Extend or move?

[Toooldtoworry]

I think I'm writing this to clear it in my head more than anything else.

Own property that we want to single storey extend and remodel downstairs. Will need to remortgage to pay for it to the tune of 120k. It will do us until we go out in a box.

We've already done bathrooms, kitchen, boiler, drive, garden, etc.

Current value 340k, likely to increase to 385k after works.

Negatives are that if we did subsequently decide to sell we'd have much less equity to use for the next purchase and we're late 40s so mortgage term would be short and payments expensive.

Positives are it's 2 minutes from PIL home, 20 minutes walk into the nearest town (although that's turning into cafes and barbers only), reasonable bus route if I stop being able to drive, decent dog walks nearby.

Moving would increase mortgage by 150k - £200 more expensive per month than extending. Would have to be final move. I suspect we'd buy something new or nearly new because we don't want to have to do anything but decorate. It would be a different area because there is nothing in the immediate vicinity, but it would only be a 20 minute ish drive to PIL and we'd still be close to country walks for the dogs.

Currently in a 3 bed, to get the space we want we'd probably have to go up to a 4 bed, so council tax will go up but we live in a 70s build now so I suspect heating would be cheaper.

We've got the ok from building control for the extension (within permitted development) and we've started getting quotes which have been in the 100k region for extension, fitting kitchen and utility. Although we are still waiting for other quotes which could come in cheaper.

WWYD?

Ps Sorry its really long

While an extension is cheaper, would you be extending past the ceiling value for your house?

The price of renovation at the moment is so expensive at the moment that most renovation work takes you past the ceiling value. That's why it is only worth doing if you are staying out for a long time, which the OP is.

Normally I would say move but I think you should renovate. It sounds like your house is in the perfect location for you and that you love it. It also sounds like moving will be more expensive although the renovation may well turn out to be more expensive than you think.

The cost of the extension would be 3 x the increased value, but we would stay until we die.

@Geneticsbunny this is my concern. That the extension and subsequent works will cost more than we've been quoted so far and we wouldn't have room to manoeuvre on our mortgage if that was the case because it'd take it into the higher rate ltv.

I think I'm just having the collywobbles about extending because people are taking ages to quote and I've never done a project like this before.

We spent years trying to decide whether to move or extend. I scoured Rightmove daily and we viewed several properties, but never found exactly what we wanted. Similar situation in that the space we wanted downstairs meant a 4 bed, but the ones we looked at had a smaller master bedroom than our current house, or had an en-suite that meant there was limited wall space for wardrobes etc. To get the bedroom we wanted as well meant a 5 bed which was a lot more money and way bigger than we need. We would also have had to move further away from work, school and family.

In the end we extended and it was definitely worth it. We probably spent more than we would get back if we moved now, but we knew we were doing it to stay so it didn't matter. As a result we've got exactly what we wanted - open plan kitchen/ dining/ living area, downstairs toilet, utility room and kept a separate lounge.

It's a hard decision to make, but for us extending was the right option.

its swings and roundabouts. Where do you REALLY want to live? Location wise. I’d plop for that option immediately so that you weren’t wasting your time/money building unless you really wanted to stay in your current area. 20 minutes to parents is nothing. Very close!

I could be wrong but I think costs for renovations might start to come down a bit once the post COVID renovation rush dies down a bit and people realise they can't afford to do stuff. Could you wait a year maybe?

Location every time.

It’s amazing how liberating it is when you decide to stay put for the rest of your life - resale value really doesn’t matter, it’s all about quality of life in the long term.

Normally I wouldn't take either option if the cost of the work will be a lot more than the added value and a new build will go down in value initially, but as this is your last move it doesn't matter.

Are you really sure this is a final move for you even into retirement? We moved for location and ended up with a bigger property but will need to move again in retirement to something more suitable and to release capital. That said I still want to do things to our current property that will cost a lot but we won't recoup. I doubt I will take the sensible option!

Extend. If you like the house, have good neighbours and it's a good location stay. Better the devil you know

Definitely a final move for us, this will be my 8th house purchase if we do. This one was traumatic (covid).

I can't help but feel that we'd be better moving because where we live no matter where you go you aren't far from good transport links, etc so not the end of the world and if all else fails I can always online shop.

Only been here 4 years - one set of neighbours are lovely but one has rapidly declining dementia and the other side is miserable sadly.

Tricky one... How would your finances be impacted if your renovation project went 20% over budget (for example)?

Also, you are quite young to make the decision never to move again. You seem sure, but circumstances and preferences do change over time.

I'm not so sure that the costs of renovating will be going down anytime soon. Decent contractors are in short supply, materials have become more expensive (and prices go up fast but come down slowly, if at all in my experience).

I'd be tempted to look at some properties in the new area and see if anything inspires you. You'll soon figure out what you really want to do.

Currently we can suck up 15% over but not 20%

I've moved 27 times in 47 years. This is my 7th owned house. I'm sick of moving but I'm also worrying about the cost of extending and everything else that comes with it.

I'm wondering if I'm just feeling completely overwhelmed by the whole situation right now and need to take a step back for breathing space.

I work in a mortgage brokers so know costs are not decreasing which worries me further. Plus choosing a builder seems a huge task because everyone we've spoken to has had a red flag somewhere.

That's a lot of moving around @Toooldtoworry ! I can understand you wanting to put down roots. You probably are a bit overwhelmed, as it is a really big decision. I was advised by a former boss that if you're facing a binary decision such as this and can't make up your mind, try flipping a coin. Your instant gut reaction to the outcome can be instructive...

