What would you do...

[beautifuldreamer]

Need some advice -

Basically, we live in an expensive area, the children go to school here and I work here but we are outgrowing our house and cannot afford to buy a bigger one in the same area. We are considering a loft conversion and a conservatory (unable to build a proper extension due to location of house) but I am worried we will spend loads of money and still not be happy with the house (it's the downstairs living areas that are too small, not the bedrooms). We have been looking at houses within a 10 mile radius and have found lots of lovely bigger houses but obviously would need to travel to and from work and school.

So, my question is, if you were in my situation would you do work to the current house, or move to a better house in a cheaper area and travel?

I'm worried I will regret any decision I make(!) so any advice is appreciated.

For me it would depend on a couple of things.

Firstly, would your children still be in the catchment area for moving through the relevant schools? Like primary to secondary?

Secondly, do you absolutely live your home and want to stay there while your dc grow up?

Are you going to make your money back when you sell on the future with the work you do(loft and conservatory) or is it already at the top end of the price barrier?

For me, it's just bricks and mortar and our quality of life is much more important than where we live etc. but it would be a make or break decision for me if the children were going to be affected with schools.

I would get a good architect round to have a look at what space you have and how you could extend and use it better. What have you got downstairs atm?

As bedtroom not an issue why do the loft? If you have space for a conservatory can you use the same footprint to build a single storey kitchen extension or day/garden room ie something more permanent which will add value.

Boys - the children could stay at the same schools as they are in now so that's not an issue, I'm just concerned that the travelling everyday would be tiring! I'm indifferent with the house, I do like living here but I don't have any strong attachements to it.

Noddy - Currently we have a tiny porch/hallway type thing, medium living room, medium kitchen diner & porch area near back door. It is a 1930's house.

I should add I have three girls - 7yr old, 5 yr old and 3 yr old. I just cannot imagine living in the house the size that it is in a few years when they are bigger.

The house would gain value from the work, but probably not enough to break even or make a profit - if we did the work we would have to stay here.

Thanks

iseenodust - we cannot get planning permission for an extension, but we can for a conservatory (work that out! lol) plus the space we have isn't very big so would be a small conservatory - possibly an office type space, and we were converting the loft as a playroom for the girls because of lack of space downstairs (plus 2 of the girls share currently so might be an issue in the future)

So you're going to have 3 teenage girls. I would be tempted to move as you're not attached to the house and definitely choose one with an extra bathroom.

I have renovated a 30s house. Not sure if its teh same lay out as yours! I would do a loft with ensuite for you and your dh. Move 2 girls into biggest room and other into middle room and set up the box room as a study for all their homework computer stuff etc. Then maybe just put a small glass extension along the whole of the back not a conservatpry as such just about a 4ft deep strip which should make the back big enough for a sofa as well as a dining table.

Even something as slim asthis makes room for a sofa and maybe you could wall mount a tv so that down teh road the girls and their mates could congregate here and you and dh escape to teh front

iseenodust - yep, 3 teenage girls... dh has already said he is moving into the shed when they hit the teens!

noddy - when you were renovating did you ever just want to give up?! We bought this house knowing there was work to be done, I think we just under estimated the job and now I've 'hit a brick wall' and just need a pep talk and some inspiration! The glass extension pictured looks really nice, would go with the style of my house as well.... thanks

As your girls get older they will probably spend more time in their bedrooms or in a "den" upstairs if you can create one so I think noddy's ideas sound good - IF you can stomach the work involved. I think the real question is not so much do you love the house but do you love the area? if so then worth staying and extending, if not then perhaps not?

I'd be tempted the stay if the children would still be going to the school they are now / have friends locally. The last thing I'd want is 3 teenage girls living 10 miles away from their friends and having to be a taxi driver for the foreseeable future to all the social things they'll want to do. I think its a good idea to do a loft conversion for a den / extra bedroom if you need it in the future, and then do what Noddy suggests for an extra bit of room downstairs. Also, not sure that it'll make any difference but the government have announced plans today to slacken planning laws so you might find you'll be able to have the extension?

I renovated it for someone else!

Bathrooms are the killer - we found as the DCs grew up the pressure on bathrooms grew massively (morning showers, hair-gel application marathons, spot-squeezing sessions....). If you can squeeze a second bathroom in it would be a good idea.

Rent out yours an rent a bigger house?

Mandy - that is a good point, I hadn't thought about taxi-ing them about to be honest! Would probably be a right pain in the bum...
I really love the area we are in now, that is one of my worries also, having to come here everyday and see what I'm missing!

Boys - We considered renting ours out and renting another here, but dh is really opposed to the idea for some reason!

What is stopping you getting planning?

Firstly, have a check up on the government announcement today about planning rules...not sure if they apply in your case, but they might help you out. Don't annoy the neighbours though!

Secondly, when we moved into our current house, we knew there was the same kind of problem. Four nice beds, but downstairs wasn't great. The kitchen wasn't big enough to be a kitchen diner, so we re-jigged it lay-outwise and added an extension on the back. As Noddy says, it doesn't have to be massive to have a big impact in terms of its utility. Our 3 tiddlers and their friends often base themselves in there now around the dining table and we can disappear into the front if we fancy.

Other than that, a loft conversion in a 30s semi should be a real asset to the house. We had one done in our last place - en suite too - and it was great.

Then you could move up there yourselves and turn a first floor room into a lounge/sitting room/study maybe?

That's what people have done in our terrace (same lay out as ours but no extension on the back).

Either way, these things are not massive big deals if you are organised and have recommendations...its much more hassle moving and then having to commute.

Hope this helps

For me it would depend how far the commute was, I don't think 10 miles is too far tbh, so I would move.

We couldn't get planning permission because of neighbours - they opposed saying it would 'create a wind tunnel' in their garden(!) but when we spoke to the planning dept. after, the woman was really helpful and said that they cannot refuse a conservatory because it doesn't count as 'permanent'. Hence having a conservatory or some other type of lean-to.
Dh is really keen on the loft but my thinking is to try doing the conservatory first and seeing if it makes any difference rather than spend a tonne of money on the loft and it still not being right...

Does this make any difference to you planningwise, I wonder?