Should I Stay Or Should I Go??

Sean75

My fiancee,5 year old son and myself currently live in a 1980's end terraced house with 2 bedrooms and 1 reception.We have an outstanding mortgage of £51000(approx) with 18 years left.Our current house is worth in the region of £125000.However with a growing child(toys,computer games,etc) we realise we could do with a little more space i.e an extra room.Now our dilemma is do we have a single storey extension built which would enable us to have another reception room for his toys,games,etc or do we look to move into a bigger house? In this part of the country we would be looking at another £25-30k to move to a bigger place plus associated costs(solicitors,estate agents,removals,etc).
Part of us says to stay where we are and another part says move.Does anybody have any thoughts/ideas? Any help would be most appreciated.

[Deleted User]

If you are happy where you are it will probably work out cheaper to have the extension. All the money you could be spending on selling and buying elsewhere, could be spent instead on the extra living space plus, if done properly, it will add value to your existing house.

It all depends on how happy you are to stay put. If you get on ok with the neighbours and like the area and already have good schools, doctors services etc.. then you could lose all that as well by moving.

Happy_saver_4

Fully agree with Icecool...

If you like your existing home and have good neighbours etc etc; why move.

It will be a lot more economical to extend your existing home ( with planning approval). You will also have increased the value of your property for when you eventually do sell it.

Doozergirl

Another vote for extending. You should increase the value of your home by more than you spend and there are no associated moving costs.

It's a no-brainer.

Tomthumb

What about doing a loft conversion or getting a conservatory to add a playroom ?

nelly_2

I worked at a house where they saved 65 grand by having an extension done rather than moving.

The only down side to having work done is getting a decent builder + planning+neighbours objecting and all that.

Happy_saver_4

nelly wrote:

I worked at a house where they saved 65 grand by having an extension done rather than moving.

The only down side to having work done is getting a decent builder + planning+neighbours objecting and all that.

Yeah - but that can be a lot less stress than buying, selling & moving

Have a BBQ and invite the neighbours and kind of drop in the chat about the proposed extension - less likely to object :cool:

Spendless

Are you likely to have another child? If yes and especially if you had opposite sex next time, would you then need a 3rd bedroom?

Jake54

>>>>>Yeah - but that can be a lot less stress than buying, selling & moving<<<<<


It's horses for courses

With the extension

AS Nelly said: Getting Quotes/Estimates, dealing with the builder + planning+Building Control + Architect + neighbours objecting and all that.
And the mess for 12 weeks (if your lucky)

With the Buying: It's Searching for the right house, getting a mortgage, solicitors, Vendors, Estate agents,
Surveyors, Moving.
Solicitors and the morgage company being one of the worst

1. Talk about what you want between the two of you
2. Write down the Pros and cons on both scenarios
3. Compromise
4. Before you come to a decission, talk to others about what you want to do
and ask them then write down their feedback

Their a lots of influences:
Sale Price
The equity
Remortgaging
Costs of building, and the mess
How much your willing to spend on an extension or buying a house
Type of Area
Schools
Transport etc
As I suggest Make a list
Look on the web etc
Ask Martin

GDB2222

It's not a foregone conclusion that extending will add value to the house equal to the cost involved. Every road has a maximum price, and extending your house will not take it above that maximum. So, you need to look at other houses in the road, see what they have done, maybe speak to an estate agent etc.

Also, there needs to be a reasonable garden left after the extension.

I am not trying to put you off, just pointing out a couple of precautions you can take.

Ian_W

I'd agree with Jake and GDB that extending isn't a gimme for increasing the value of your house, at least not by the amount it costs.
If you can sensibly extend to add an extra bedroom [or 2!] and some downstairs space without completely overfilling the plot you're on, that could well add value and be cheaper than moving. You're changing it from a couple/small family unit to a larger house.
However "over" extended props can be very difficult to sell. Thinking of a 2 bed S/D bungalow hereabouts on a small plot that the owners added a further 3 bedroom in the dorma to house their family. The roof was all dorma by the time they'd finished, an eyesore really, it had a lounge, small kitchen/diner, 1 bathroom, small rear garden, 1 car drive and 5 bedrooms. When they came to sell [last year when everything was moving fast, not now] they got no more than the original would have got them but it took 12 months+ to sell it.
So IMO if you like the house, area, neighbours etc extending is the first thing to consider but then think about when it's finished, will it be attractive to other buyers, rather than just fulfilling your immediate needs? If the answers no, or you're not sure start looking at the EA's ads. As well as finding the right place for you you'll probably spot some over-extended props that aren't going anywhere soon!