Houses

[Izzy]

31 minutes ago, jgtuk said:

Have you got a buyer for yours already?

 

Yeah, we accepted an offer on ours last week. Got the Memorandum of Sale through and their solicitors are on the case with ours. 

Our buyer is selling to a first time buyer and there’s no chain above us, so hopefully things should be relatively pain free 

[Zear0]

9 hours ago, Izzy said:

Just had an offer accepted on our next place which was £5k under the maximum we wanted to pay for it.

 

Wheels in motion everywhere now and fingers crossed all goes to plan. The wife has her heart set on the new place and already planning all the work that needs doing on it.

 

I’m desperately trying to manage her expectations that things might still all go Pete but she’s already chosen who’s having what bedroom and researching new kitchens 

Shown her where the Trackman is going? 

[Jon the Hat]

9 hours ago, Izzy said:

Just had an offer accepted on our next place which was £5k under the maximum we wanted to pay for it.

 

Wheels in motion everywhere now and fingers crossed all goes to plan. The wife has her heart set on the new place and already planning all the work that needs doing on it.

 

I’m desperately trying to manage her expectations that things might still all go Pete but she’s already chosen who’s having what bedroom and researching new kitchens 

Congratulations, I don;t envy buying and selling the UK now, so easy over here, 5 weeks from offer to completion.  It was more stressful cleaning the rental we were in before!

[jgtuk]

8 hours ago, Izzy said:

Yeah, we accepted an offer on ours last week. Got the Memorandum of Sale through and their solicitors are on the case with ours. 

Our buyer is selling to a first time buyer and there’s no chain above us, so hopefully things should be relatively pain free 

Sounds perfect, good luck 🤞 

[Tielemans63]

Bought a house in Foxton, and moving there at the start of March. Looking forward to being back in the world's finest shire after living in Northants for the past 18 years. Just a few yards from the canalside. Can't wait!

[Izzy]

3 minutes ago, Tielemans63 said:

Bought a house in Foxton, and moving there at the start of March. Looking forward to being back in the world's finest shire after living in Northants for the past 18 years. Just a few yards from the canalside. Can't wait!

Many happy times had at Foxton locks. A lovely spot. 

[Tielemans63]

12 minutes ago, Izzy said:

Many happy times had at Foxton locks. A lovely spot. 

Yeah, I'm really excited for it mate. We're stretching a bit, but hopefully it will be well worth it. It's a lovely, peaceful place, (it seems) so looking forward to it.

[Lako42]

Anyone got recent experience of extensions and costs? 

 

We weren't looking to move but a house came up in a locale that we really like and it would be a more than likely forever home. 

 

Needs a lot of work and an extension out the back to make it what we want. Would try to take the extra on the mortgage to cover the work but trying to roughly work it in my mind. 

[jgtuk]

2 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Anyone got recent experience of extensions and costs? 

 

We weren't looking to move but a house came up in a locale that we really like and it would be a more than likely forever home. 

 

Needs a lot of work and an extension out the back to make it what we want. Would try to take the extra on the mortgage to cover the work but trying to roughly work it in my mind. 

Dependant on so many things, you really need to speak a local builder who will help out with pricing. The variables are massive - how many sq mtrs, brick, block, stone, electrics, plumbing, drainage, single or double storey etc. 

 

[Lako42]

4 minutes ago, jgtuk said:

Dependant on so many things, you really need to speak a local builder who will help out with pricing. The variables are massive - how many sq mtrs, brick, block, stone, electrics, plumbing, drainage, single or double storey etc. 

 

Yea get that. Wondered what the average m2 was these days. 

 

Probably be a good 25m2

[FoyleFox]

3 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Yea get that. Wondered what the average m2 was these days. 

 

Probably be a good 25m2

The average is probably about £2,500m2

https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/how-much-does-an-extension-cost

[jgtuk]

10 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Yea get that. Wondered what the average m2 was these days. 

 

Probably be a good 25m2

I would say a good £60k minimum but prices vary so much for location too. If you’re in the south east you can easily be looking at £80k minimum. 

[Lako42]

1 minute ago, jgtuk said:

I would say a good £60k minimum but prices vary so much for location too. If you’re in the south east you can easily be looking at £80k minimum. 

Nah I'm in the Leicestershire Alps mate.  NWL

[Wolfox]

14 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Nah I'm in the Leicestershire Alps mate.  NWL

£55k for 36m2 at the height of COVID pricing…. That’s fully finished including kitchen and limestone flooring…

 

I was responsible for procurement and then builders only provided their labour…

 

Realistically, you’d be looking at ~£50k…. You’ll be shocked at the variance in quotes…. Use your network to find good builders…

[Lako42]

34 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

£55k for 36m2 at the height of COVID pricing…. That’s fully finished including kitchen and limestone flooring…

 

I was responsible for procurement and then builders only provided their labour…

 

Realistically, you’d be looking at ~£50k…. You’ll be shocked at the variance in quotes…. Use your network to find good builders…

You purchased all building mats (bricks etc)? 

[Wolfox]

18 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

You purchased all building mats (bricks etc)? 

