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Would you add a conservatory?

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The situation is that we are current a family of 2 adults, 5yr old and 4 yr old in a 1930's 3 bed semi in the SE. House has 2 decent beds and a box room and bathroom upstairs, and hallway, living room, dining room and teeny tiny galley kichen downstairs. There is no scope to extend out the back due to the landscape of the gardens which are very steeply terraced (4ft retaning wall around 5 foot from back wall. We do however have room at the side, around 10 foot at a guess.

At our current rate of saving we will be mortgage free in around 2 years. The longer term plan is to upsize, but we are in catchment for the childrens current (excellent) infant school, which then goes into a separate middle school which we would like them to go to, and for which we have to apply for a place in the normal way. There is no priority given for pupils at the infant school, so if we move out of area we are unlikely to get a place. We will have to move by secondary school entrance age though, as our catchment seondary is not good:(

I'm really struggling for space, especially in the kitchen, and in my DS tiny box room (seriously, really tiny 5'6'' x 7'!)

I have been thinking about putting a small conservatory on the side (4m x 2m ish) and then knocking the kitchen into the dining room, giving us fab big kitchen and a playroom (conservatory) for the children. If we spend the money doing this though, we will obviously not be paying off the mortage in two years, and I'm fairly sure we wouldn't recoup the cost of the work on selling!

I'm really torn between doing work which would suit our lives now, but then keeping us here for another 3 or 4 years extra, or just sitting it out with the house how it it for another 3 or 4 years, and then being in a position to move to our dream house.

Money to pay for the work would come partly from our mortgage overpayment savings, and partially from increasing the mortgage.

What would you do?

Comments

  • ailuro2
    ailuro2 Posts: 7,540 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    I'd look at the house you really want in the area you are in now, and see how much it would cost compared to getting a little conservatory put on the side of the house.

    can you knock the dining room through into the kitchen and still have room for a table, can you move the walls around on the upper floor so the bedrooms are more equal in size?

    I like nosying in property websites to see what other people have done with houses that are the same as mine - it's good for ideas.

    In reality it might be better for you to move now before the next boom comes, as it surely will.;)
    Member of the first Mortgage Free in 3 challenge, no.19
    Balance 19th April '07 = minus £27,640
    Balance 1st November '09 = mortgage paid off with £1903 left over. Title deeds are now ours.
  • wallbash
    wallbash Posts: 17,775 Forumite
    With your school options , I think staying is 1st. Undertaking a major outlay , for a limited time ... 3/4 years , thats a problem.

    To deal with box room , I grew up in one that size. Its liveable , if you throw some money at it. Cabin bed , raised bed .
  • JodyBPM
    JodyBPM Posts: 1,404 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    ailuro2 wrote: »
    I'd look at the house you really want in the area you are in now, and see how much it would cost compared to getting a little conservatory put on the side of the house.

    can you knock the dining room through into the kitchen and still have room for a table, can you move the walls around on the upper floor so the bedrooms are more equal in size?

    I like nosying in property websites to see what other people have done with houses that are the same as mine - it's good for ideas.

    In reality it might be better for you to move now before the next boom comes, as it surely will.;)


    The problem is that because we are in the SE, the cost of stamp duty alone on our next house up would cost almost as much as a conservatory! (current value of our house around £250k, next house likely to be around £400K!) And we need to be in this area for middle school, but another for secondary school, so the costs of moving and then moving again would be HUGE!

    Yes, if we knock the kitchen and dining room together we would have a decent sized kitchen diner -4.5 m square at a guess.

    Upstairs the walls can't be changed due to window placement etc.

    The other option is potentially a loft conversion, but I think that would make the house top heavy, and would be pretty expensive! It's something I would do if I knew we were here for the long term, but since we will be moving within 5 years, I don't think it would be a good idea!
  • JodyBPM
    JodyBPM Posts: 1,404 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    wallbash wrote: »
    With your school options , I think staying is 1st. Undertaking a major outlay , for a limited time ... 3/4 years , thats a problem.

    To deal with box room , I grew up in one that size. Its liveable , if you throw some money at it. Cabin bed , raised bed .


    Yes, we have built in a custom raised bed for DS on the 5'6" wall, 2.5' wide, with storage underneath, so we have maximized the space in his room. We've decorated it nicely too, but still he spills out of it, with no real room to play. DD has a nice 3mx4m bedroom and it just feels so unfair to me! FWIW DS loves his little room, but all the toys in his room are a problem, especially trying to get him to sleep surrounded by all his toys!

    Ideally I'd like to have both children's toys stored in the conservatory/playroom - it would make bedtime much easier, and would also free up space downstairs as I won't have DS playing with his car mat/hot wheel track/scaletrix in the living room!

    Oh and I really want a big kitchen!
  • wallbash
    wallbash Posts: 17,775 Forumite
    If you have tried a cabin bed , what about raising the bed , bed is above head height , play beneath.

    I know what you mean about moving costs .
    Stamp duty / fees / estate agent ect , looking at £20,000.
  • ailuro2
    ailuro2 Posts: 7,540 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Section off an area of room in the big bedroom the same size as the boxroom, put a curtain over it.

    Then turn the remaining area into a toy storage/playroom?

    Or turn the dining room or loft into a playroom for both of them, or convert the loft and make it YOUr bedroom with ensuite etc and give your kids the first floor of the house.
    Member of the first Mortgage Free in 3 challenge, no.19
    Balance 19th April '07 = minus £27,640
    Balance 1st November '09 = mortgage paid off with £1903 left over. Title deeds are now ours.
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