Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming

[Believeitornot]

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[DustandRubble]

I hope you can get the financials sorted Lingua.

I am fleeing the building work! Week with relatives this week, back for the weekend and then gone for 3 weeks. Yay! Also the kitchen fitter has come back so that hopefully helps speed things along. I also saw a full complement of building team so they must have finally finished the other “quick” job they were doing.

[Linguaphile]

Whisky yes it is super stressful! We went into the project thinking that since it was just upgrades and labour was already included, our 60k budget and 15k buffer was more than enough, but it simply isn't. Still significantly cheaper than starting from scratch, but more expensive than we thought. We can't really go elsewhere for certain supplies because then we'll have to cover labour costs ourselves (we've paid for that in the house cost) and will have to pay the whole cost of the materials vs just supplementing what the existing budget doesn't cover, so in the end it works out about the same cost and more headache if we source things ourselves if that makes sense. I mean, in the building company's defence they're using very nice products, but it really bothers me that there is no middle ground here in Lux in terms of product quality--it's high quality or nothing. I'd love to be able to ask them to just get flooring from the DIY shop instead of local boutiques. :(

We'll be okay. Worst case scenario we borrow 10 or 20k and pay it off in a few months after the build finishes. At the moment we're doubling up on rent and mortgage, which is where we're feeling the pinch. Thankfully once we move into the new place and stop paying rent, we'll free up a few thousand per month to chuck at the build. Our mortgage isn't bad at all, and really in terms of finished product we're getting an absolute bargain for our money compared to homes in the area that are already finished. It's such a delicate balance as the house is in an area where the quality needs to be at a certain standard if we want it to be competitive when we sell it on, so we have to walk the line between quality and cost very carefully.

I think on balance it's better to err on the side of quality and pay a bit extra now, but the process is so stressy!

[whiskyowl]

That all sounds very logical lingua - you've clearly thought about all the angles, and it does sound like a loan comes out in front as a plan. Like you say, doubling up on rent/mortgage is hugely expensive and if you're managing that now, surely paying back a loan won't be too bad? Perhaps the company who are doing the work will have some cost-cutting suggestions too?

I absolutely think you're right to consider the finished 'value' of the house too - a £20k loan that puts more than that on the value of the property is fine, as long as you can make the repayments!

I'm really intrigued by what you are doing! It sounds like a really clever way of getting a bargain. How did you find out about the half-finished houses?

[Linguaphile]

It's quite common here in Luxembourg and a great way to get on the ladder if you have a more limited budget and just need something serviceable that you can improve over time if necessary. They sell homes 'off plan' at rock bottom margin for the building company and I expect they make their big profits on the upgrades that they assume people will want to do. So for example, it was only sold to us as a 3 bed 2.5 bath house with 180sqm of living space, but since it has a whole extra floor ready for loft conversion, we're having them do the loft area as well and immediately making it into a 5 bed, 3.5 bath place with 250 sum of living space. It means when everything is said and done we'll have put about 100k into upgrades, but the internet says it will be worth about 450k more than we've paid for it when we're done. So it's a good way to add value straight out of the gate essentially at cost.

[Linguaphile]

... and of course our view is worth it! Gratuitous pic of DH on our terrace when we visited the other day to see progress.

[FiloPasty]

Gorgeous view Lingua!

Has anyone seen this www.quooker.co.uk/enuk/m/quookerflex
It’s like Quooker have been reading about the mumsnet tap!

[whiskyowl]

Oh wow, lingua! What a view! Absolutely incredible.

[FiloPasty]

It looks like it’s thousands though, better scrub that from my list!

[Linguaphile]

Thanks! We're looking forward to it.

Filo they're so lovely but I'm with you, saw the price tag and decided normal kettle would do, ha ha!

[4yearsnosleep]

I agree re the Quooker Flex. It's about the same price as my 2x single ovens and induction hob!

[Baxdream]

We got howdens version and a normal flex tap in the utility!
I wouldn't have spent that much on one!

[theredjellybean]

Hello everyone... I am still waiting for the builder to do test dig on existing foundations... And think we arw going to do build, then rip out kitchen and have new floor laid then new kitchen.
I am panicking about how it all gets organised. And I am an absolute plan / control freak, so just don't think I could cope with builder building and having a deadline as kitchens arriving and it all going off schedule.
So think it will be a staged build
I think as well by having the new space first I can really see what design kitchen I want.
Does that make sense?

