Renovation or move?

[Mayaspecialist]

Hi,

All opinions or advice is welcome.

3 years ago I bought a cheapish house, post divorce. It needed some work and I have been doing it slowly. It a small 3 bed terrace with downstairs bathroom and is a bit cramped for us. I don't particularly like living here. It's not awful, but not great.

I now have the money to start a major renovation. Which includes an attic bedroom and bringing the bathroom upstairs.

However the bedroom ceilings will need to be lowered and it's proving more expensive than thought. Though I can afford it.

The problem is, the cost of the work will not increase the value of the house to the same amount. So say I was spending 50k, it's only increasing the value by 30k. Which wouldnt be an issue if I was planning on staying for years.

However, I am not. This house is very close to my sons school, which he leaves in September 2022. At some point after that I want to move, when the right house comes up. So it could be 2023 or later.

So how do people decide wether it's worth doing the work? Should I go for it get everything done and have a nicer house, with more room for the next few years. But accept I may not make all my money back.

Or do the minimum improvements, getting it ready for sale, In a few years. The money I don't spend, will go to topping up my deposit on the next house.

The work that needs to be done would be new roof (it has no membranes its an old house), replacing 2 more windows. The kitchen and bathroom might need replacing for sale, but it might be that just some updating would be enough.

If anyone can tell me how they decide on this sort of thing or what they would do, I would really appreciate.

My go to response is usually renovate but I think, in this instance, I would save my money for the deposit on a new house and move when the time was right.

I think I'd do the bare minimum to prep it as well. I once put in a new kitchen and bathroom and then sold my house right after and actually regret it because I would have probably made about the same amount on the sale anyway but I would have had more cash available for the next one.

Lots of people want a project and with builders costs rocketing currently I would wait and see if the prices of materials comes back down again. Decorate it and do the things that will come up on a survey like the roof and windows but I wouldn’t bother with bathroom and kitchen if they are still functional.

Thank you both. I really appreciate the outside input. I keep going back and forth.

I do think I am going to go with updating the property and selling.

The bathroom and kitchen are functional. But old. The bathroom is completely Tiled floor to ceiling and would be a pain to have redone. But I want a nice bathroom. Maybe it would be worth that, so I can at least enjoy a bathroom for the next few years.

The kitchen is tiny and dated. But nothing wrong with it, it's solid and well planned out for the space. Needs a new oven, I don't think it will even make it to the end of this year. I think we could make that look a lot better, without it all being redone.

So shouldn't be that much.

I was going to go for fitted wardrobes in my room to give more storage space, but might go for a cheaper option there as well.

Luckily my dp likes gardening so the house does have kerb appeal.

He isn't much help, the house is my house. And the next one will be as well. Sobhe just says 'whatever makes you happy'. Not helpful 😁

Forgot to say as well. The prove of materials and the fact that it's rising is terrifying. So yes, they could come down.

You could shower board the bathroom. If you are looking to move in the short term I wouldn’t spend too much on the house. Who knows what the market will be like in a couple of years or so, anyone’s guess. Cost of materials has shot up and availability is also a problem, so not the best time for a renovation project. Just do the basics OP. Good luck.

@Roselilly36 I will have a look at shower board. I have to admit I have no idea what that is.

I agree. I'd do the minimum. You won't make your money back, even in a rising market, if you are selling within two years.
I'd also get a couple agents in. See what they say in terms of doing some things that will make the next couple years more comfortable for you. Be up front about when you plan to market it, but they should have enough foresight to think even though you won't be a client now, you may well be in the future.

@Mayaspecialist waterproof boards that are an alternative to tiles, that be installed over existing tiles, much easier no grout to clean. Some of the designs are really nice.

Shower board is also known as wet wall.

Having just bought a house which needs modernised, but is still functional, I absolutely wouldn’t spend money on your house beyond keeping it wind/watertight and cosmetic decoration.
Even with a new kitchen and bathroom, you’d be amazed at the number of people who will rip it out anyway, so when your house is on the market they’ll mentally be adding that cost onto the price. It will absolutely not increase the value of your house. Keep your money in the hope that building costs come down, or at least level out

Have a look on eBay or Facebook marketplace for a replacement oven. We did that for our last kitchen. It was a great oven and a total bargain. It looked much better than the old one.

Also giving the kitchen a facelift with painting the doors, new doors, replacing the worktop or tiles, this can have a huge effect on the look of the kitchen. Especially if it is in good condition and we'll designed. Much cheaper than replacement.

Ah thank you all so much. So many ideas.

I can't thank you enough. I wasn't sure if it was my usual anxiety about big decisions that was telling me I shouldn't do the renovations.

I like the idea of making it watertight doing some cosmetic bits.

I feel like a weight has been lifted so must be what I really wanted to do. The thought of all the ceilings being lowered, really filled me with dread.

agree - minimal spending on this house & keep an eye out for what you want to buy next.

If you were staying 10 years plus then it makes it worthwhile to do the big changes, but for a couple of years definitely keep the money towards your next house. Doing small jobs and making cheap changes can make things feel much better in the short term and you are not risking your cash.

Thank you. I really do appreciate the advice.

Its getting the balance of making it nice enough we enjoy living here, but not spending that much we lose money.

We are in a very similar position, except we have a dc at the local secondary for another six years, have a lot of equity in the house and we really want to stay and make this our forever home.

We’re planning a double storey rear extension, plus loft conversion, which will give us a family/living/kitchen-diner, in addition to a separate living room, an additional fourth bedroom with ensuite and the opportunity to move the bathroom upstairs. So at the end of it we will have enough bedrooms, living space and bathrooms for us all to live here comfortably until the dc leave home (two dc with SNs, so that could be a long time).

In you position I think I would do what pp’s have advised and make the property good and watertight, smarten it up and sell. A good estate agent will advise you on where best to spend your money, as they know their advice, if followed will make an easier sale for them. I would get three valuations and see if they have a consensus.