Doing work that won't increase the value of your home

[blazingchairs]

We are in our 'forever' home. Whilst it is our forever home there is always a risk that something changes in life and requires a move (though nothing on the horizon).

We would like to do some work which would hopefully give us extra living space, a utility etc. We'll also likely do some work putting in underfloor heating, putting in some beams to open up areas, new kitchen etc.

This will obviously cost (and we are midway through saving). Looking at cost and likely value I do wonder if it will add value / ever pay for itself. That's not our drive (and changes would greatly improve our liveability) but it does feel odd to spend money when it may not increase value.

Part of the challenge is that our house isn't like many in the area (which may help with value) so it's hard to compare.

Has anyone done anything similar ?

I don’t tend to do work based on the value increase. We’ve renovated our home totally over the last seven years, yes the increase in value over those seven years has offset the cost. But if you’re not intending to move them the primary motivator should be making it work for you. Not thr resale value.

Sometimes work doesn’t really add value but is likely to help it sell more easily which itself may be ‘worth’ a lot !
I always think if you can afford to do something (this includes not troubling about resale value) and want to do something and it will increase your experience of the house then do it. As long as you’ve thought it all through, financed it the cheapest way etc then do it.

If it might save moving costs (if that forever home becomes unworkable), improve your lifestyles or relationships, or makes you happy enough that you can afford it, it'll be worth it.

Additionally over a sufficient enough period the prices of properties in your area is likely to rise enough to offset the cost. The increase in value might not come overnight, but over 10 years or more it surely will.

A home is for living in, assuming you can afford the renovations (without skimping on pension, savings etc - depending on what stage of life you are at) and it will improve your 'quality' of living then do it ... we moved to this house over ten years ago, we know we won't live here forever but have been putting off doing things which would have really made a difference to our quality of life ... we are finally spending some money !! Highly unlikely to increase the value of the house but will increase our day to day enjoyment of the property.

People often seem to forget that the prime reason for a house is as a home. Not an asset, not something to be improved to add value, but a place to live in and be comfortable in. If not before, this year should certainly have brought that message home to people.

So I would say make changes to make your home work for you as this is your 'forever home'. Start from that principle, and don't wreck the place (although why would you want to?) and enjoy living there.

We don't know what the future holds, if it makes your life more enjoyable, it's within your budget and you get best value (shop around for what you need), then go for it as you're not planning to move.
That's what we have done.
If you were thinking big moving in the next 5 years, then it would be a different story.

As long as it doesn't actually decrease the value, and as long as it's not money you should spend on eg a new roof, it's fine surely?

You live in it. You've got to enjoy living in it - that's important, i think.

We decided to spend about £10k 2yrs ago on the basis we were sick of the house. We later had an unrelated insurance claim which resulted in a new kitchen.

So now we have a fab back garden, new decking, carpets replaced upstairs, new kitchen, house painted throughout, and replaced fogged glass windows panels.

There's more to do - new bathroom is next, then new flooring throughout the downstairs - so it's on hiatus while we save a bit more for those.

None of it has added any value to the house as houses are capped on this street by virtue of them all being identical with no scope for extensions, loft conversions etc.

It would however make it much more attractive if we did sell up and it's making a MASSIVE difference to us day to day. Much of it was basic maintenance or cosmetic, but it's changed my enjoyment of the house tbh.

Put the value of the house to one side and look at how much nicer/easier your life would be and ask yourself if that is good value for your life. E.g. if you look at holidays or hobbies they do not add value to your house but you still spend money on them to have a lovely time/nicer life.

I'm in process of spending about £20 000 on house, I would may get half of that back if sold but it will give me joy so that's surely worth something.

Thanks all that's super reassuring. @ClaudiaWankleman (Great name!). Very good point in that I think this will mean that we don't want to move (especially when in a good few years time we have teenagers falling over each other) which of course saves on costs.

@Ragwort I also agree on the home not a house. I think I have been rattled by an architect we saw who proceeded to tell us our house wasn't worth what we paid for it whilst at the same time telling us how much he had made on his !

Sadly (although probably correctly) I think house prices in our very expensive part of the country will at least stagnate (if not fall) for some time

You won't regret extra living space if you have DC either, especially when they turn into teens and young adults. And a kitchen just as you want it is priceless.

I honestly think you’re in thr minority op, unless you’re selling in say the next five years, and renovating to sell on, then nearly everyone else renovates to suit how they wish thr proprty to work, not sitting thinking about can they get the cash back.

Because property prices are unpredictable. You can’t even predict it in five years never mind ten. It could increase hugely or decrease.

We’ve spent over 100k renovating this place, and that’s with no structural changes, and we would love to live here for many more years. At no stage did we think will should we do it and will we get the money back. It was for us to live in.

In reality the value has increased by more than double that in the same period, but that’s because of the location and initial value of the house, so a higher value property that’s a smaller percentage increase.

