We’ve been in our 3 bed semi for nearly 15 years. We decorated and put in a new bathroom at the beginning, but for various reasons since then we haven’t really touched anything. Consequently it needs a new kitchen, bathroom, downstairs toilet, windows, carpet, redecoration, new doors, etc. It’s also feeling a bit small.
Just before lockdown we planned to do a small front extension which would have made the third bedroom into a double (currently used as DH’s office). That had to be put on hold, and since then our requirements have changed. I could ideally use an office, instead of working at a desk in our living room. We could do an extension at the back in addition to the front extension that would give us another bedroom/study, and more storage space in the master bedroom. We also plan to turn part of the garage into a utility room.
My worry is that with increasing prices for extensions, the cost of this will outstrip what the house could be worth. We are trying to get some builders to give us a rough estimate, but in the way of builders, they are being slow. I suspect it would be in the region of £150,000, but fear it could be more. DH is an architect, so has certain standards.
If we sold, we could afford £600,000-£700,000 on a new house, possibly more if we stretched ourselves. The houses we like in the areas we would consider are between £600,000-£850,000. Ideally we would move a bit closer to DD’s school, so she could walk there. It would also give easier access to town, meaning it would be easier for her to spend time with friends and for me to get to the station.
I’m not sure if it’s better to make our smaller house really nice, knowing we wouldn’t recoup what we spend if we had to sell, or stretch ourselves to buy a bigger detached house. If we chose to sell, we will still have to spend some money to make it sellable, but this would hopefully be reflected in the sale price.