Move to bigger house or extend current one

[Kokapetl]

We currently have an average-sized 3 bed semi. We like the road and the location. The neighbours are all nice. When we bought it, the house was not in a great state and we have spent quite a lot sorting it out and redecorating to our taste. The downsides are the lack of parking and a slightly smaller garden than we would like.

We have unexpectedly come into some money which would be enough that we could now afford to buy a larger house in the area. It would also be enough to convert the loft and build some sort of extension to our current house. Other houses on the road with similar layouts have done this so it is possible. We have small children but they are generally able to cope well with changes.

It's a bit hypothetical at the moment as we've not even looked at houses but I'd welcome your opinions on or experiences of this.

We’re extending - although we bought this house specifically to do that.

I think if you’re otherwise happy I’d do the work. Sometimes it’s better the devil you know!

Work out how much it would cost you to move from your existing house to an identical one - estare agent fees, solicitors, and stamp duty.
How much improving could you do for that?

Watch some episodes of love it or list it with Kirsty and Phil!

Assuming the financials are much of a muchness, it comes down to which you value more.

1. Stay where you are, keep all the memories you've made there, the personal touches you've added, etc. But have to deal with planning permission for an extension, dealing with contractors, etc. And if you do plan to sell in future an extended house likely has less resale value than a purpose built larger house.

2. Get a place that's already the size you want, but have to deal with all the stress of house hunting, moving, starting over in terms of decor.

Which of those sounds easier to deal with?

We moved from a road we loved for a 4 bed in a better school catchment.

Our long term life plan is to move back to our old road! Loved it, miss it. Being detached and having ORP are both lovely though and worth having if you can.

We’re in a similar position and we’re extending.
We decided that with moving costs, stamp duty and decorating a new house to our taste it’s cheaper to extend our current house.

We opted to extend, love where we live and have no issues (parking, neighbours etc..) other than the need for an extra bedroom/study. To move and get what we desired it would have been far to expensive.

If you can live with the parking/garden long term then go for it. If I'd had any doubts then I don't think we would have extended. It's a big undertaking to then not be 100% happy now or a little further down the line.

If you're intending staying for school catchment reasons then it's probably worth extending

We extended rather than move. There is so much dead money in moving house, and we were perfectly happy with where we live, just wanted more space. Even if we had wanted to move the cost of buying a bigger property locally (which rarely come on the market anyway as we are in a rural area/few houses) would have been prohibitive. And it doesn't end there because few houses you buy are perfect, and then need even more money spent on them to make them how you want.

Would the money be enough to buy you something better in the same area? If so I would move.

Money won't make the garden bigger
Loft conversions are a compromise
Building work is stressful and disruptive

Semis with loft conversions are still semis! Some are over extended and the stairs to the loft will take space from the first floor..I would move. Nothing is hassle free though!

IMO it will depend so much on relative costs, and whether there will be enough garden left if you do a downstairs extension. Having said that, a lot of people now don't want big gardens anyway - a good guide is always what neighbours have successfully done.

Around here it's almost invariably considerably cheaper to extend than to move up and masses of semis have a kitchen/diner extension, or a loft conversion, or both. But a lot of the houses are 1930s builds and the gardens are long enough.
As for a semi still being a semi, anywhere around here - expensive anyway - the cost of moving to a detached would be prohibitive for most, so there's certainly no stigma about semis. Some of the most expensive houses are semis.