But if it’s a long term property then renovating to suit you is seldom about the house value, that’s only when you’re looking to sell short term, as you’d not get the enjoyment from it. But anything cosmetic in fifteen or twenty years time will likely need redoing anyway.

Sadly (although probably correctly) I think house prices in our very expensive part of the country will at least stagnate (if not fall) for some time

Where are you that’s happening? I’m in thr south east, not far from London, and they are increasing.

It doesn’t matter what happens to them over the next twelve to twenty four months if it’s your forever home.

You sound like you’re not sure you want to stay there long. Why else would you be focused on resale value in the short term, If that’s the case then don’t do it.

I do things to my home based on the fact that it will make living there more comfortable/enjoyable - not so that some nameless buyer in 30 years might pay a few more quid for it.

Your home is for living in, and unless you're planning on selling in the next couple of years, I really wouldn't worry about adding value.

i think this is what is wrong with the housing market - a house should be a home, not an investment. people now are greedy and want to make £1000s profit on their house. it then makes houses unobtainable for FTB etc. people used to only upgrade their house when they increased their earning, not by upping the value of their current house.

If you're intending on staying there forever I would do the work if you can afford to save for it

I spent quite a bit on my flat over the years that I probably won't get back (full replace/replaster all walls) but I got to enjoy them for years...

As a buyer, I have paid 'over the odds' on a house which has been extended more than other identical ones on the street - so the money those vendors put in has come back to them. Tbh, I wouldn't have wanted any of the others on the street as even though the base houses were identical, the extension (utillity/office/shower room) offers what I want in a house, and was not finding elsewhere... so for the right buyer, I don't think the price is so 'capped' as they will perceive the same advantages as you

Obviously not suggesting you go nuts with super high spec finishes beyond the type of house (as I have seen others lose money in that way) but I think adding space will add value.

It will also make your house very saleable vs others if done in the right way, & that has a lot of value too if your circumstances ever change

Also, what is popular/ desirable changes so open plan living spaces used to be the "thing" but now I have friends putting walls back in (not just because of lockdown .

A few years ago we pulled a thread in the garden that led to a £60,000 project on a new retaining wall, decking, and then a massive landscaping project. What started as an outbuilding led to a two year building project. I was pregnant or had a newborn and wasn't paying attention while DH agreed to the most expensive of all the builders schemes.

We won't ever see most of that money again because of the area we live in.

The new garden, and decking, have been amazing this past year. If I have learned anything in the this pandemic, it is that liveable homes are worth investing in.

Go ahead and do it, but maybe with a different architect. Yours sounds like an ass.

We had this debate. Our house is the only (and I mean only) mid century detached house in our postcodes. So many estate agents have struggled to value it as it's never been on the market (inherited) and there's nothing to compare it to.

It's our forever home in as much as we don't plan to move. We've just spent about £200k on making it the perfect long term home for us.

We have no intentions to sell for at least 15/20 years so whether it raises that in value doesn't matter.

Hi @Moirarose2021 I think much of the good advice here applies even when you know you won't be living somewhere forever. We're currently doing up a house that we know we'll sell in 4 years as I want to move closer to family when my last dd finishes primary school.

While we know we need to do literally everything and we can't afford to do it in one go (nor do I have the motivation to live with builders for the next year!) we're prioritising the areas that will bring us the most enjoyment first. So ideally I'd like to change our ensuite but I know spending money on the garden will bring us more benefits over the time we're here so basically deliver more value.

While I do agree with the saying that you can't put a price on happiness if you want to quantify it in pounds and pence you could do some calculations that could help give you way of thinking about the value...So if you work out what you would need to spend then work out the difference between that and the sales price then divide that by the time you will live in the house you can get to a rough cost per day for the extra space.

So as an example...if you think you might spend £20k more than it would get you back and be in the house for 20 years this would be a cost of about £2.76 per day to you. You might happily pay that for the extra space and comfort that would bring you.

I

As a rule of thumb, adding extra usable floor space adds value. Things like putting in double glazing and insulation can do too because you reduce the running costs.

Our house has increased in value by 18% since we bought it five years ago. None of that increase is due to anything we've done to it in that time, it's down to the increase in property values locally. The house was re-valued by the mortgage company a few weeks ago.

Are we bothered by that? No because it's so much better to live in following the work we had done.

Like PP, my house value is capped by the street. We've spent more on it than we've increased its value, but the value to us massively outweighs that. I don't regret a penny of what we spent, we're expecting to be here a long time and what matters to us is that our home works for us. Over the last year, with all of us at home so much, having a home that we like living in has been worth it.

If you are making improvements that benefit your family, then you are getting your money's worth. With the caveat of don't remove the bath. That was a downside in quite a few family homes I looked at. It would be an expensive job to do for new owners, and fairly essential if you are a bath family (most are with kids).