Renovate above house value...or not?

[GolightlyMrsGolightly]

Bought at £485k. Early 1900 house. .5 bedrooms. ..it’s liveable in but the work we want to do would make it ours, more liveable and nicer.

It’s totting up to about £200k in all worst case scenario including contingency of £25k.

That’s new pressurised cylinder, putting proper extension on back replacing old knackered conservatory, new kitchen, moving stairs to attic, replacing front door, 3 replacement windows, 2 new Velux, new back door, downstairs loo, painting and decorating throughout some skimming of walls.

mAx price for a newly done house in the road is about 560k.

We are wondering whether to not to the nice to haves, but they are the things that will make it nicer to live here.

[titchy]

@GolightlyMrsGolightly

The stairs to the loft is a nice to have....but the benefits are that we will get a usable stair case that we can get furniture up and can be used more safely. Current stairs very steep and impossibly tight turn.

Added bonus Is it will bring a huge amount of natural light into an incredibly dark upstairs hall.

TBF we could live without the extra light and they are rooms that we won’t use much.

That sounds like the sort of work that won't add any value. It'll look fantastic - but you're not gaining any bedrooms. And it sounds like you won't necessarily use the rooms either - so can you put this on the back burner?

[Robs20]

Same position here. We bought in Feb and were planning to extend. Rules out side extension as too exp/ would lose money when we sell, but thought loft conversion would be ok. Spoke to an EA last week who said don’t extend unless we stay 5-10 years. Seems like such a big risk and I don’t want to be trapped. In your position I would move!

[GolightlyMrsGolightly]

@Robs20 We did a loft conversion in previous house - which we stayed in 10 years. We needed the space and it made the house very easy to sell when we moved. Probably broke even on doing that rather than moving once moving costs etc factored in. And we'd have the benefit of it for the time as well.

I don't think we'll feel trapped by having done the work as long as we feel the benefit of it for the time we'll live here - but that is a concern.

We're getting the living room painted next week - which needs a major freshen up and I think will help me decide.

[DidoAtTheLido]

Probably by the time you sell you would have needed to have spent a good whack in general repairs, renewals and maintenance anyway.

If you can afford it spend the money to make it the home you want. Cheaper than moving house and paying the increased stamp duty etc fees on a More expensive house.

[GolightlyMrsGolightly]

I think by the time we sell it or the stuff we will have put in will have viewers saying 'oh, my god, that's so 2020'. And ripping it all out.

[Someyoulose]

I’ve been in my house 8 years and spent probably £50k on it in that time. The house over the road sold at the same time for a very similar price and I know they have spent nothing bar basic decorating and a couple of carpets. The values are probably very similar now even though their house still needs a full rewire and has ancient central heating as both houses look equally nice decor wise. We did these jobs and they’re expensive. I’m not sure you really get the money back even for stuff like this to be honest.

[WombatChocolate]

That last post reminded me of the Sarah Beeny property TV programmes of 15-20 years ago. The people would spend lots doing up a house and then at the end it would be valued and Sarah would always say ‘so it’s risen by £x but remember the market is rising and even properties across the road which have had nothing done to them have risen by almost as much or the same’

It’s right to view it as a home and any work for yourself and not just investment purposes....but at the same time, there’s no point going open-eyed into a situation where you will spend tens or hundreds of thousands which won’t be re-couped. If you sell in 10/15 years, prices will no doubt have gone up even if not by the amounts of the early 2000s. It’s tempting to think that means the project was viable, but you do have to look at prices then if properties where nothing was done to see the true cost. If all you can then buy with the sale proceeds is a property that is the same price as an unmodernised version of your own house, you haven’t added vale, whatever the actual sale price is.

[OneEpisode]

I think some of the early posts didn’t realise the OP owns this house.

If OP can afford it she can add a wood burner or replace bathrooms where “we just don’t like them”.
It’s possible that these sort of changes will add to the value of the house, but not by much. These sort of changes are for the benefit of the people living in the house, the OP & family. These changes are an alternative to spending more money on nice restaurant meals or beauty treatments. They are a choice of how to spend disposable income. That’s fine.

[OneEpisode]

Having said that, £200k is a helluva lot of money!

[waxofffff]

Because your 200k is from savings & you're planning to stay I would say renovate to the house you love.

[positivelynegative]

I honestly don’t think all renovations add value we are spending a small fortune and definitely couldn’t sell for what we’ve spent - AV system, laundry chute, bespoke kitchen etc, but it’s for us to enjoy. It devalues like a car!