The real cost to move house vs extending

[bebeboeuf]

We live in a Victorian cottage which we bought as a project.

We have spent a good £20k alone just putting it right without anything structural.

We are starting to get quotes for loft conversions (circa £30k) which would add a third bedroom and second bathroom.

We are also considering not doing to work and just selling and finding a house that’s big enough as it is, but the cost to move seems to be so expensive and such an upheaval is it really worth moving?

What is the real cost of moving?

At what point does a £30k loft conversion become not worth while?

This is south east so a current t value of £375 for existing house vs a £450 for a 3 bed semi.

Stamp duty is a killer.

We've bought a 300k house and its costing us 10k to move.

Stamp duty is what puts it right up

We are planning to move and l have been using this website to help calculate how much: www.moneysupermarket.com/mortgages/cost-of-moving-calculator

Looks like £16k to move. Excluding a bigger deposit as it’s a more expensive property 🙈

How much do you like the house you are in, the area, the neighbours, schools etc. If all that works, with the market availability being so poor now, the case for staying where you are is quite strong. We have had a loft conversion for this reason, estate agents said it would add the value spent on it but only worth doing if we wanted to stay there longer term rather than do to make more saleable. It was worth it to us, the house being 'tried and tested' as it were. Having said that I do look on Rightmove now and again to reassure myself that nothing better has come along - only one in 12 months that interested me at all and that was sold in about 5 minutes!

Plus you have to factor in the redecoration, moving plug sockets, buying new furniture to fit etc that inevitably has to be factored in when you move. It's rare to move into house that's perfect in every way. Whereas it sounds like your own house is largely how you want it.

Stamp duty is really just money down the drain.
Surveys are another cost and if the house falls through or you pull out, that is wasted.
The stress is horrendous unless you somehow manage not to have a chain at either end. We sold our house THREE times before we managed to move.

We're paying £46k for stamp duty and agent's fees for our upcoming move

We're buying at 450k and it's 12k stamp. We've budgeted another 8k for solicitor / estate agent / moving costs etc. Extension seems worth it.

We decided to extend rather than move. We like our house and area, just wanted more space. Moving to get more space would have cost us far more than extending, also we are mortgage free and it would have meant taking out a mortgage again which we didnt want to do. Also, if you move, the house you buy may need some modifications to make it your perfect home, so even more expense. We don't plan on moving though now, so we hope to enjoy our much improved house for many years.

Must surely depend on how easily you can afford the extra £75k plus stamp duty and all the other considerable costs, vs. £30k for the extension.

Around here (outer SW London) extending is a lot cheaper than moving to a bigger house, hence masses of former 2 and 3 beds have loft or kitchen extensions, or both. Also we are in a 'good schools' area (though bloody expensive council tax!) so that's another reason people like to stay put.

We've extended (are in the process of it). I really like the area we're in and hate the thought of having to move. At this point, we're not thinking about the value of the house (although the mortgage company did when we applied) because we intend to stay until we're old / forever.

We had a Victorian semi standard look. We added a conservatory and a loft room. We moved because there was nothing we could do to the size of the rooms. The plot meant no side return extension or any other modifications were possible. Glad we did though