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Wwyd keep it on the market or do an extension?

8 replies

Topsyloulou · 18/07/2018 21:42

We bought our house knowing we were going to do an extension over the garage, it was just a matter of finances. 8 years later & we had an inheritance to enable us to do it. We now have 2 DCs & are running out of space so it's now become a priority to get it sorted.

We've engaged with an architect to draw up some plans, decided to create additional living space by getting rid of the garage altogether & have a rough idea of a new layout. DP threw the cat amongst the pigeons & suggested moving, in my attempts to dissuade him we found a house which we fell in love with & put our house on the market so we could buy it. Our house has now been on the market 6 months. Lots of viewings, one offer which we accepted only to be withdrawn 10 days later. We've dropped the price twice & paid for new photos to show the house & garden to its full potential. We have 3 people who all want to put an offer in but can't sell their houses.

The house we want to buy has come off the market today but they will still sell to us once we sell our house at the price we agreed when we accepted our offer. We will struggle to afford that price as we are going to have to take less for ours.

I'm fed up with it all & feel like we have put our lives on hold, we could have been half way through an extension by now. I want to re-engage with the architect, get the plans drawn up & apply for planning permission. We could leave the house on the market during this time & if it doesn't sell we could then press ahead with the extension. DP still wants to go for the new house & just keep waiting. Even after the extension the new house will be bigger with a bigger plot but there are lots of advantages to staying where we are now too. We've estimated the cost of moving will be similar to the cost of the extension.

What would you do? In the words of Kirsty & Phil would you love it or list it? (well keep it listed in this case)

OP posts:
WhatsGoingOnEh · 18/07/2018 22:01

You poor thing! That all sounds pretty stressful.

Will losing the garage affect the value of your existing house? Do all your neighbours have garages?

Topsyloulou · 18/07/2018 22:26

We're not too worried about losing the garage. We have space at the other side of the house to build a new garage if we wanted to in the longer term, we would just need to extend the drive. All our neighbours have garages, most of them have built over them in some way. Future resell isn't really a worry as we would be staying for 15 years + in either property.

The new house needs a fair bit of work & money so it's not like we'd be moving into something perfect, there would still be a lot of upheaval.

OP posts:
abbsisspartacus · 18/07/2018 22:31

Stay put then if it's not going to be a place you can move in and settle you might as well have the upheaval of an extension

winterwonderly · 18/07/2018 22:35

I'd press on with the architect and getting planning permission. If you do sell your house in the meantime and decide to move, you may be down a few thousand pounds due to the fees but the alternative is that you're still in the same house a year down the line and running out of space. If you don't move then you can just press on with the extension.

I can't stand hanging about waiting on things to happen that are out of your control. We did it for a couple of years and I felt like my life was on hold. Now we're planning to build, will probably still be in our small house for the next year or two while it all happens, but I can cope with that now that I know we're in control of moving things forward.

WhatsGoingOnEh · 19/07/2018 11:07

The extension sounds like your best bet, really.

Sabee · 19/07/2018 12:37

In your situation, I would only consider moving if I seriously, seriously loved the new house.

If your present situation (extension) is feasible, and you will be happy with end product, why not stay - of your feelings/needs change, there is nothing stopping you from moving in the future? (when you may be in a better financial position)

Topsyloulou · 19/07/2018 21:07

Thanks for your responses. DP & I agreed we will keep it on the market for 3 months maximum & will get the plans drawn up & permission applied for in the mean time so if we don't sell we're ready to go on the extension.

OP posts:
Racecardriver · 19/07/2018 21:17

Don't buy now. The market has peaked.

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