Renovating can be a nightmare. Mine certainly has been, so bear in mind that my views are coloured by that. It has taken over a year and I am 20% over budget (and I had allowed a 10% contingency, so 30% in all). My supposedly reputable builders disappeared, meaning I had to find a new firm, and the costs escalated.

But not everyone has such a difficult experience. If you decide to go down this route my advice would be to hire a professional Project Manager with expert knowledge of construction. It really is the wild west out there when it comes to builders, and an experienced PM can help you find decent ones and keep things on track / budget.

Thank you @ClematisBlue49 my architect is going to project manage to take the stress away.

There is so much going on, not just with this I think I just broke today. Good sleep and I imagine I'll be OK again.

Move

I'm further down the line (late 50s) and beginning to feel we did the right thing by NOT extending ten years ago although most of our neighbours did. By having a house which is smaller (if as you say boiler kitchen bathroom all nice and new) we can keep our house and not feel like we will ever have to downsize.
Is it bedrooms for kids that are lacking that you need fourth bedroom ? We have a box room for our third child; it is a shoebox, so we do have four bedrooms but one is tiny. Maybe we would have had our kids sharing a room if we hadn't had fourth, and I know families with four children who have t had that fifth bedroom and they had to share till left home (for uni) it's quite standard in some families amongst my friends.
Other option is a garden room to increase living space though not bedroom but maybe you have finished remodelling garden. An insulated garden room can come in at 20,000 considerably cheaper than extension.
Builders are quoting shocking prices because they pass on their own increased costs it isn't a rip off necessarily
We were quoted far more than I imaginedrecently for a bathroom, I just decided to stick with old bathroom and do minor repairs instead.
There is plan C, live in house you have and not extend or move but tweak.

@Nettleskeins we currently have 3 beds. Only my DH and I full time and DSS EOW. We have 3 dogs. Upstairs is perfect and definitely not changing.

Downstairs we want to extend single storey to replace the leaking conservatory. That will become the lounge, then current L shaped lounge will be kitchen diner and then current kitchen will be split into downstairs wc/shower and utility. Essentially we wanted to 'future proof' our old age in case we were restricted to downstairs.

Financially mortgage will be £200 less per month by staying put and extending which wouldbe thrown into the pension.

I don't really want a bigger house because I have a chronic illness and its easier to clean a smaller home.

I’m the opposite, it gives me the hebee jeebies thinking you will stay in the same house until you die when you are only in your 40’s and possibly another 40 plus years in the same house looking at the same walls, hell no.

Moving is so expensive with SDLT, EA fees, conveyancing, Removal co (the cost of which seems to have shot up since I last moved 3 years ago). It always feels like lost money.

I’d be saving on mortgage costs and saving for your retirement.

But if you are future proofing it where would you sleep downstairs?
In the end that's another change further down the line - presumably kitchen diner would become kitchen sitting room and that wouke require more thought/work again.
Definitely make life as convenient as possible for now but I don't think any of us can really plan for more than ten years down the line.
Do work which you think will give you pleasure now in this location, a location you seem to value,, taking on extra costs for moving, bigger mortgage, seems to defeat the purpose which is to have peace of mind, after all there could be unseen problems when you buy a new house and more building work.

Do you have a diagram?!

It would be spending £120k to add 45. That is a hell of a loss. You have two adults in a 3 bed with an occasional child and have said you don't need 4 beds, so why would you move for rhat? I do get the future proof need in current house, but that is still future, so what is the pressing immediate need? Moving an existing kitchen will cost more than putting in a bathroom elsewhere. Can conservatory be refurbished instead of starting again? It feels like there are cost savings to be had here and probably done over time. Agree with previous poster for diagram!

@11NigelTufnel @Nettleskeins

In all honesty I probably could afford to refurbish the conservatory but it's a waste of money because it's too shallow, and you can't really use it as a room. We've already replaced the roof, and now the frame is leaking and we've had multiple people out to search the source and no one can find it.

In house value terms IF we sold up soon we'd definitely lose, BUT if we do the extension we'll be staying.

For those saying they can't imagine staying in the same property for 40+ years you have to consider I have moved home on average every 18 months in my life and I am truly sick of it. When we moved here we had to exchange and complete on the sale of our previous property and purchase of this one and we thought we were heading for key indemnity at 5.15pm.

In relation to the properties we were looking at we were considering new build/ no more than 5 years and we need plenty of car parking and at least one garage. This seems to equate to 4 beds plus in my area.

I'm not convinced by that layout, although it's difficult to see where the front door is or window to utility..is it an internal room?.or which direction house /garden faces or if it's detached semi detached etc? Was there a downstairs loo before, is there an attached garage, is there another room and hall at the front not on diagram?
If there IS another room at the front not shown ie bedroom/snug, I would say the plan is good - a big diner kitchen informal living room onto garden. The kitchen could be IKEA carcasses Formica worktop and you could upgrade doors worktop at a later date if costs needed to be kept low at present.
As a dog owner I do find dogs needing to be let in and out to a garden quite muddy not to say draughty, into main living space. Which is why porches conservatories are good transitional spaces for dogs and children. But if you are ditching conservatory to temper the draughts and building extension it's nice to have a single sturdy half glass door to one side and a run of casement window seat level or a bit lower windows ..quite mid century, rather than a run of bifold doors. The Modern House estate agency has some good examples.
I wonder if the lounge could be at front of house if there IS an additional room there and the new kitchen diner at back with no need for conservatory or extension at all, then keep your new utility/wc where old kitchen was.