To extend the house. Or move. That is the question...

[BogeyNights]

DH & I both love where we live. Quiet road, good neighbours, close to town centre etc etc. But we feel that we are outgrowing the house now that our two DSs are growing up & nearing teenage years.

We looked at moving house recently & found a real beauty, but it would mean doubling our mortgage. Which we could just about afford. But we got cold feet. And couldn't quite stomach the £18k (a guesstimate) in fees & tax we'd have to pay before we even added to the mortgage.

So now we are thinking of extending our current house instead.
We want to extend the whole width of our semi into the back garden & create a big kitchen dining family room. However our garden is pretty small already, 28ft wide by 37 ft long. If we extend the house by a modest 6 or 7 feet, it's going to make the garden even smaller.

Our argument is that we spend more of the year indoors than out and we are not big gardening fans either. But I am worried that a 4 bed house with great living space that we dream of, is going to be compromised by a titchy garden. It will be great for our needs, now and in the future. But would it be a deal breaker if we come to sell it. Am I being unreasonable? Or am I getting cold feet again? Or am I spending too much time thinking about this?? WWYD?

What have others done in your road?

The 18k and the hassle of moving is dead money to me so say it cost 20/30 to do the room you want I'd do it.

If you wanted amazing and it cost 70 then I wouldn't if it made it the most expensive house in the street as you won't get that money back.

A small garden and big house would put me off and I'd say it might limit your market to sell depending on area and competition. Also, don't forget the hassle of living with works!!

Does extending into garden big enough for your family? don't you need another bedroom or bigger ones? 18k is a lot of money but if you can't get sufficient space in a few years time then moving is a better option.

Pretty much every house in the road has extended in some way. I do agree that we shouldn't price the house above the market rate for our road/area. I do want "amazing" but probably can't afford that!
I suppose the toss up is either a good family house with an adequate garden. Or a brilliant family house with a smaller than average garden.

It depends on what is common in your area. Gardens sub 30ft in family homes are very common in most of London, particularly central London. However, if most of the homes in your town have huge gardens that might be what buyers expect.

With that said, do what works for your family. Even if the house is somewhat harder to sell down the line, someone will want it even if it sells for a bit less than a house with a larger garden. As long as you see yourself there for the long term its not something I would worry about.

If others have done it, no probs

I would spend decent money though on getting the garden as fab as possible - good landscaping will make a massive difference

Our garden is much smaller than that. I would do it.

ok, I googled 37ft garden and got this house
www.thepersonalagent.co.uk/properties/detail.php?id=25068024

If you built on the patio of that house the garden would still be a good size. Why don't you mark it out in chalk or tape?

penises that's what we were thinking with regards the garden. Make the garden great so that you can open the patio doors & have a combination of areas in good weather. When I say 'patio' I mean bi-fold.

For our family, a smaller garden is fine, the boys won't be fussed about using it as a football pitch when there's a park nearby now they are getting older. They both have a decent sized bedroom each and with the kitchen/extension there will be two good sized spaces for them and us to hang out in downstairs. We have a separate lounge area.

I suppose resale is secondary to us having the home we want for now. If we do this work we won't move for years (unless the lottery tickets come up,).

primal that looks a bit longer than our garden. And marking it out would be a very useful idea. (
I love the kitchen units, they are just what I was looking at getting.)

It would be a no brainer for me, extension.
You like where you live and all that money spent on moving costs could be put towards your new rooms.
Re the garden, there are loads of new builds nowadays with tiny gardens & they seem to sell.

Even if they did want to play football, whatever you have left would be big enough. My garden is tiny and DS still manages.

Extend, extend, extend.

It doesn't sound like financial suicide and homes are primarily for living in, rather than an invt.

Thanks guys. Think I feel a little more reassured now.

Don't really want the house to become our main pension investment. Ie downsizing in order to afford to live later on. The current mortgage is manageable even with another smaller mortgage on top. And I do want to be able to live a decent life rather than worry about owing too much money.

And yes new homes generally have titchy gardens where we live and they are always in demand.

Thanks again.

I think a single storey extension would be fine with a smaller garden, especially if you do bi-fold doors and landscape it well. Not a two storey extension though.

I'm slightly on the fence. On the one hand I think manageable mortgage, you like where you live etc BUT and I think its quite a big but, you will inevitably limit your market when you come to sell. A 4 bedroomed house will no doubt appeal to families who will have 2 or 3 children and will want outdoor space. I personally wouldn't buy a large house with a small garden.

Having said that, I also wouldn't want to double my mortgage to get the equivalent space with a decent garden and lose all the positives of your current house. I think if you go into the extension as a cost for how you want to live now, and in years to come, rather as something that will add value to your house when you come to sell, then that's probably more realistic.

I'm having the exact same dilema except our garden is even smaller (not helped by a very mature Rowan tree taking up quite a bit of room, although I'd never get rid of it). There are some conservatories in nearby houses but I'd want something a bit more substantial.

But the cost of moving is horendous - not just the jump we'd have to make to get something bigger in the same commuting radius and in a similar or better area, but the sheer costs of fees/tax etc. I've been avidly watching Sarah Beeny for ideas!

issy we have also been avidly watching Sarah Beeney's latest TV show.

No easy answer: selling up and buying is long, drawn out and stressful. Living with builders in the house for weeks is stressful. And with any house you buy there's always a compromise to be made. I reckon whoever buys ours years from now, will have to compromise with a small garden. Gonna call the architects....