£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 62: Day 2

Morning! Still away from home but looking forward to getting back late tonight.

The architect sent through some information about build costs yesterday, and we're at the stage where we really need to set a firm budget in order to proceed any further, so the next few days is going to be about some serious number crunching. Expect me on here a lot as I try to work things out! Have contacted the mortgage broker to find out what the best course of action is with funding it - suspect that with our high LTV there's no further borrowing to be done on the mortgage until the build is complete, but confirming that is the first step, then we can look at alternative financing options. I have two long train journeys today so hopefully will be able to make progress on the numbers.

Nothing else wildly exciting to report, my brain is in work mode. Ooh, except look, my 'rounding down' pot has passed the £30 in April goal. That's pleasing.

Debt repayment:
- £31.82/30 April rounding down pot.
- £1,925.16/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal.

Busy_Mee1

Don't forget you will need a contingency pot - 5-10% of your build cost for any unexpected costs ( cracked sewer pipes, asbestos, old electrical wiring etc ). We have done both a large extension and built our own house and cannot stress enough how important this is. Do not embark on a build without some contingency funding ( on a £50k build you will need an extra £5-10k ). Even if you don't come across any of the horrors above, you will find yourself doing extra things will the builders are there and will be presented will an invoice marked "extras" at the end of the build.

warby68

Seconded with great emphasis.

I occasionally fund construction projects as part of my day job and actually look for 10-20% contingency.

I've also NEVER had anyone report a project as completed on time and under budget - one or both has ALWAYS been stretched.

It seems to be the nature of the beast and something that has never really changed no matter how fancy spreadsheets and project management have become.

Savertobe

TOPM

Have you seen this company they recycle used and ex display kitchens and it looks like they deal in high end stuff. Would be worth considering, if its any consolation I was 42 before I had a new kitchen!

Take a look https://www.usedkitchenexchange.co.uk/about-us/

Treadingonplaymobil

Having crunched and crunched the numbers I have concluded that we absolutely unequivocally can't do the most expensive option (small two storey bit/overhanging dormer and large single storey). We might be able to do it if we wait four years and don't do any improvements/redecorating before then, but I'm not sure we're prepared to live in a bit of a grotty house (kitchen and bathroom really need doing) for that long.

That's as far as I've got right now, and I'm really blue about that decision, but trying to be pragmatic and accept it.

PositiveBalance

So what are your other options, then?

Absolutely about the contingency fund: something ALWAYS comes up!

Treadingonplaymobil

There are a few options:

1. The most budget option, rear dormer within the footprint of the house and (possibly) a single storey extension - it makes much more sense to do these at the same time rather than as separate projects because of access issues adding costs, but the rear dormer alone is a possibility and would be the cheapest possible project.
2. Saving for a few years and doing the most expensive option (small two storey and large single storey bit) - I have all but discounted this entirely as I don't think we can manage our space for another four+ years without doing any improvements at all, and improvements would erode our savings, which makes extending further away, and so on.
3. Try to find an in between option - keeping the dormer within the footprint of the house but making sure every square inch is utilised more effectively than in the current sketches produced, and doing a single storey extension downstairs. I am going to measure some ideas out this evening but suspect there isn't much to be done here to improve on the basic rear dormer option initially proposed by the architect, but it may still be the 'best of both worlds' option, even if the design doesn't sing to us in the same way.
4. Do up the house, sell it and attempt to move up the ladder. I really don't want to do this - I love our house, and moving will wipe us out - but we could borrow more as it's not our affordability that's the problem (according to the broker), but the upper LTV of the property when it comes to borrowing on the mortgage to extend. If we took out a small loan to increase our deposit for a new house we could look at a £290k property (ours is worth about £225k). I don't think this is going to solve anything though, as £290k is still going to buy us a property that needs work, and moving costs add up, so we're going to end up poorer and still needing to do work.

I guess option 3 is the next one to explore, at least playing with a measuring tape and a plan of the house!

mfmaybe

Maybe an off the wall suggestion (pun sort of intended) but could you rent out your current home for a few years, and rent yourself something a bit more family friendly? If the price differential wasn't too great, you could then save for the extension you really want.

Treadingonplaymobil

Rental prices round us outstrip mortgage payments - we'd be looking at £1,100pm+ to rent somewhere with 3 decent or 4 small bedrooms, and could rent our place for perhaps £800pm.

wishingthemortgaheaway

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

Rental prices round us outstrip mortgage payments - we'd be looking at £1,100pm+ to rent somewhere with 3 decent or 4 small bedrooms, and could rent our place for perhaps £800pm.

And I assume you would need to sort the kitchen & bathroom out and to decorate in order to achieve that kind of rental income?