Conservatory or Kitchen?? Advice please!!!

hazyjo

Agree you can do both. My kitchen came to around £7k - and that's with a lot of cupboards and all appliances. Through B&Q. They'll knock some off the price (usually). Have had 2 kitchens with them now and had nowt much to complain about. If you got the bathroom done through them too, I'm sure they'd cut some sort of deal. Worth looking at. Tiler would be able to do both, as would electrician, plumber, etc. Even fitters probably do both. Bet you could get a better deal getting them both done at once.

Jx

thesimian

Doozergirl wrote: »

Telling you again - you can do both kitchen and bathroom for £10.5k! Don't spend £10k on a kitchen.

Yeah totally agree, I would never dream of spending that on the kitchen alone!!! Shocking amount to spend :eek::eek:

Perhaps I shall use the left over cash from my savings after the kitchen to overpay the mortgage (would have to be done in stages as only allowed a set % each month - but still worthwhile)

sunshinetours

Cissi wrote: »

Since you don't seem to have a desire to move in the short or even medium term then I'd go for whichever option will make you enjoy your house most. From what you write, I think this would be modernising the kitchen.

A conservatory can be great if it fulfills a particular need - for example, my SIL has a great brick-based one outside the kitchen/diner which was built specifically as a playroom. We have a large one, open to the kitchen/breakfast room and connecting to the side of the lounge via a French door; it's a great space to relax in, and is where our dog lives. However, it doesn't sound as if you have a specific use in mind for the additional space? Also, be aware that not everybody sees a conservatory as a bonus (I'm sure you'll get replies to this effect) - they can be too hot, too cold etc. If you do build one make sure it's a good one with a design that works as part of the house.

Frankly, I think a new kitchen would make a bigger difference for you living in the house than adding extra space just for the sake of it. The kitchen is also always a key feature when selling a house, so while it may not add as much nominal value as a conservatory it would definitely make the house more saleable, which has its own value too.

As you say yourself, your LTV could be better, and if it were me, I think I'd spend £4-5k on the kitchen, and use the rest to overpay your mortgage. If you've been able to save £10.5k in a year you're hopefully in a good position to save some more in the next couple of years, and you could always add a conservatory a bit later?

Great post which I totally agree with, although I would probably save a bit more towards the kitchen over the next say two years, but pay some more off the mortgage now whilst you are on fixed rate to ensure your mortgage is somewhat lower when the fixed term runs out.

Unless you are adding square footage you are unlikely to add too much value with either option i would say so as Cissi says do what you want to enjoy your home!

MX5huggy

What's the best way to spend 10.5k to reduce the LTV?

Pay off 10.5k of mortgage.

thesimian

MX5huggy wrote: »

What's the best way to spend 10.5k to reduce the LTV?

Pay off 10.5k of mortgage.

Very true and a good point, but on the other hand the kitchen really does need doing - think late 80's kitchen and you get the point!

I think after the valid points made on here that I shall use some of that cash to sort the kitchen out. As cissi rightly pointed out, I need to think about what will make the house nicer to live in as well as adding value. After all a house is meant for living in - I am certainly not one who bought it as an investment.
What is left will be used to over-pay the mortgage as much as I possibly can.

Annabee

If I were you I'd get both kitchen and bathroom done -which you could easily achieve with £10,000. When viewing houses I look at how much needs to be spent on the house and would knock that off any offer made. Both dated kitched and bathroom would make me knock AT LEAST £10k off the offer. I'm sure a lot of people would do the same, just something to bear in mind if you're thinking of selling within the next 5 years.

A conservatory on the other hand is just a bonus feature. They tend to be unusable much of the year due to too hot in summer/freezing in winter. If they use up too much garden space this can also be a negative.

Owain_Moneysaver

If you do want a B&Q / Cooke and Lewis kitchen/bathroom then the Cooke & Lewis stuff is supplied/distributed by PJH Group
http://www.pjhgroup.com/ often under cheaper own/no-brand identity.

Many of the baths and suites at B+Q can be bought cheaper from other merchants eg
http://www.thebathroomcollection.co.uk/