Extend or move?

Hi All,
Just looking for a bit of advise really.
I have a 2 bed in Ashbourne that myself and wife have owned for last 5 or so years.
We were looking to put this up for sale during late summer this year but looking at the house markets i am not so sure it will sell it a decent time period.

Should i consider putting money into the property to put a decent extension on the back and convert the attic? thus delay a sale for a year or two and increasing the value due to said extension and work?

Cheers
Darren

I'm not an expert on this but I think you rarely get back what it actually cost to extend/upgrade the property. It is a huge amount of work to undertake if you only plan on staying there a further year or two. Attic conversions in particular are pricey and add very little extra value onto a property when selling.

It sounds like you medium term plan (5-10years) is to have a bigger house.

If you feel you REALLY need more room now and can finance this, then (asuming you can get planning permission if needed) an extentions would reslove your short term problem.

If you are really looking to move on within the next 5 years, even after the extention, then it's a lot of hassle and cost for such a small period of time. You will add value but probably not what you spend and the cost of financing it.

Also having a cheaper house (i e no extenstion) could be a good thing when selling on as with tightening credit terms it might be more in reach for potential buyers who are now being restricted to a sensible 4 times income.

The money you would spend doing the extention you could save towards your next move as you will have stamp duty to pay?

As for you being worried about selling you house quickly. I disagee, there is demand for houses out there BUT at the right price. You just have to get the price right and you could sell very very quickly.

there's no delay in selling your house if you've priced it correctly. Ours went sale agreed in two weeks because it was priced and presented well.

Hi,

We put a magnificent sunroom on 3 years ago and spend in region of E50,000 on it - have house on the market now for 1 year and have reduced price almost double this amount. Like you we were wondering whether to extend again and hold on for a couple of years - most people are telling us you won't get back the money. I'd say either extend and stay put or leave the extension and put house on market and price it to sell. Best of luck.

Angela59

Ask a few local estate agents what the change in value would be. If it is much less than the cost + hassle, you might decide not to bother.

I think you need to figure out where you want to be in x years,

see if both options (sell up or extend and stay) would work to get there,

and if so then cost both options end-to-end, ruthlessly including all costs
and bearing in mind any value you might add to the house,

and then decide.

If only one option works then you need to see have you got other options.

If you have only one option that works then do that.