Yeah…. The builder told me what he needed and I got hold of it all…

 

I got lucky on the bricks as we had to demolish a large double skin coal shed…. We were able to reuse all the bricks for the outer skin of the extension…

 

If it’s your cash, you can get quite creative when it comes to finding stuff…. £4k worth of huge Velux windows for £800 from a warehouse in Gloucestershire was probably my biggest coup!  I got deals on a lot of things…

[jgtuk]

1 hour ago, Wolfox said:

£55k for 36m2 at the height of COVID pricing…. That’s fully finished including kitchen and limestone flooring…

 

I was responsible for procurement and then builders only provided their labour…

 

Realistically, you’d be looking at ~£50k…. You’ll be shocked at the variance in quotes…. Use your network to find good builders…

That's a cheap way to go if you're able to take on those tasks yourself.

I've saved 10's of thousands doing work myself and I know the quality of the work is top notch too.

It's difficult in my area to find builders, never mind good ones though!

Anyway, @Lako42, I'd put together a rough plan of what you want and find a builder to have a look and give you an idea of price.

I still think you're looking at £60k + 

Good luck

 

 

[ajthefox]

£2-2.5k psqm is a good benchmark @Lako42

 

Below a certain size it is very difficult to get it any cheaper as your groundworks is a big chunk and will be disproportionately bigger the smaller the extension is.

 

If you get any quotes, get as much information as you can written down. 

Edited 20 February by ajthefox

[Wolfox]

5 hours ago, ajthefox said:

£2-2.5k psqm is a good benchmark @Lako42

 

Below a certain size it is very difficult to get it any cheaper as your groundworks is a big chunk and will be disproportionately bigger the smaller the extension is.

 

If you get any quotes, get as much information as you can written down. 

Good point…. I wrote a whole schedule of works…

 

I didn’t want any arguments about whether they had agreed to hang a door or something….
 

my builder was recommended and when it came to it, they went above and beyond on many things…. But it’s good to not rely on others good nature!

 

i’d use him for everything now…. And he’s barely moved off my street!

[The Year Of The Fox]

9 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Nah I'm in the Leicestershire Alps mate.  NWL

Can happily recommend a builder around here who’s very good 

[Lako42]

12 hours ago, The Year Of The Fox said:

Can happily recommend a builder around here who’s very good 

I'm still at the stage of deciding if we are going to do a viewing atm  

 

I would be taking on a lot of stress and extra financial burden compared to where we are now which only has a smallish 75k to pay on the mortgage. 

 

 

But also feel like time is ticking by in terms of doing something like this. Might just bite the bullet and book a viewing

[jgtuk]

2 hours ago, Lako42 said:

I'm still at the stage of deciding if we are going to do a viewing atm  

 

I would be taking on a lot of stress and extra financial burden compared to where we are now which only has a smallish 75k to pay on the mortgage. 

 

 

But also feel like time is ticking by in terms of doing something like this. Might just bite the bullet and book a viewing

I have friends who have lived in the same house for 30 yearsand every year they talk about moving/upgrading - they never did though and they're full of regret for not acting all those years ago. (I've moved 5 times in that same period).

Anyway, you've nothing to lose by viewing.

Procrastination is the thief of time.

[Lako42]

11 minutes ago, jgtuk said:

I have friends who have lived in the same house for 30 yearsand every year they talk about moving/upgrading - they never did though and they're full of regret for not acting all those years ago. (I've moved 5 times in that same period).

Anyway, you've nothing to lose by viewing.

Procrastination is the thief of time.

Yep I can understand that. 

 

We are in a situation where truth be told our house is perfectly fine. Getting something in a good state that improves on what we have will cost more than we can realistically justify. 

 

The only improvements we could hope for would be location although within same village. We have a large and nice garden and nice enough layout. 

 

To buy the house we are looking at in the same condition would cost too much. Because it needs work we could do it as a project over time if we can stomach the upheaval. 

 

Having a new daughter makes me want to make a really decent family home. 

[Wolfox]

5 hours ago, Lako42 said:

I'm still at the stage of deciding if we are going to do a viewing atm  

 

I would be taking on a lot of stress and extra financial burden compared to where we are now which only has a smallish 75k to pay on the mortgage. 

 

 

But also feel like time is ticking by in terms of doing something like this. Might just bite the bullet and book a viewing

Do it…. I’ve renovated 5 houses (no intention to do anymore!)

 

You get to create designs to your specifications and it’s immensely satisfying when done…. If you have the time and energy it’s a good thing to do…

 

I’m building a garden pod soon and getting very creative with the approach…. I have zero intention of shelling out £20k for some anthracite grey off the peg thing!  I may share some details on here as I go along…

[Izzy]

2 hours ago, jgtuk said:

I have friends who have lived in the same house for 30 yearsand every year they talk about moving/upgrading - they never did though and they're full of regret for not acting all those years ago. (I've moved 5 times in that same period).

Anyway, you've nothing to lose by viewing.

Procrastination is the thief of time.

We've lived in the same house for over 20 years and have talked about moving for at least the last 5 years.

 

Kept procrastinating, making excuses, but finally bit the bullet this year and took the plunge.

 

I feel sick at the prospect of taking out another mortgage in my 50's having paid our old one off, but we desperately need more space now the kids are pretty much adults now.

 

Probably about £60k worth of work to do on the new one (if it all goes through as planned) including new kitchen/diner and bathroom, but when it's done it will be perfect.

 

I think my Mum dying just before Xmas made me think fvck it, lets just get on and do it.