[whiskyowl]

I have bins in a drawer under my sink, so I couldn't fit the fire extinguisher-shaped thing that goes with the Quooker to make it work. I also baulk at spending hundreds of quid on a fancy kettle, not least because I quite like kettles. DH is uber-fussy likes tea with water heated to very specific temperatures, so we have to have one that boils at 70 degrees, 80 degrees, 90 degrees etc etc etc Personally I'm more of a bung-the-teabag in kind of gal, though I can fuss for Britain with coffee.

[whiskyowl]

redjelly - I don't know if any one of us had a build that went exactly to schedule. Bax maybe? But I certainly didn't! There are so many imponderables with the work, it's really difficult to plan with any certainty. But the good thing is that most aspects of a build are also a little bit flexible. If you're doing some of the project management yourself, having a good idea of the kind of thing you want in advance is really helpful, as you can then just order it as/when needed. We stockpiled materials in our dining room for a bit to make sure we had them in advance of their being needed.

I think it's a REALLY good idea to wait until you have a plastered shell before ordering a kitchen. Like I said before, there so many imponderables that you need a bit of flexibility! You don't want to order and pay for something, then find you need to change your dimensions and none of it will fit.

[4yearsnosleep]

We've ordered our kitchen, but it can be changed up to 3 weeks before delivery, so I'm planning on the delivery date being 3 weeks after that so that I can check the measurements of everything first.

[whiskyowl]

Clever, 4years!

[Baxdream]

I think ours has been relatively to schedule but we have added extras as we've gone. So although the house is practically finished, we're now ripping out our front garden to make it all a driveway. Plus we're replacing our main bathroom as it looks so dated now and landscaping the back.
No one is perfect but our builders have been great generally

[Baxdream]

Last night I did my first official proper cooking and baking in the kitchen. Don't get me wrong I have been cooking but nothing exciting whereas l got the new hairy bikers book and made some gorgeous slow cooked ribs.
I realised how much of a difference our new kitchen makes, there's so much space to spread it. It truly is perfect!

[whiskyowl]

Hooray bax, what a milestone.

The first thing I cooked was readymade pizza and oven chips, so your meal is considerably more cheffy than mine!

I am doing a job akin to painting the Forth Bridge today - aka, varnishing my staircase. It needs four sodding coats. Bah.

[Baxdream]

My cooking has been a bit like that or just easy stuff like bolognese!

Ah good luck varnishing! We're having our new door in today, it's going to be chilly!

[DustandRubble]

Happy first cooking Bax!

I am getting updates on progress from DH. The nasty woodchip wallpaper in the kids’ room is history. Waiting to hear if the walls need skimming. He is also doing a good line in sternly telling the builder what he expects. Quite good having him overseeing this as he doesn’t see the builder just gets home afterwards and can send texts saying “please do this” without any chat of what disaster befell them today.

[theredjellybean]

So builder turned up... It was raining here, well blowing a gale, he stood in garden for five minutes then said they'd try to come back if weather clears up... Wtaf?... Don't you do building work in the rain... We have not even started and I am getting cross.

[4yearsnosleep]

Thanks Whisky, I just wanted to take advantage of the sale (I never pay full price!)

Jelly, what a nightmare 🤦🏽‍♀️ they do know that this is the British weather for at least 50% of the year!

I bet cooking in the new kitchen is amazing ! I currently have less than 1m of workspace and an oven that cooks unevenly and the fan keeps sticking

[whiskyowl]

redjellly - I think there are some jobs they can crack on with but others not so much, e.g. scaffolding! It may be best - you don't want a site where their stuff is clanking around, falling off scaffolds, bashing into your house, and everything is unsafe. Hopefully the weather will improve really soon!! [sun]

I have now done 3 coats of varnish on the stairs, and am proceeding to the doors

[Tika77]

Jelly I think wind could have been the issue, not the rain.

Bax, are you frozen yet?

My heating is constantly on during the day, yet ot doesn’t warm up properly. Today they’re breaking the ceiling in the utility. They do little bits of mess in here every day.

I’ve reached my credit limit but it was quite enjoyable, ordered bathroom items, sink, door handles and the like.