Three Reasons To Extend Rather Than Move House

No matter how much stuff you move out to the garage or sell on eBay, eventually you’re going to outgrow the space of your house.

Usually, this comes when your family welcomes young new members, although there could be other reasons you may need more space, for example, you may wish to add a home office in.

But does this necessarily mean that you have to get back on the property market? Or could you just have an extension?

Of course, it all depends on your situation and your property. Some properties simply don’t have the space available for an extension!

However, here are three reasons why you might wish to consider extending rather than moving.Value

If you are able to extend, it usually makes more sense to extend from a financial point of view.

Depending where you live (or want to move to) it’s probably going to cost you a lot more to purchase a new property especially if you’re in a high-value area such as London.

An extension is likely to add value to your property for when you do eventually come to sell it, but you should consider exactly what it is that you’re carrying out.

For example, if you create an unbalanced house with lots of bedrooms and minimal living space, or reduce the size of your garden considerably, you’re going to struggle to sell in future (even if you aren’t planning to sell for many years).

Obviously, each extension will have its own costs although a good estimate is somewhere between £1,000 and £1,600 per square metre.

We spoke to Northumberland-based CM Projects who said: “An extension can really increase your home’s appeal, and with house prices the way they are, many people are finding it better to hold tight.”

House costs

House costs are always on the rise, especially in cities such as London. Finding a larger property is obviously going to wind up costing you a fair bit more than whatever you sell your existing property for, and it’s highly unlikely that it’s going to be less than what you would pay for an extension.

You’ll also have to bear in mind things such as estate agency fees, conveyancing charges, removal costs and stamp duty, all of which can add something in the range of £10,000 top your move.

Takes away the stress of moving

Looking away from the finances of the matter, moving is stressful business! It can take many months for the full moving process and aside from the actual physical stress of moving all of your belongings, you also have to consider the stress of being part of a chain and having to wait for the owners of your potential new home to sell up.

Even if everything seems like it’s finally in place for a move to go through it can still just as easily all fall apart at the last minute.

While it’s true that an extension will also bring a level of stress and disruption, it’s nothing compared to that of moving house and the work can be carried out at a time to suit you, such as perhaps when you’re on holiday.

While it might not always be an option, we would generally always recommend extending rather than moving.

For some inspiration, check out this article from This is Money on some of the best extensions to add value to your home and how to fund them.