How do you assess what extensions can/can't be done prior to buying a property

[User860131]

I'm looking for a new home. The problem is that near my daughter's school lots of the property is 3 bed and not huge. I've found a really nice looking property with a huge garden but the following things that I''d want to sort at some point...

1. tiny kitchen and dining room that need modernising. Plan would be to possibly knock the kitchen wall down and open up this space and then extend through into the good sized conservatory to make one big kitchen-diner. Possibly would want to incorporate a utility room into this too.
2. 3 bedrooms when ideally we want at least 4. We could probably double extend the back of the house to open up the kitchen/diner area rather than the above plan. However on the top floor this would mean totally changing things as to the back of the house there'd be no hallway access to the extension unless we created one by totally remodelling the bathroom iyswim. Another option might be to extend into the loft and just do a one storey kitchen extension.

We wouldn't be desperate for the 4th bedroom but would want to sort the kitchen pretty quickly. Have people had any experience of making these sort of changes? What's the best way of working out what is and isn't doable and rough costs before you commit to buying? Thanks

Read up on building regulations and /or pay for a builder to come round the house and chat about what is feasible.

Building regs say that you can't have a conservatory that is open to the rest of the house so you will either need doors separating it or knock down and rebuild as an extension.

Extensions and remodelling are very expensive since covid because materials and demand have gone up. People on here seem to be saying that recent costs are between 100,000 and 150,00 for an extension and kitchen remodel depending on where in the country you are and the size and finish of the build.

Knocking through, without including the conservatory and a new kitchen might be possible for 50,000? But that is optimistic.

Have a look around to see what others have done. Permitted Development rights should indicate the maximum you can extend without full pp, although you may find if it is a fairly recent property(30 years or less) the pd rights have been restricted or removed.

We had a builder and architect that we'd used before and took them round after we'd put in an offer...They both did that for free. It was handy as they pointed out a couple of issues with our initial thoughts.

We used the architect for drawings afterwards but didn't use the builder as he didn't want the job.

We talked to some people we knew who had had an extension built. But be aware that prices have risen hugely since covid. So anyone you talk to about prices if they've had work done - just check when the work was done.

Avoid the hassle by buying a house big enough to start off with.

Modifications are a pain because you may end up with problem builders, it may be difficult to get pp and you might wreck your relationship with your neighbours before you even move in there.

Plus the cost of the whole lot might be more than simply buying a bigger property in the first place.

Have a conversation with planning and also check if there are any covenants attached to the home that limit extending beyond the front of the home which is often the norm or any other that limit the size you can extend to.
Check if the area is an open plan design that limits fencing or in a conservation area too. You may wish to check if there has been any mining in the area, slips or movement generally.