Loft insulation etc - worth it if moving house in a few years?

Jet

I have owned my house for 10 years and have rented it out until last year when I moved in due to a relationship breakdown.

I am currently paying for storage as I don't have enough room at home for everything.  £70 per month.  The loft insulation is poor at 100mm and if it was boarded and a loft ladder fitted, it would mean I didn't need the storage which is miiles away, so also very inconvenient.  Quotes are coming in to do the work at around 2k.  Doing the work myself is not an option.  Current EPC is a D, I am aware new regulations mean it needs to be a C to rent out in the future.

However, I am not sure if I will stay here forever.  I may well sell up or even rent it out again in a few years.  I intend to put in a new kitchen and a few other jobs which I feel will add value, but don't feel the same about the loft insulation and boarding or am I wrong?

I can't decide if it is worth doing for convenience, rentability, and cheaper fuel bills or an expensive cost that won't give me much "payback"?

Emmia

I'd insulate and install the loft ladder. It will firstly save on storage costs, should lower your heating bills and make your home suitable for renting out again, or more attractive to potential buyers if you sell up - with the price of gas and electricity I think many people looking to buy would look at the EPC rating of a property.

In terms of the cost, you're spending £840 a year on storage - so you'd be quids in on the loft conversion cost in less than 3 years.

gwynlas

If you are paying for storage then it is probably better to have the inslation and boarding completed sooner rather than later as you need to improve epc anyway.
Also having stored things myself you should go through everything and decide what you actually need to keep and what can be donated to charity or sold rather than hanging on to things.

Bigphil1474

You'll get your money back when you sell anyway, not to mention the savings in storage costs. No brainer for me. I would expect a house with a boarded out loft and ladder to be worth a bit more than one without that.

Jet

Thanks everyone. I’ll get it done I think 

Bilivino

I think the advice you've had is good.

I would just add that it would be worth being careful with the boarding. When you want to get your EPC re-assessed, the assessor will need to be able to access the insulation to measure its depth, and be convinced that that depth is continuous across the whole of the loft area. I'd assume you'd be looking to increase to 275mm or so and have loft legs or similar construction so that the boarding doesn't compress the insulation. The assessor would benefit from seeing any installation certificate too.

moneysaver1978

How much stuff for storage are we talking? You might not want to store anything heavy or bulky in the loft.

Either way, a big vote for insulation, not just for saving quids but also for your comfort. It needs to be done at some point so may as well do it now.