Buying a property with a view to extending

koneko

So, we've got our AIP arranged and found a property we are keen on. We have a second viewing tomorrow, with my parents coming along too (we are FTB-ers and wanted some more experienced home buyers to take a look). The house is pretty much exactly what we are after, with the exception of the kitchen, which is very narrow and smaller than we'd like.

The garden is quite large, so there would be room to extend the back of the house out to create a larger kitchen and extend the lounge/diner. The thing I'm struggling with is whether it is wise to buy a property knowing that you are going to want to extend it in the not too distant future (ie: before kids come along)?

I've looked at the council records and other properties in the road have extended at the back, although the particular property we are interested in has never had any planning submitted for it.

Foxy-Stoat_3

Do you know the rough costs for this work and have you got the additional cash?

Apart from money, what are you struggling with?

Tancred

koneko wrote: »

So, we've got our AIP arranged and found a property we are keen on. We have a second viewing tomorrow, with my parents coming along too (we are FTB-ers and wanted some more experienced home buyers to take a look). The house is pretty much exactly what we are after, with the exception of the kitchen, which is very narrow and smaller than we'd like.

The garden is quite large, so there would be room to extend the back of the house out to create a larger kitchen and extend the lounge/diner. The thing I'm struggling with is whether it is wise to buy a property knowing that you are going to want to extend it in the not too distant future (ie: before kids come along)?

I've looked at the council records and other properties in the road have extended at the back, although the particular property we are interested in has never had any planning submitted for it.

My position is very similar to yours.

We are buying a house with a kitchen/diner, and the dining area is pretty inadequate. The lounge is also smaller than we'd like. What we are thinking about is a conservatory rather than a brick extension, as we want to keep costs down.

As to whether it's wise to buy a house with a view to enlarging it, that very much depends on what you have in mind. In general, extensions are very expensive, especially in the south of England, mostly due to high labour costs. You won't get any change out of £60k if you want a two storey extension and even a single storey one will cost at least £30k, whereas you can have a good, large conservatory for £15-20k. Furthermore, you won't get your money back in added value to the property.
We bought a smallish 3 bedroom detached (around 88 sq m) for £295k but could have bought a much bigger house for £325k. In the end, we decided that we didn't feel the extra space was worth paying £30k extra for. The conservatory will cost only just over half of that and give us an extra 28 sq m, which is perfect.

As for planning, look at the government portal for guidance on rules:

https://www.planningportal.gov.uk

martinsurrey

Tancred wrote: »

My position is very similar to yours.

We are buying a house with a kitchen/diner, and the dining area is pretty inadequate. The lounge is also smaller than we'd like. What we are thinking about is a conservatory rather than a brick extension, as we want to keep costs down.

As to whether it's wise to buy a house with a view to enlarging it, that very much depends on what you have in mind. In general, extensions are very expensive, especially in the south of England, mostly due to high labour costs. You won't get any change out of £60k if you want a two storey extension and even a single storey one will cost at least £30k, whereas you can have a good, large conservatory for £15-20k. Furthermore, you won't get your money back in added value to the property.
We bought a smallish 3 bedroom detached (around 88 sq m) for £295k but could have bought a much bigger house for £325k. In the end, we decided that we didn't feel the extra space was worth paying £30k extra for. The conservatory will cost only just over half of that and give us an extra 28 sq m, which is perfect.

a well done extension will increase the value of a property by a lot more than its cost.

(for example, adding 50Sqm of living space to a 2 bed house is madness as it'll be too bottom heavy), but turning a 2 bed to a 3 bed is a winner in an area with good schools.

buying a house with the intention of extending is a good idea IF, you've done your research, you can afford the costs (which you will have an idea of from the research), you dont mind living in a building site, and you know the target market for resale (and dont ignore it when yuo are designing).

Tancred

martinsurrey wrote: »

a well done extension will increase the value of a property by a lot more than its cost.

(for example, adding 50Sqm of living space to a 2 bed house is madness as it'll be too bottom heavy), but turning a 2 bed to a 3 bed is a winner in an area with good schools.

buying a house with the intention of extending is a good idea IF, you've done your research, you can afford the costs (which you will have an idea of from the research), you dont mind living in a building site, and you know the target market for resale (and dont ignore it when yuo are designing).

It's true that adding another bedroom would definitely add value, but the question is whether it's worth the cost and hassle. I would rather just move to a bigger house, even with the 3% stamp duty.

koneko

Thanks for all the quick responses.

The property in question is a 3 bed. The 3 bedrooms are a good size (which is why we like the property) but downstairs space is more limited due to the integral garage. The extension would therefore be single storey spanning the full width of the back of the property.

