So there is this big argument the now on whether it is better to extend your home or move house?
From a building services point of view, there are always going to be benefits to us as to why you should extend your property but it pays to weigh up the pros and cons of each option, particularly if you are planning on starting a family or a home business.
It is a dilemma which confronts most homeowners at some time in their lives, and their decision, to some extent, often depends on the state of the housing market.
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Extending Your House VS Moving House
For many out there, there comes a time when your home becomes a bit of a squeeze.
Maybe growing children are filling the house with their friends, toys and noise and making the rooms seem smaller than they used to be.
Or perhaps a burgeoning business means a home office would be a preferable to the kitchen table, if only to keep butter off the paperwork.
There is also the cost of the building works to be taken into account. It is no good adding £20,000 to the value of your property if you have spent £25,000 in the process. Most extensions pay their way and many can yield a profit, though results vary from area to area.
According to Money Supermarket, most of us would prefer to have an extension built than move house, a huge 42% of us that is
Flat VS House
If you live in a flat with no garden, there is little chance of making it bigger. But if you have a house with outside space or a loft with enough headroom, extending your property becomes real possibility and ideas to start to flourish.
Whether it makes more sense to move or to extend depends on a number of different factors – the costs involved, your future plans, how emotionally attached you are to your house, the area you live in and the type of house you have.
Extending Your Property
“The reality is that if you are able to extend, it is often sensible to do so from a financial point of view.” The cost of buying a new house, he says, would far outweigh the cost of building.”
Keith Gorny, director at central London estate agents Marsh & Parsons
‘UK living rooms have shrunk by 32%’
Average lounges in new build homes are now 32% smaller than homes built in the 1970s according to latest research. The study also found that the modern day master bedroom were on average 14 sq ft smaller than homes in the 1970s.
These figures have been based on an analysis of 10,000 floor plans taken from property websites such a Rightmove or Zoopla.
Before building work even begins, you will need to gain planning permission unless your extension is single storey that does not extend more than three metres away from the original property.
While moving house can take a while to process, so too can extending on your property. Your home will temporarily become a building site until completion, which will most likely be stressful for yourself, as well as your children and any pets you might have. Equally, you may have to deal with extra costs as you wait for completion if you have to move out during the period of the build.
Finding The Funds
Unless you have the cash to pay upfront how realistic either option is could come down to one thing: the mortgage lenders.
You will need a substantial amount of equity in your property before you can consider borrowing more.
If you are looking to remortgage your property for funds then you should speak to our mortgage specialist Graeme Hastie at Carnegie Mortgage & Protection Limited for further information.
What Do We Recommend?
There is no set answer to whether it is better to move house or extend on your current property, as it will depend on individual situations. Extending may seem like the easier option at times but will still be disruptive to your family’s living and may not be as cost effective in certain regions.
If you are looking to extend your property but not sure the value or even where to start, please get in touch with us and we can put you in touch with our architect Stuart Hannah from Architectural Design Development (Dunfermline).
We look forward to your call.
