Move House or Extend?

E

ekimj10

Senior member
 Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
We are expecting family to stay with us later this year and require two more bedrooms, an extra bathroom and maybe a small utility room.

Trying to weigh up the options of moving somewhere close or extend an existing 3 bed bungalow, planning consent is (I'm told by the architect) very likely to be given.

No firm costs have yet been worked out but I'm leaning heavily on the extension side, simply because of the dreaded stamp duty and associated fees that come with moving house. Basically its dead money and why houses aren't advertised with the stamp duty included, really riles me – its like buying something from a retailer and then being told you have to pay VAT.

Being a bungalow could mean that we could live in the existing part whilst the extension work goes ahead and only in the final stage would the connection be made.

I think it all boils down to whether we can live with all the hassle when the work is in progress, or put up with the additional costs of SD, selling fees & solicitor fees (assuming we can find somewhere suitable).

Anyone any experience of living in a property whilst an extension is in progress? I am guessing 12 – 16 weeks for the build, also what additional value do you add to your house compared the the extension costs? Any help would be welcome.
 
I think you've made the decision! Your reasoning stacks up. Extend if the extension fulfils your accommodation needs!

It is amazing how quickly you get used to the chaos, and that can be managed.
You haven't said the age profile of your family unit. That could have some bearing on the matter?
 
I was told that it puts about 10 k on a room but it depends if you go over the value of your area .bought my bungalow 2 bed semi 28k did loft conversion kitchen and garage extension sold it after 17years living there first week 280k got the asking price .it should be big enough to do 2 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.if you can get the staircase in your hall
 
Don't forget that all building work which involves extensions and alterations attracts 20% VAT which is effectively dead money like stamp duty. Factoring in additional household insurance whilst the building work is in operation is essential.

However, if you are happy with the location of your existing house then extending your property makes good sense provided you don't over extend above the ceiling price of similar property in your neighbourhood. There is also dead money in moving house besides stamp duty, such as solicitors fees, estate agents fees, removal expenses which can easily reach £15 to £20k.

Final advice if extending get fully drawn up plans to include full constructional details and written specification, building regulation approval, in addition to the obvious planning approval and then obtain at least 3 fixed priced quotations, fully vet the prospective builder, obtain references and don't change your mind when the project is in progress to give the builder any excuse for late completion.
 
I'd look at comparative houses within close proximity to where you are now. Look at their prices, it will help you to know what your expected value could be after the extension (remember to be objective when looking though).

I'd go for the extension every time, they tend to be the best way (if well designed etc.) for you to gain equity within your property.
 
Some excellent advice from all, the additional members joining us are 3 kids all under 5 and parents! maybe I should move out.
Many thanks!
 
part way through extending a house and I'd echo the VAT bit, builders will quote ex VAT and look at you like you're barmy when you baulk at the prospect of a 20% hike.

the other thing is, I'm not totally naïve, but what we've had done has ended up at double what we originally thought, partly down to the fact we're having bits done to get them out of the way, and partly due to the quotes just coming in way higher than I (and the architect) originally thought.

you also have to deal with the builder, and whilst him and I get on ok, he doesn't like my excel spreadsheets that I use to keep track of costs, and don't expect add ons to tally in cost to prices specced on the tender. we had about 14m of gettering / fascias in the tender at £X, and when I asked for the rest of the back of the house done to match, 10m was priced at £3X!

having said that, I take my hat off to them in terms of what they do, and for every tight fisted git like me, they probably have someone who changes their mind every day on the other jobs they do!
 
Lillywhite said:
Don't forget that all building work which involves extensions and alterations attracts 20% VAT which is effectively dead money like stamp duty. Factoring in additional household insurance whilst the building work is in operation is essential.

However, if you are happy with the location of your existing house then extending your property makes good sense provided you don't over extend above the ceiling price of similar property in your neighbourhood. There is also dead money in moving house besides stamp duty, such as solicitors fees, estate agents fees, removal expenses which can easily reach £15 to £20k.

