Are extensions a waste of money ?

1jacks64

Who thinks extensions are a waste of money ?

MarkyMarkD

Extensions are almost definitely not a waste of money.

The only circumstances where they detract from value, rather than adding to it, is where they are hideous, or where they are disproportionate to the original house and leave no garden (for example).

We have a large two-storey extension here, which matches the rest of the house and provides very useful additional space in the house (e.g. my study in which I spend all my time posting on MSE ). But, we don't have much garden at the back (it's very wide, but very shallow) so I believe that adding a conservatory into that garden space would be a bad extension and therefore be a waste of money.

dougk_2

And if all you want is extra space and like the area where your house is they can save you LOT's of money..... its not cheap to move house and all the stress and hassle involved.

Most def. not a waste of money in that situation.

John_M_Business

Simple calculations really. Just answer these questions:

What is the value of the current property?
Call this 'Value A'

What is the estimated value of the property with the extension? Get two or three Estate Agents to help you with this, because although the extension will add value, it will also take from something - i.e. a garden - give the Estate Agents as much of a picture as possible of the future development.
Call this 'Value B'

What is the estimated cost of the works? Then add 30% as a contingency to this value - there are always unforeseen costs incurred
Call this 'Value C'

What is the additional costs of doing the work? Will you have to move out (additional rent?), have more take-aways, more travel, loss of work time...
Call this 'Value D'

If Value B minus Value A is GREATER thank Value C plus Value D - then it is not a waste of money.

alanobrien

Who thinks extensions are a waste of money ?

Absolutely not, i spent 17k on a loft conversion two years ago and got double that back when i sold my house recently.

Also, if you think about the cost of moving compared to extending it becomes more interesting.
I mean if you buy a house that costs >250k the tax bill will be 3% or 7.5k that is money that could be better spent
toward the cost of an extension rather than "gifting" it to the government.
The bottom line is that if your happy where you are then extending is more cost effective than moving but if your not happy then moving is the only real option.

My recent move "provided" the government with 11.5k in tax (ouch) got to spend a lot more time here to get that back ;-)