How to decide how much to invest in your house?

[CCL123]

if you’re not sure if it’s a stepping stone house or a long term house how do you decide how much you want to spend on a kitchen?

Spend what you can afford to spend on a no regrets basis. If you are not sure re the house then it probably is a stepping stone. Install something that will appeal to most buyers and you can enjoy while you live there.
If the house is a decent purchase and you are suffering from a wtf have I done moment then my advice is live with what you've got for a while. Then decide.

@TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams thanks. We’re probably in the WTF stage, but have been for 1 .5 years. It’s a first house, bought at the peak so not sure how much of what I’m feeling is normal.

Put on what you can comfortably afford and you like. To avoid losing out on moving costs, many 'stepping stones' become more like bridges... ie, you can be there much longer than planned.

Be aware of ceiling values in your area too,.don't put a 50k kitchen in a 100k house, unless you think it's going to.make considerable sums.

And remember, find a brilliant fitter, because an expensive kitchen can easily be ruined by bad fitting.

we are in what i’m pretty sure is a stepping stone house but will likely be there longer than planned. I’m doing things up how I want but compromising as I don’t want to spend £££.

Definitely look at ceiling values in your area and definitely think carefully about investing too much and making too much of an 'individual' choice if you are planning on moving. Do take a look at used and ex-display kitchens too. You could get an incredible kitchen for a fraction of the cost if you can find a good joiner. I used this company before: https://www.theusedkitchencompany.com/?utm_term=the%20used%20kitchen%20company&utm_campaign=Branded+%232&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=7979307325&hsa_cam=6497823838&hsa_grp=77132152519&hsa_ad=382066965059&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-332639973546&hsa_kw=the%20used%20kitchen%20company&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=CjwKCAiAqNSsBhAvEiwAn_tmxfcDkpp9RBBExNZK2SekmpXbBhIKMX5Sx7iIq6cZLc-fHVA3W96PfhoCUuQQAvD_BwE

Thanks all.

a bridging house is definitely a better way to describe this. We bought it at the peak in 2022 and found loads of hidden horrors so we’re past the ceiling of the street. But the areas being regenerated so that might change.

we can comfortably afford the better kitchen, we just can’t decide if it’s a good idea. We also haven’t been able to conceive so it’s looking unlikely that we’ll have to move for more space. But tbh I don’t think we could afford to move. We’re in a small three bed semi and the next rung seems really far away. What I don’t want is for us to be here 10 years more, struggling with kitchen storage because we skimped 3-4k on the kitchen. But I don’t want to spend that much and then move shortly after.

Just take in to account it won't increase the value of the property by what you spend, so your doing it for your own enjoyment of use more than anything. It will though make it appeal to more buyers if it at least looks modern and has broad appeal.
I'd be cautious about splashing out if your not planning on staying for a decade though.

@grimbelina this is an excellent site 😀

Thehardestthingaboutwritinganoveliswritingit I think they have an eBay shop too (we found ours there). The trick is to buy more units/a bigger kitchen than you need and be prepared to buy new work surfaces as they rarely survive the move.

Have a look at DIY kitchens too, they come assembled and are highly regarded and cheaper than the usual Wickes/Howdens/Magnet but they are good quality, well made. Lots of videos on youtube showing it.

The way we have always approached it is that it is a home and not just an investment. So we make it comfortable for us and I am not that bothered about seeing a return on my money. For reference we bought a stepping stone house in 2004, it needed a lot of work, not a kitchen luckily but more boiler, bathroom, en-suite replacement. They were leaking so it wasn't just a cosmetic want but a need. We definitely spent slightly more than we saw returned when we sold it but it was our home for 6 years instead of the 3 - 4 we planned.

Also ceiling prices are set by one off sales, yours could be the one that raises it if you make it an attractive home to buy.

I think with it being 1.5 years you sort of know what frustrates you with the kitchen and how it could be better.

Does the whole kitchen need replacing or is it possible to add a few units. E.g if the bottom units are still in good shape, could you replace the doors and then just add additional storage overhead if that is what is missing?

Totally get you though, we set the ceiling on our road and have a similar dilemma. Have supplemented our kitchen with a few strategic flat pack purchases to increase storage and that's "good enough" for now. That's about 1k of costs. To do what we want it's about 7k and that's still mid-level spec. Plus we would need to do floors and walls so that all adds up.

@TheRoundWind we’ve looked at DIY but the problem is the room is small and a really awkward shape. With standard units we’ll lose some space and not use the space efficiently. We’re also struggling to find a fitter who wants to work in the space.

@Equalizer the whole kitchen needs replacing. We didn’t have the funds to do it when we moved which has been quite good because we know what we want now and it’s completely different to what we thought we’d do. We’ve supplemented it with hodgepodge bits we’ve found second hand. To get what we want it would be 7k just for cabinets and then there’s all the appliances, flooring, electric, plaster, and fitting etc

@CCL123 we also did the hodge podge of extra stuff in the kitchen until we replaced it. You could post a floor plan of the kitchen with measurements and windows/doors etc and we can see if we can help. I drew my kitchen extension plans and then an architect looked them over and submitted them on my behalf to planning.