The reason we are considering this rather than buying a bigger house is that there are few properties on the market in our area and we feel that this house is a good price and is in a very good location for us. We have seen properties that are 20k more expensive with a slightly larger kitchen, but with smaller bedrooms.

We would not be undertaking the extension straight away, this would probably be in 2 years or so time, giving us time to save for the building work. I'm not worried about living in a building site, I'm kindof used to this as my parents had to completely do up the house I spent my older childhood years in and it was a building site in different areas for several years. At one point the shower was in the middle of the hallway - which was fun!

I am somewhat concerned that we'd end up spending more on the extension than the value we could add to the property. I guess this is my biggest worry.

For reference, the current kitchen is 9'9 x 6'10.

martinsurrey

Tancred wrote: »

It's true that adding another bedroom would definitely add value, but the question is whether it's worth the cost and hassle. I would rather just move to a bigger house, even with the 3% stamp duty.

I could build an extension (well, project manage, I dont touch bricks myself) for around £1200 a Sqm, while increase the house price by £3,000 per sqm (in line with local prices).

A well designed 50Sqm extension (which takes a small 3 bed to a large 4 bed) could cost around £60k, and add £150k to the house value, so is £90k in your back pocket worth it...

again, its all about research, turning a 2 bed to a 4 bed on a postage stamp plot in a city center without ample parking would be madness... as you are making a family home, in a young couple area (in this example I would turn a 2 bed into a 4 bed, but split into 3 flats).

onlyroz

Check out what would be allowed under the permitted development regulations.

martinsurrey

koneko wrote: »

Thanks for all the quick responses.

The property in question is a 3 bed. The 3 bedrooms are a good size (which is why we like the property) but downstairs space is more limited due to the integral garage. The extension would therefore be single storey spanning the full width of the back of the property.

The reason we are considering this rather than buying a bigger house is that there are few properties on the market in our area and we feel that this house is a good price and is in a very good location for us. We have seen properties that are 20k more expensive with a slightly larger kitchen, but with smaller bedrooms.

We would not be undertaking the extension straight away, this would probably be in 2 years or so time, giving us time to save for the building work. I'm not worried about living in a building site, I'm kindof used to this as my parents had to completely do up the house I spent my older childhood years in and it was a building site in different areas for several years. At one point the shower was in the middle of the hallway - which was fun!

I am somewhat concerned that we'd end up spending more on the extension than the value we could add to the property. I guess this is my biggest worry.

For reference, the current kitchen is 9'9 x 6'10.

Sounds RIPE for extension, it’s currently unbalanced with too much sleeping, not enough living, and an old fashioned layout, (separate small kitchen).

Do some research, but my gut says DO IT!

also hows the loft height? if you max the extension downstairs, a loft conversion could be a good idea, a loft master suit and a huge kitchen diner would make put the house in another bracket.

StuC75

Sounds a good plan, as others in the area have done this already then shouldn't be an issue.

Its always best to have somewhere with the potential to do in time, that way you are not limited in the future..

In terms of what value you can add - Do consider what the ceiling value is in the area for such a property.. as this means you maynot got the full benefit if you were to sell on - but you would benefit in the meantime as it wouldn't have cost as much to get (as say a bigger house elsewhere which may also have a higher council tax banding)...

JimmyTheWig

koneko wrote: »

The thing I'm struggling with is whether it is wise to buy a property knowing that you are going to want to extend it in the not too distant future (ie: before kids come along)?

The advantages of buying a place with the extension already done are...
1. You don't have to put up with living through the building work.
2. You don't know that you will get planning permission for the work that you want done (unless you can find out in advance that the work will be permitted development, such as most loft conversions at the back of the house).
3. You can borrow money based on the value of the house as it stands, while to extend the house you can only borrow money based on the value of the house before extension and will have to fund the extension yourselves.

koneko wrote: »

downstairs space is more limited due to the integral garage.

Have you thought about converting the garage into a room? Much cheaper than an extension from scratch and often doesn't need planning permission.

[wuote]The reason we are considering this rather than buying a bigger house is that there are few properties on the market in our area and we feel that this house is a good price and is in a very good location for us.[/quote]
This definitely makes it worth considering.

I am somewhat concerned that we'd end up spending more on the extension than the value we could add to the property. I guess this is my biggest worry.

Ultimately, anyone can buy a house for £200k and put a £30k extension on it and end up with an extended house for £230k. So if you buy a house for £200k and put a £30k extension on it why would anyone pay more than £230k for it?
The extension was done to your specifications which might not match theirs.
But if it is done well enough, with all the right paperwork, and the room space it generates is useful to the majority of buyers then it should pay for itself, give or take, on sale.