Should we move or renovate?

[Jacksonsmusic]

Hello,
We are lucky enough to have enough money available to either add on to our current house in order to have a 4/5 bed with utility room, downstairs toilet and a second reception room or move to a larger property.

Should we move or renovate? Renovation gives us more certainty of outcome which means that we will definitely get what we want. However, by the time we have PP and a builder can fit us in it will be summer 2022. I also really dislike our current house. In your experience, do major renovations make it feel like a totally different house and change your feelings about it?

There are not many houses in our area that have everything we want, but I like the idea of moving some where new due to not liking our current house. We only need one house that is exactly what we want, and a bit of luck with timings and we can avoid the several weeks of disruption involved in renovation by moving house.Both options involve some stress and disruption but different sorts.

DH is firmly on the side of renovation. I am being ruled by my negative feelings about our house. Have you felt much happier and more positive about your house after a major extension?

I am hoping that someone can tell me not to be so daft and stop letting my heart rule. However, I have felt very negatively about our house since we moved in a decade ago.

Thank you

www.channel4.com/4viewers/take-part/love-it-or-list-it sorry no advice really as we’re in a similar quandary. Thought this could be useful though - have you ever watched the programme?

I would say renovate as you may not find what you’re exactly after in a new house, especially given the current market!!

Renovating is a pain, but so is buying and selling a house, especially at the moment.

Over the years, we have extended our house and have a big kitchen diner with bi folds on to the garden. We also put in a downstairs shower room. We recently renovated the loft and it's now our adult space with a lovely en suite. And last year we built an office in the garden.

I often look online at what's for sale in the local area. and have never seen a house in our price bracket that would give us like for like and suit us the way this one now does. The renovations were worth it.

What don't you like about the house?

You’ve had 10 years in a house which you actively dislike. I think you should move.

If you really dislike your current house, are the planned renovations likely to change that?
I'd be reluctant to plough serious money into a house I was really unhappy with, unless the dislike was very specific and simple (albeit expensive) to remedy.

I second PP and LoveItOrListIt - it's amazing how a house can be changed once renovated.

It rather depends on the pluses and minuses of your current home and the chances are you never find a home that has everything you love about it anyway if you move. If you renovate and keep the valuation within the ceiling of properties in your area you can decide then whether you still want to move or not. Check with local estate agents what their estimate is if you sold now and what the value would be after refurbishment.

In terms of budget, can you definitely do everything you want to do in current house and can you definitely get what you want in a new house?
Maybe speak to some builders about costs for renovations, but factor in you will need a contingency budget and include all the other costs like architect fees and structural engineers. Also look at houses that you are in your price bracket and see what you get for your money. If you’re breaking even on both ideas, I would go with moving, as clearly you’re not in love with your current house.

I do not think you will ever find the perfect house, everyone needs to compromise on something in the end.

If you are going to let in lots more light and have more space with rooms that suit your lifestyle l would consider renovating. If the location suits your dcs school your work etc l would renovate. But if you get a bad vibe in the house l would move. Also builders are often a heartache and it's major disruption to a family. Can you be scouring your neighbourhood while ye are waiting for a builder and if something exciting comes along go for it.
I have a friend who lived in a very ordinary boring bungalow. They extended the kitchen into open plan living area etc with lots of skylights and glass and the transformation was amazing . But she nearly lost her sanity with the builders!

Having done both, I think that moving is less hassle than renovating. They are both awful though! I think it depends if the things you hate about your house are things that the renovation would fix/ change or not. If so, and you have a clear and achievable vision of a house you would love, then renovate. If the things you hate would still be an issue or you're not sure, then move.

I definitely think an extension can change the way you live your life, so it depends why you dislike the house. Is it because it doesn't work (layout / dark etc) or because of things that you can't change (orientation of garden / neighbours / location?).

For us, it came down to finances - financially it was a no brainer to renovate. We bought a traditional 3 bed semi - then extended it to make it larger downstairs / add a 4th bedroom & extra bathroom. The difference between buying a 4 bed house already renovated, and what we spent, was over £100,000. And then there would have been stamp duty / estate agents fees / legal costs etc on top of that.

It depends on what you dislike about the house. If many of those concerns can be addressed by renovating then renovating sounds like a good idea to me. If after renovating you'd still be left with the same misgivings, then moving is the better option.

What is the location of your house like? View, the way the garden faces, noisy or quiet road?
If you think you stuck a totally different house in the plot you could love it then renovate. If you dislike where it is then move. Focus on what can't be changed and decide on the good and bad points then compare to the same things in whatever is available to buy.
Would a renovation be likely to add more to the value than it would cost?

Maybe get an architect in, explain what you don't like about the house and ask them to do some drawings etc to see what it could be like.

think about location. do you like the area you are in? do you have good travel links to school / work / shops? is there a good sense of community?

if you move, would it be a different house in the same location or a completely new location? In the end, the location matters much more than the physical house. so get the right location and then make the building work for you.

We've just finished a renovation. We did a double-storey extension to gain a new living room and two bedrooms.

Pros:

We paid £50k but our house value will have increased by £100k minimum.

We got to choose exactly what we want.

Cheaper than moving.

We know the area/neighbours/schools.

Cons:

Very bloody messy!

Noisy when working from home.

Given the choice, I'd choose renovation again. It's made the home feel like a completely new house and I've fallen back in love with it again. We couldn't have bought what we wanted for what we paid for the renovation which was a big plus for us. We're really pleased with the outcome.

£50k! Where are you? You wouldn't get a loft conversion round here for that. Literally.

@GreyhoundG1rl

£50k! Where are you? You wouldn't get a loft conversion round here for that. Literally.

I'm in Manchester. We were quoted £44k for the double storey extension which is what we paid, but we had some additional costs that topped it up to around £50k (architect (£800), planning permission (£329), surveyor (£600), lifting up the old front lawn and putting stones down to create a new driveway (1k), a new electric box (£350), removing the old external brick which we didn't originally plan to do (£800). Then things like, we moved a radiator in the existing half of the house, we bought Ring floodlights and had an installation charge for those, we opted for anthracite radiators in the front room which cost us an extra £500 etc.