As our families grow bigger the need for more space, be that
bedrooms or reception rooms, has grown with it. Also, as our older generation
lives longer and nursing home bills continue to rise quicker than a rocket on
the 5th of November (the
average nursing home bill in the area being £655 per week) many families are
bringing two households into one larger one.
So,
should you move somewhere larger, or extend your Warrington property to make it
large enough for you and your family? In some circumstances the choice has been
made for you. If you live in an apartment with no garden, there isn’t much of
an opportunity of making it larger. But if you have a house with a garden or an
attic with sufficient headroom, extending your home becomes a real prospect.
Even
if it makes more sense to extend or move, the choice hangs on a number of
different dynamics – your future plans, money (both saved
and access to finance), in what way you are emotionally attached to your home,
the particular area of Warrington you live in and finally, the type/style of
house you prefer.
Interestingly, the average British home is 968 sq.ft,
which as you can see from the table, is in the middle of developed nations when
it comes to the size of a property. Of the 1.11m homes sold in 2016 in
England and Wales, the average floor area of the houses was 1,119 sq.ft – that’s
about an eighth the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool. Apartments averaged
530 sq.ft that’s just over ten times bigger than an average garden shed.
Looking at apartments and houses together, the average size of properties sold
in England and Wales 968 sq.ft – are slightly smaller than the European
average, and much smaller than households in the US.
So back to the question in hand.. extending does
mean you will have a lot of inconvenience whilst the work is being carried out.
The location of your Warrington property, the
quality of construction, what type of room(s) you want to add,
your plot, neighbouring building lines, planning regulations and the overall
demand for your type of Warrington home, will make a vast difference to the
financial repercussions of extending versus moving.
A
medium-sized 270 sq.ft single storey extension (say around 17ft x 16ft) will
add on average £42,725 to the value of a property in Warrington
It’s
important to note the end result of the extension needs to be a sensible and realistic
home. A two bed semi-detached house extended to a four bedrooms with no lawn or
driveway, or a home with outsized reception rooms downstairs and miniscule
bedrooms upstairs, could be problematic if and when you come to sell your home in the
future. Irrespective of whether your strategy is to live in your extended home for
a long time, you will want to side-step outlaying a lot of money on costly
building work that will make it tougher to sell.
In
terms of what it would cost to build an extension, you can expect to pay on
average between £140 to £200 per sq.ft, depending whether the extension is a single
or double storey extension and other factors including finish and type of
extension (note – I have seen it cost a
lot more than these figures – so please speak with a builder) … So taking a
mid line figure, that same 270 sq.ft extension on your Warrington home would
cost on average £55,080.
However,
moving means there are substantial costs incurred - Estate Agency fees, Removal
Van, Survey Fees, Legal fees and Stamp Duty on the property you are buying. Neither
option is the obvious choice and comparing the costs of extending your Warrington
home to that of moving is not a stress-free undertaking.
How
realistic each option is will probably come down to one thing .. your mortgage provider.
You will need a considerable sum of equity in your Warrington home before you
can think of increasing your mortgage more, because most lenders will require
you to have at least 10% to 20% equity left in your property after the
extension or move has been done.
The
best advice I can give .. don’t assume anything …. get advice and opinion from
builders, mortgage brokers, architects, mortgage people and of course… an
agent. Look at your options and make an educated decision with all the
superficial and objective facts in front of you.
Email me on manoj@hamletwarrington.co.uk or call on 01925 235338. If you are in the area, feel free to pop into the office – we are based on G5, Warrington Business Park, Long Lane, WA2 8TX. There is plenty of free parking and the kettle is always on.
Don't forget to visit the links below to view back dated deals and Warrington Property News.
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