we live in a proprty - extension - woudl it add value?

[pasok1000]

We are thinking if we add extension - this woudl make our lifesyle perhaps more comfortable, but woudl cost around £35,000-40,000, would this add value when selling the house? we live in London.

Usually yes, it will add value if it increases the living space but it’s hard to say without knowing the use and layout
Will it be taking away from garden space?
Bare in mind, prices are likely to fall with this and London is usually the first and worst to suffer initially.

I'm not sure you'll get much extension for that budget in London. What are you planning? We paid £70k for a 6x6m extension in southeast not including flooring, some fittings etc.

we are planing 6*8 extension to the house - kitchen, dining area. (semi-detached house), we are waiting for lockdown to end and to get architects to helpw with the layout and the costing...I did not realise it can take £70K, I will ask my husband again, how h calculated it...

Th general rule on extensions is that you very rarely get back what you spend on them. The exception can be in London, it this is very dependent on what house prices are doing in your area.

What I would say is consider your time line. We’re expecting construction costs to go down initially (now) because of the virus - everyone needs the work. But after the country gets back on its feet we’re expecting costs to skyrocket as there’ll likely be a massive increase in demand.

You’ll want to wait until the construction market levels out again.

Have an extension if you want it, if it will make your life more comfortable and enjoy your house more. Dont have it just to add value as there is no guarantee.

I disagree with Brooksey5 - she's right that it really does depend on area but also the type of extension / remodelling you're doing, but I dont know anyone (personally) who has extended and not got at least that back in the increased value of the house (outside of London). If you do your research, manage budgets properly, spend the money where it will add value, you don't have to be an exception.

I would say though that your cost estimate seems very low. The very rough rule of thumb is about £2k + VAT per square metre, so if you're looking at 6m x 8m, then thats £96k + VAT to a plastered finish. Of course it can be more / less depending on where you are / availability of builders / specification.

We had an extension on a semi in London last year - got three quotes and none was that low. Think the lowest was in the 50k's plus VAT, but that was a very basic version and the other quotes were 70k (still pretty basic), and 100k for the bells and whistles version with utility room, loo, nicer design etc. If you know a builder and can manage it all yourself, you could wangle a deal but I don't think your current budget is realistic. Have to say though, it's worth every penny for how much better it is to live in. And it's meant we don't have to worry about resale as we can stay here instead of moving as the DC get bigger and we need our space.

Value can be assesed in value to your normal living and financial value , two different things , budget £2k per square metre and you wont be far away

Thank you, will assess cost again. my husband was going to do a lot o labour work, but the cost of materials, he said, is expensive. I will ask him again about the cost, this is an ex council property, I am worried to put a lot of money into extension,

Hi OP. We’ve recently completed a double extension and it cost us £100k. Lots of glass which upped the price. We are in zone 2. This has given us a huge kitchen and dining room and an extra bedroom. We will get back what we put in.

Hi OP

It really depends. If you could tell us more about your current property, area etc it would be helpful.

I know of people who did large ground floor extensions, but didn't have the bedrooms upstairs to warrant such a large downstairs. They didn't get the money back when they sold. I know of others, especially those with 3 storey houses which are naturally top heavy, who made a lot of money by adding ground floor extensions.

When lockdown is over speak to estate agents. Two even popped out to see our house and give their advice. I'm not in London so realise it's not the same, but our house value was nearly at ceiling price for our street and for being a terrace, so they said we'd not get any of the cost back. We've decided to move next year as we have noisy neighbour's so I'm very glad we got their advice before investing straight away as would have been disaster for us financially