My mate had an awkward kitchen but then a designer tried what he called a wild card and relocated the door which opened it right up to possibility. The end result is incredible.

Is the total cost a large percentage of the value of the house is that what is making you hesitant? I honestly would do it, kitchens sell houses, it needs doing and you might stay there for years to come.

These days with the internet you can find cheaper appliances, search around. For us we started with Whirlpool because it was touch button controls (10 years ago) when the oven died after 8 years we went with Hotpoint because it is the same company but half the price. Our sink is a Franke but only because I got a really good deal online.

My plasterer costs £250 a day labour plus materials.

Could you paint the cupboard doors if they're in good condition. New flooring can make a difference as can wall paint, new sink, blinds, open shelves. I painted mine for £40.00, it's a big kitchen, new flooring and a friend thought we'd put a new kitchen in.

@1983Louise we’ve already done that where we can but it’s definitely lipstick on a pig. None of it is salvageable.

@TheRoundWind we’ve explored structural work too but that would just add to the cost and building work stress.
For the nicer made to measure kitchen, total cost would be 6-7% of the house value. So it would maximize our space but i think it would be difficult to sell as a bonus because it would just look like a ‘normal’ kitchen.
part of me thinks we should just commit to the house and make it nice for us so we can stay longer.
I think what’s making me hesitate is inexperience. This is our first house and shelling out loads of money for a kitchen isn’t something we’ve ever done and don’t know what the sensible choice is.

I'd say you could do better than 7k for units in a very small kitchen. If you found a good fitter, they could alter standard off the shelf ones to fit. It sounds like you quite fancy the custom one, which is fine. But I'd first get a proper costing and layout done with one of the main kitchen suppliers. You might be surprised with what they can achieve with an awkward space.

@CCL123 that is a "normal" expected price to pay for a kitchen, the "rule of thumb" is around 10% but when you get to more expensive houses that starts to sound ridiculous.

I think this is normal also for FTB to be worried about the house and investment. I would get an estate agent round, get it valued now and then ask if you put in this kitchen (show him pics) what would it fetch then.

First and foremost a house is a home. Make it your home, somewhere you are happy in. I think for some of us who have bought and sold a few times, felt like we have overpaid etc this is just par for the course. The estate agent will help with local knowledge etc.

It's a bit of a cycle - a proper kitchen would probably make you love the house more (or at least dislike it less?) but you don't love the house enough to commit.

So from a practical POV, how long realistically us the stepping stone likely to be?
How much is the difference between a cheap kitchen & your ideal?

If it's 5 years, and 2k difference, personally I'd pay the extra because £400 a year is an okay price to pay not to feel frustrated & disappointed everytime I walk into the kitchen IYKWIM?

Have to figure out how long you intend to stay and what is important to you.

Generally a lot of people are fussy over kitchens and will replace them irrespective of their state, and landlords will not often pay a premium for houses with good kitchens. So if you intend to move then it is probably best to go for something non offensive (think common and neutral colours) and not too highly priced.

I would not have thought adding in extra storage is expensive. Adding in granite worktops and high quality floor tiling though is.

If you intend to stay then probably best to have what you want and the good quality stuff will last and be worth it.

We did all the urgent and easy stuff first and left the kitchen until the end, in fact we just painted and replaced worktops, sink and oven plus flooring as I couldn’t justify the cost. We spent 12 years in our stepping stone, two kids age 12 and 10 when we moved - 2 bed flat but we skipped a step the next move. We did what we needed to make it nicer to live in and it did work.

The problem we didn’t have was buying at peak. So it was easier to justify an investment. If you think of it more like buying a car and knowing the kitchen will lose value immediately, then do you value the enjoyment you’ll get from it. Will it improve your life enough? Can you get a cheaper option you can justify? Secondhand and DIY as much as you can?

@Popquizzer we definitely prefer the custom but don’t know if it’s a sensible choice. we’ve been to B&Q, Howdens, Wickes, IKEA, Wren, Magnet, and 3 independents, one is made to measure. All of these designs had compromises (blind corner unit with a small door unit or tiny sink) and space blanked out where the units didn’t fit fully and space above units not used etc.

@TheRoundWind all in we will be under 10% of the value, even at the lower range of valuations. I’ll have a chat with an estate agent. I think it would be difficult because the kitchen would look very similar to a cheap one, it’s just the insides would be much more functional. I think it would make a big difference to how we use the kitchen but with all the doors closed it looks like a cheap one with small doors and filler panels.

Yes!! I’m stuck in this cycle! I don’t want to spend more money because I don’t like the house, but the thing I dislike most of the kitchen.

We’re looking at a typical modern shaker style in a neutral colour. If we were fully committing to the house I’d have dark pink doors!

I don’t know how we work out how long we’ll stay I think is the problem

FWIW our £10k IKEA kitchen in our old house is considerably better quality than the £50K Nicholas Anthony job in our new house. The Blum fittings and drawers in the new house are far less robust than the IKEA Method stuff. If you don’t want to spend loads, IKEA is the way to go IMO.

@shockeditellyou we really wanted to go to IKEA but even their designer said our room isn’t really set up for it because the units are easily modifiable around wall columns and their unit sizes are too limited so we could only have a 400mm sink unit and then 110mm of filler panel.