Buy a new house or extend current

[FemWoman]

I'm losing sleep over deciding whether to extend our house or buy a new one.

Our current kitchen/diner is small about 5.5m x 2.4m.

If we stay I want to move the kitchen to the garage and do a small rear extension (8sq m) for the dining table.

Then the current kitchen will be turned into a bedroom.

This will create the space we need, but i have no idea of the cost of such venture. I feel like in London this wont be less than 100k.

If we move we will sink about 50k in tax and other fees but then we can buy a readily extended house and not go through the extension.

Im not sure which option is better financially and practically.

Does anyone have any advise on what to do now?

By the way, our house is on the market already, but the market is SO SLOW. We also havent liked a lot of houses (it is only 2 we have seen and 1 of these was really nice chalet style house that was extended and done to a very good standard)

Get some quotes.
Do you like where your house is situated - schools etc?
Do you have adequate parking?

Give yourselves a set time to look about and research. Don't rush the decision.

Remember to factor in the additional risk of building.

You've got the risk of damaging the core building, the risk of the building work not being done properly and the risk of the builders being cowboys and making off with some of your money, plus the disruption.

These days anyone who tends to do a good professional job also tends to be super expensive.

There is also the risk that your house will become unbalanced and difficult to sell. For example will the living space/toilet bathroom facilities be consistent with the bedrooms ? Also whether or not the alterations would take your perceived value of the house significantly above the ceiling price for the road.

I think large extensions are generally much better value than smaller ones that you mention.

The extension will be the expensive bit, and possibly moving plumbing to the garage. Converting a garage (assuming it's attached/integral to the house) doesn't cost that much, though you will need planning to change the garage door to a window if that's what you intend to do.
How about converting the garage to a bedroom and leaving the kitchen where it is? Depending on the size of bedroom you need you could keep a bit of garage space at the front for storage, cut a window in the side (assuming you aren't terraced!) and avoid needing planning permission.
Personally I'd stay if I loved my location and saw this as my long term or forever home, and move if I didn't. The hassle of building works is a big factor for me.

We’re in London and we moved the kitchen and did a small extension behind the garage to add in a utility and some open plan living. It was about £100k but we used a reputable company and an expensive kitchen company for units etc. As you suggest if you’re in London and moving to a 3/4 bedroom your moving costs are going to be £60k plus inc SD. I think it depends on if you’re happy with the rest of your home (location, parking etc) or not, and also whether you see a home you 100% love their extension. At least with your extension you can do it how you like. PS the dust was awful we moved out

Thank you! Do you mind sharing the company you used?

Some absolutely great advise, thank you everyone for your input!

I will get some quotes and mull it over.

I have thought about the risks, this is a very valid concern, this is why i always preferred an already extended house!

Our street is nice, but the house is very appropriate for 1st time buyers and if we start extending this puts it in a very different price bracket and different type of buyer that will prefer different house with better parking (we have just one parking space).

However, I know the house and at least im mitigating the risk of moving to a house where I dont know what issues will come up.

As I said a lot to think about. :)

It is just so difficult in the current economy and market to make any definitive decision!

Kirsty and Phil would say it's cheaper to add space than buy space.

But some considerations:

Love it and expand:
Ceiling price of your street, Vs how much the works would cost
Get a couple of builders quotes.
Research planning in your area and what costs are to go through the process.
Get an estate agent round to value both scenarios/ceiling price of works you'd want to do

List it:
Costs of moving for your house
Buying the space you need, find houses that have the space you want and add the selling costs circa 3% plus moving costs

Then compare both and see what the differences are.

Buying move in ready Vs how much disruption living their and doing work will be.
Project managing a large build can be quite stressful
Moving can be quite stressful.

Try not to overthink and stress about a decision you aren't really ready to make. Do you research, know your numbers and you'll be able to make a much more informed decision x

There is also a world where doing a high quality extension could add more value than you spend in London which could then increase your buying budget. Again you'll need to know your numbers.

We used the below. But I think they only cover a very small area in NE London. Honestly 75% of extensions or loft conversions in my area seem to be undertaken by this company so if you lived in my area you’d probably already know of them. 😂 sharing the link anyway in case of help. Despite the name they do both lofts and ground floor extensions

https://northlondonlofts.co.uk/

Damn it! Im in diagonally opposite to this location ahaha ...

I will actually save this and re-read it every few days, this is how great this post is! Thank you! ❤️

Thanks again. The thing is I have never moved house and have never done extension before so I have no clue what either will be like.

I know my brother has done numerous renovations to their houses. They always go over budget and it goes on forever. Now, again they started supposedly simple project that lasted 4 months and they even moved next door as it was so disruptive. I'm not sure I have this in me, to live in all this noise and dust. We would need to move and I need to factor that cost as well.

With the move of houses, I'm worried I'm looking for something so specific that I will never find it and I will never be able to time it with an offer on our house and finding a new house ... I want a detached 4 bed in a specific location with big kitchen in a quiet street ... in a limited budget as I dont have millions.

So this is why I feel very stuck.

I have also considered selling our house and renting until we find a house but to port our mortgage we need to move within 6 months or pay 3% penalty which is too risky.

All the options seem like a lose lose to me currently. :)

However, thank you all for your time. I will still have someone over for a quote for the extension and ask the EA what such an extension will achieve in this market and I can sort of go from there!

I will also keep looking for a house and hope I dont find one ahah as if I do i will be desperate to sell mine which doesn't seem that likely in the next month.

Great answers here.

I know someone in more or less the same situation as you[though not London].

Their over riding consideration is schools.Now and in the future.

They have already had, I think a builder, round. They can only extend in one way which they are not keen about.

In your circumstances, I am thinking you may end up selling. And moving.

😂I expect house prices and cost of stamp duty is even more expensive where you are then!

I feel like everywhere is expensive to be honest with you 😅

Years ago i lived in Warwickshire and now all I dream about is moving north where for the price of my crappy 3 bed I can get a little castle 🤣

I think the key here is selling your own house. You cant sell it so buying a new house may not be possible unless you can afford to take a big hit.

Until it sells the only option you have is to extend