Beginners Guide

A home extension has become an extremely popular way of improving your lifestyle, without having to move. It is often the case that families outgrow the size of their home. Historically they have simply moved into larger properties which provide more living space or bedrooms.

Recently, there has been a shift to families extending their homes instead. It often makes more sense to stay financially and avoids the need to up roots and find a new home. It means the children can remain at the same school and the friends are still around the corner.

Cost of Moving

The high cost of moving is proving the biggest disincentive to would be house buyers. Surveys cost up to £1,500, solicitors fees £2,000, mortgage valuations £150 and arrangement fees for the loan itself could be £800. Council searches are £300 and removal costs can exceed £1,000. The two biggest costs are estate agents fees which can range from 1.5% to 3.5% and stamp duty which the government has recently increased. On a property valued at £550,000 these two costs alone could amount to £53,250, dependant on your circumstances, and £59,000 incorporating all costs.

Add Value to your Home

A home extension on the other hand can add more than £100,000 to the value of your home. Spending an average of £80,000 will enable you to build a kitchen and loft extension giving your property valuable extra square footage and an additional bedroom. A re-mortgage once works are complete can often mean you will receive more back from your lender than you have spent on the works.

Cost of Extending

Depending on where you are in the UK, a standard extension will cost around £1,000 – 2,000+ per meter square. This will give you a plastered shell structure to work from. You should allow for the fixtures and fittings on top of this such as the kitchen and flooring. The specification of these will have an enormous influence on the build cost. The experienced renovator Michael Holmes says a single storey extension will cost the following per meter square.

  • Basic quality £1,000 to £1,680
  • Good quality £1,680 to £1,920
  • Excellent quality £1,920 to £2,160

Here at buildmydesign we price all extensions at our competitive rate of just £1,850 per square meter.

Michael Holmes goes on to say, you should budget for design fees from three to seven per cent of the construction cost, with a minimum of around £2,400 to £3,600 for the planning drawings. A measured survey of the existing house will cost from £500 to £1,500 depending on the size of the property.

Here at buildmydesign our fixed fee design phase for an extension or loft conversion costs just £1,995 + VAT and includes everything you need to start building; measured survey, design development, planning application (if necessary), structural calculations and building regulations specification. For a quotation on another project please contact us using our handy form or call the team on 020 3844 5829.

Financing Your Extension

In a perfect world we would finance all of our projects using our savings. But with interest rates at an all time low, the current financial landscape favours the borrower over the saver. If you need to borrow money, your best options are:

  1. Release equity: If you have held your existing mortgage for more than 5 years, speak to your broker or lender about releasing equity from your property. It is more than likely that the property will have gone up in value and you are able to borrow more.
  2. Credit card: A card with up to 30 months of interest free credit is a good option for many and will provide ample time to complete a project and re-mortgage to pay off the card.
  3. Loan: When borrowing more than £25,000 you may need to take out a secured loan against your home. Most banks and building societies offer home improvement loans of up to £200,000. There are specialist development finance companies that are good to use if your credit rating is low but the cost of the loan will be higher.

For more information and advice please contact us using our handy form or call 020 3844 5829 to speak to one of our team. Alternatively have a look at the below articles.

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