Buying a house with the intention of extending

mrsw1983

Has/Is anyone on here buying/bought a property with the intention of extending? A property I've seen is currently too small for our requirements but has the room to potentially do a 2 storey extension. I just don't know whether we'd add value doing it this way, or would just be throwing money away! The house is in the right area, and is under budget so we could afford to extend it.

Doozergirl

It's unlikley that you'd lose money by extending. You need to be aware of the size of the plot and not overdevelop by having too big a house for the size of the garden, make sure you have enough parking for the size of the house etc. Also think carefully about layout and consider moving things like kitchen & bathrooms if it gives the house a better flow - bearing in mind that it can be expensive to move plumbing, create new drainage etc.

Think long and hard about your layout before you start = it's expensive to change your mind!

It's my favourite way to add value - extend a small house on a big plot.

delmar39

You could talk to an Estate Agent to see if you would add any value to the property by doing the extension (you see this a lot on Homes Under the Hammer!). Stating the obvious here, but if you stand to increase the value of the property by a lot then it'll be worth spending the money, if not, then you might as well buy a property that's already fit for purpose.

The only way to find out is to get a valuation pre and post work to see if it is worth it. You cannot possibly guess this for yourself.

delmar39

P.S. the Estate Agent will be able to give you an idea of the type of work needed to give you maximum return. It's one thing doing an extension, but you need to make sure that you're doing the right kind of alterations that will suit your target market if and when you decided to sell on.

mrsw1983

delmar39 wrote: »

P.S. the Estate Agent will be able to give you an idea of the type of work needed to give you maximum return. It's one thing doing an extension, but you need to make sure that you're doing the right kind of alterations that will suit your target market if and when you decided to sell on.

Would the EA be biased though toward the property he is selling?

delmar39

mrsw1983 wrote: »

Would the EA be biased though toward the property he is selling?

Hard to say, but if you get a legit EA who can give you some good objective advice you should benefit from this. Some valuers are also fully qualified Chartered Surveyors so can give you some quality and sound advice. Depends on the quality of the EA who is selling this property and whether they offer this type of service. Easier said than done, but unless you can be sure that the work will add sufficient value it's difficult to say whether to commit or not.

lincroft1710

As you're buying the house with the intention of living in it (and presumably staying for a few years) rather than "developing" and selling on then adding value should be of secondary importance.

What you should be looking at is whether or not you can still achieve a workable and logical layout on both floors, whether such an extension is likely to get planning permission and whether such an extension will result in a cramped plot.

But if you find that (for example) to extend a £180K 3 bed into a 4 bed will cost £75K and perfectly adequate 4 beds are available for £220/£240K then it may not seem such a good idea. Also having an extension carried out is dusty, noisy, dirty, dusty, noisy and seems to take forever and it's dusty as well.

Ultimately it's a question only you can answer and sometimes logic doesn't always work, there's often no right or wrong answer.

mrsw1983

lincroft1710 wrote: »

As you're buying the house with the intention of living in it (and presumably staying for a few years) rather than "developing" and selling on then adding value should be of secondary importance.

What you should be looking at is whether or not you can still achieve a workable and logical layout on both floors, whether such an extension is likely to get planning permission and whether such an extension will result in a cramped plot.

But if you find that (for example) to extend a £180K 3 bed into a 4 bed will cost £75K and perfectly adequate 4 beds are available for £220/£240K then it may not seem such a good idea. Also having an extension carried out is dusty, noisy, dirty, dusty, noisy and seems to take forever and it's dusty as well.

Ultimately it's a question only you can answer and sometimes logic doesn't always work, there's often no right or wrong answer.

We'd be looking to do a two storey, with the intention of creating a large kitchen/diner and a large bathroom. Potentially a fourth bedroom. It wouldn't be our 'forever home' but we'd be in for some years to come. Going back to look tonight. Just a shame I'm not a builder!;)

poppysarah

Speak to planning maybe ... they are often reluctant to offer advice though without a written application..

BUT if someone else on the street has done similar then it's set a precedent.

If everyone but this house has they might turn round and say the area is overdeveloped ...

nickyx

Extending yourself gives you the opportunity to get a house just right for you, and could be cost effective as well but you really need to do your research as others have said. See planning department, estate agents, builders and get stuck into info like the Housebuilders Bible to work out how much it will cost. As a rule adding square footage adds more to the value of the house than the building costs, its other type of house improvements that don't always add up.

HellsGranny

If other folk in the street have already extended theirs, you are more likely to get permission than if they haven't.