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subject: House Extension A More Affordable Option Over Moving House [print this page]

Moving Home
Moving Home

Moving house can be a very exciting prospect or it can fill you with dread

depending of your previous experiences. It gives you the option to look for your

ideal home possibly in a different area. You may finish up with other benefits

as well as the extra space, for example the new garden may be larger, or the

house may be in a more ideal situation

However, what are the costs involved when moving home. Obviously, you have the

problem and costs involved with selling your current property. Estate agents

fees can add up to quite a large sum these days. Also you have stamp duty to pay

on your new home - remember this is 1% of the value up to 250,000, but 3% for

houses of 250,000 to 500,000. Depending on which area of the country you live

in there are an increasing number of houses that fit into the upper bracket.

Actual removal costs and solicitors fees could approach 2,000, and then, of

course, there is the increased mortgage repayments.

House Extension

Adding an extension to your house is obviously dependent on whether or not you

have the available land adjacent to your property. If it is available an

extension may be a more viable option compared to moving house, especially in

areas where the difference in price of a house compared to the next size up is a

daunting prospect.

House extensions can create hassle - you may not be able to use your drive

or garden for a few months. But you have the advantage that you don't need to

move, and therefore, you are not dependent on selling your property and finding

a new one that suits your needs - both within a time limit

The costs involved can add up as with moving house. You will have the initial

costs of using an architect to draw up the plans and submit them to the council

for planning permission and building regulations approval. And, of course, the

council require a fee - in fact two fees - one for planning permission and one

for building regulations approval. The fees for the building are, in general,

going to be the largest outgoing, though you must remember that there may be

additional costs depending on the type of extension you are planning. For

example, if you are extending a room by knocking down an outside wall, you will

have to pay a structural engineer to calculate the size of the RSJ (the beam

that supports the wall above the new gap), and a quantity surveyor to calculate

the cost of the bean. Sometimes, plans have to change after work has started and

this may involve extra costs. Builders, in general, will quote you for what they

can see, quotes can change if extra work below ground is required.

There may also be costs involving your garden, e.g. landscaping afterwards if

you taken up part of your garden. If you are extending the kitchen then you may

need to have a new kitchen fitted. And, of course, there will be extra flooring

(carpets, vinyl, wood etc), curtains and possibly new furniture.

Conclusion

There is no one answer to the question "Buy or Build" - it is very dependent on

an individuals situation. Speak to estate agents and builders to get rough

estimates of the costs involved in each option. You will need to weigh up the

pros and cons of each option, and look at all the costs and decide which is the

answer that suits your own situation

by: Harrington Builders

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