Can’t sell the house? Consider extending!
If your house won’t sell in this difficult market and you need more space, consider extending. Would a loft conversion or an extension suit the bill?
As the credit crunch has knoched the stuffing out of the building industry, builders are more interested in taking on smaller domestic jobs. And a change in Planning Law for England and Wales came into affect at the back end of 2008. The change makes it much easier to get approval for smaller projects. (For more information about the changes, go to www.planningportal.gov.uk)
If you have a secure job and a few pennies in the bank, an extention could bag you a bargain. But be careful. It matters what you spend your money on. Some projects do not necessarily increase the value of your home and some increase it but by less than the money you spend.
New kitchens, loft conversions, conservatories and extensions seem to be the best investments. On average building an extra room increases the value of your house by £13,285 and a loft conversion by £13,567. On the other hand, recarpeting or redocorating has only a marginal affect on the value with almost half of surveyors reporting that these made no differnce whatsoever.
