This house isn't much bigger than ours... but it has the 4th bedroom we need... go for it or not?

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

The first pic is the layout of my house. 851 square ft approx.
Second pic is the house I'm viewing on Sunday. It is 912 square ft.
Mine has sold for £190k, and this is up for offers over £230k. I expect it to go around £240k.
We really need an extra bedroom and ideally would like another room downstairs for the children ie. Playroom/snug.
This house is a semi that was originally smaller than mine, but has had a 7m x3m extension to the side to incorporate the 4th bed plus wet room. We would need to extend either above the existing extension to create the 4th bed upstairs or to the rear to create an orangery to use as a play/family area. I think the orangery will be the cheaper option. We'd have a budget of around 25k. Maybe push to 30k if utilise credit.

I'm just unsure as it feels like I'm not getting much more for what is 50k? And then having to spend more to get the extra space we still need. Admittedly the garden is HUGE. Massive corner plot so any extending would be a drop in the ocean to the outdoor space. That is a big draw. This is the first house I've seen since January that was the right location. The only one with the right garden too. All the other houses have been nice, but wrong location, needed too much work, or garden too small etc.

What do you think? The area is the same BTW. We are staying local. I'm just a bit nervous as it is such a lot to spend (to me!).

Hearing what people are paying at the moment 25-30K is nowhere near enough to fund what you want in the way of an extension. Can you live with it how it currently is long term?

More square footage, additional bedroom and a massive corner plot is not an insignificant difference. You need to view it of course.

i agree with Hather though, budget sounds very tight for either extension option. Plus of course you need to know the foundations will take a second floor.

I can't read the room sizes, but the extended room looks big, could you divide it to have a small playroom and bedroom downstairs? The layout looks more practical than yours.

You’d need to check extension foundations….if they were built to allow for second floor. Echo above that extension really expensive now, if you don’t necessarily new foundations I think you are talking £70 to £80k unless you can do some work yourselves. It’ll be disruptive. You’ll also need some money to put garden right again. Good(and bad at moment) builders are booked up months in advance.

but if you can live with it as it is for the time being, it sounds good.

I echo what others gave said re costs. £25k is not enough. 10 years ago we had a single floor back extension. Nothing fancy, no kitchen or anything like that - just an extra room. Cost £55k. And that was 10 years ago.

Corner plot sounds good but I'm not convinced otherwise. Yes you get the downstairs bedroom but the downstairs living space is less good. You could put the wall back in your existing double-reception and get another room if needed, whereas the new house only has that one room and the kitchen. It still retains the sense that it's a smaller house that yours on paper, in a way, and an orangery (which is all you can realistically afford to add) is not a great solution, not really what you're wanting and lots of complaints about such things on here - too cold in winter, too hot in summer, heating bother, making the rest of the house cold etc. It'd be different if you could properly extend but that'd be closer to six figures and would you ever recoup it? I guess you have to move (rather than, say, convert the loft) as yours has sold, but I'd keep looking.

I’d move, the garden sounds good. Also you’ve two loos!!! Extra bedroom. Would be a done deal for me.

otherwise it might be worth considering going up into your loft?

Go and have a look and you’ll know if it feels right for your family. We looked at a few houses that “ticked all the boxes” and we were uming and ahing over them until we saw this one and instantly I could see how we’d use the layout (even though the decor was tired and not our taste). Sat here drinking coffee in the garden we’ve been here almost 5 years and I love it.

I wouldn't do this. The fact the second house doesn't have a hall is a massive no for me. The price diff is too much for what you're (not) getting.

The house you're considering is pretty clearly a smaller one than you have already, only
with an awkward extension which doesn't really meet your needs. Overall, it's less well laid out and has less living space.

The big corner plot is an advantage for a buyer who can afford to extend to make use of it, but you are not that buyer.

50k + 2300 SD + conveyancing fees + survey + removal fees.

And then you’d have to save up to extend the new house.

Why not just put the above funds towards an extension on your existing house?

So I viewed it and it wasn't love. Yep the garden and location are ideal. But it was just too small over all. Luckily my positive pants DP agreed with me (I was worried he was going to love it!).
We've still got the builder to give us a quote for extending upwards, so will await that before final decisions. But it just needed a lot more work than seen in pictures and the upstairs rooms were so small.
I can't extend mine, no room to side. Loft not doable without lowering ceilings which would make it not as nice as it is now, plus more expense. Garden also not big enough to lose any. House is too small for us, as is the plot.