Final advice if extending get fully drawn up plans to include full constructional details and written specification, building regulation approval, in addition to the obvious planning approval and then obtain at least 3 fixed priced quotations, fully vet the prospective builder, obtain references and don't change your mind when the project is in progress to give the builder any excuse for late completion.
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Just something Id add ....
Any builder that wants paying before he has done anything isn't worth dealing with.
Some jobs can be broken down into previously agreed milestones but ...... Don't ever pay anything for work
Not already done.
 
We looked at this and decided to extend. Yes, you pay vat but if you move you'll pay stamp duty, legal fees, estate agents and a ton of other crap.
 
just about to add an extension on mine ...... love the area, love the neighbours but house needs more space and work.....keeping and extending, been here for 8 years and LOVE coming home everyday! just done a very cool bathroom build here with a proper wet room , marble flooring, auto lighting basically all the latest bits.... ive fallen in love again.... i think extending and working space out of what you have is very satisfying imo..... not to mention cheaper in the long run in most cases!
 
If you like the area and neighbours then extending is well worth it. As long as you get a builder and architect that come recommended and do some forward planning to pack away stuff and reorganise room usage then it's not too bad.

We lost the use of our kitchen for a few weeks, but I cooked using a microwave and camping stove and it was fine.

The one thing that seems to get everywhere is the dust so be prepared for a lot of cleaning
 
We extended and were very happy

my tips (which you didnt really ask for)

go for staged payments in arrears and keep as much as you can back for a final payment. OUr building regs insisted that the stairs were moved at the end of the project, and because we had the last 15k of the money held back - the builder moved them at his cost

DOnt change your mind - "can you just" and "we have changed our minds" are the things that will cost you unbudgeted money, you may think that because the builder says yes - that its free- but it really isnt

Have a look at building federation target £ per cubic foot as a "should be" cost of the extension. There is a significant difference between new build cost and existing extensions, but it will give you some data points. You probably wont get quotes at that kind of price, but at least you will have some comparisons

Get a fixed price - if there are areas that cant be estimated - ring fence them, the vast majority of laying bricks and stuff is completely predictable from a price perspective
 
As a Chartered Quantity Surveyor myself (although it's a long time since I did pure QS work for clients), it always amazes me that people entrust an Architect with looking after their budget. I'd take any estimate they provide you with a pinch of salt. The majority of them have no idea (and even less interest) in designing to a budget.

If it is a reasonably large investment you should consider the services of a good QS. The extra fees will be more than compensated for by sound advice, better budgetary control, peace of mind and someone experienced in dealing with building contractors on your behalf.
 
original guvnor said:
The majority of them have no idea (and even less interest) in designing to a budget.
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Couldn't agree more. Having been involved in construction for over 50 years :oops: It always amazes me when people say well my architect said 'it should be built for £x per square metre'. My advice for domestic alterations and extensions is to run with a more rounded building surveying professional who has a good grasp of all elements, architectural, structural and quantity surveying and can provide a down to earth cost effective service.
 
I had always intended to project manage the extension myself, my previous life was as a power station construction engineer and although I've been retired for 10 years I still think I can hack it. A choice of builder is going to be a major hurdle as I suspect the majority are not interested in the detail level of scheduling and reporting that I was used to.
As to the budget, we are only at the first stage, a local architect has been appointed and will start Planning Permission application later this month, his assessment of costs are based on a minimum of £1000 per sq. metre, which I am sceptical about as a) it is single storey and b) approx 40% of the total footage is a double garage. However time will tell.
Thanks again for everyone's input, some brilliant advice and a gain in confidence for me to carry on along the extension route.
 
Please do not trust any assessment of a cost/m2 received from an Architect. It will be a) nonsense and b) hugely under-estimated.
 
Lillywhite said:
original guvnor said:
The majority of them have no idea (and even less interest) in designing to a budget.
Click to expand...
My advice for domestic alterations and extensions is to run with a more rounded building surveying professional who has a good grasp of all elements, architectural, structural and quantity surveying and can provide a down to earth cost effective service.
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Yes, I'd agree. Sound advice. :thumbsup:
 
ekimj10 said:
....his assessment of costs are based on a minimum of £1000 per sq. metre.....
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Not worth the fag paper it was written on. I suppose he didn't qualify whether that included VAT on not?
 
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