the areas you like and bear in mind you can always make a lower offer on something you like. If you can afford to make a good move up then I'd say that might be better than extending. But if you look round and larger properties aren't that much better than your own one and even worse in some aspects (like more overlooked or smaller garden) then extend.