Loft Conversion
Discussion
Hi all,
My wife is on at me to get a loft conversion on our house. She has had quotes in and the price seems ok. Would a loft conversion add to the value of the house? My house is currently 4 bed detached and has a family bath room and an ensuite. If we go with the loft conversion it would be a 6 bed house with 1 family bath room and 2 en suites.
Would the cost of the loft conversion be added to the vaule of the house?
Could there be a case that the house is then too big for the plot of land its on? I will be a 6 bed house with a single garage and driveway for 3 cars.
Thanks for your views in advance.
Mark
My wife is on at me to get a loft conversion on our house. She has had quotes in and the price seems ok. Would a loft conversion add to the value of the house? My house is currently 4 bed detached and has a family bath room and an ensuite. If we go with the loft conversion it would be a 6 bed house with 1 family bath room and 2 en suites.
Would the cost of the loft conversion be added to the vaule of the house?
Could there be a case that the house is then too big for the plot of land its on? I will be a 6 bed house with a single garage and driveway for 3 cars.
Thanks for your views in advance.
Mark
Are you looking to put dormers in or just Velux windows?
If its a 2 storey house there "Might" be a slight Planning issue!
When I say "Might" the Planners may look at it as over development of the site, if you were to put dormers in and if its out of character with the surrounding properties then you might struggle!
Where are you based???
I've always worked to the rule that every Road has a ceiling price!
So if you live in a Road of £200K bungalows and you turn yours into a 6 Bedroom house, don't think you can command a 6 Bedroom house price!
Thats not to say you wouldn't get what you want when selling, you are just limiting your market!
If its a 2 storey house there "Might" be a slight Planning issue!
When I say "Might" the Planners may look at it as over development of the site, if you were to put dormers in and if its out of character with the surrounding properties then you might struggle!
Where are you based???
I've always worked to the rule that every Road has a ceiling price!
So if you live in a Road of £200K bungalows and you turn yours into a 6 Bedroom house, don't think you can command a 6 Bedroom house price!
Thats not to say you wouldn't get what you want when selling, you are just limiting your market!
Edited by herbialfa on Monday 9th August 15:11
Is your main reason for doing the work financial gain? If you need the space and moving isn't a viable option then it's irrelevant what effect the works will have on the value of your property.
Has anyone else in the street (with a similar style house) converted their loft / are there other 6-bed houses? If so, have they sold recently - you'll be able to check the sale prices with the Land Registry.
Does sound like the value will suffer from a lack of parking. Is the building already extended at ground floor giving good living - kitchen, lounge, dining room - space?
Has anyone else in the street (with a similar style house) converted their loft / are there other 6-bed houses? If so, have they sold recently - you'll be able to check the sale prices with the Land Registry.
Does sound like the value will suffer from a lack of parking. Is the building already extended at ground floor giving good living - kitchen, lounge, dining room - space?
If it's for you and your family's comfort and living, then go for it. As a purely financial exercise yes it will add value, but will this offset the cost? - maybe, depends on a multitude of factors not least area, price ceiling etc.
I did come across an article in the times a few months back which had a table of housing improvments and 'investment' value. IIRC a loft conversion is generally near the top, but not the quickest win.
I did come across an article in the times a few months back which had a table of housing improvments and 'investment' value. IIRC a loft conversion is generally near the top, but not the quickest win.
Have a word with a few of your local agents.
They should be able to give you an idea of current value and estimated value with works complete.
Subtract the two and compare to your quotes.
What are you like for reception space? You don't really want a top heavy house. People buying six bedroom homes expect big lounges, dining rooms and kitchens.
They should be able to give you an idea of current value and estimated value with works complete.
Subtract the two and compare to your quotes.
What are you like for reception space? You don't really want a top heavy house. People buying six bedroom homes expect big lounges, dining rooms and kitchens.
We are quite a large family, number 4 child is on the way thus my wife would like a loft conversion.
The sort of houses we would want in our area are not near the good shcools etc so the location of our house is ideal. The space in the house is fine, we have an adequate garden for the kids to play in and have BBQ's etc. A large conservatory which is a second living room currently and dinning & living rooms are ok.
The loft would have two bedrooms and a ensuite in it. The second room would be used as a study as two of the boys share a room and I need an office to work from when I work from home.
The current plan is to have a big dormer window across the back of the house and the loft company do not think this would be a problem. That said, I am not sure on the look of the house with a big dormer and may look at just having velux windows.
Its not really about making money out of it but I would hate to lose out of the deal. I would hate think that the house is not worth at least what I spend on it and also if it would be less sellable.
There is one house the same as ours with a loft conversion but they only have velux windows. My house is worth aroud £330K and there are houses in my street up to around £600K so I am well off the ceiling of the street.
thanks for your comments.
Mark
The sort of houses we would want in our area are not near the good shcools etc so the location of our house is ideal. The space in the house is fine, we have an adequate garden for the kids to play in and have BBQ's etc. A large conservatory which is a second living room currently and dinning & living rooms are ok.
The loft would have two bedrooms and a ensuite in it. The second room would be used as a study as two of the boys share a room and I need an office to work from when I work from home.
The current plan is to have a big dormer window across the back of the house and the loft company do not think this would be a problem. That said, I am not sure on the look of the house with a big dormer and may look at just having velux windows.
Its not really about making money out of it but I would hate to lose out of the deal. I would hate think that the house is not worth at least what I spend on it and also if it would be less sellable.
There is one house the same as ours with a loft conversion but they only have velux windows. My house is worth aroud £330K and there are houses in my street up to around £600K so I am well off the ceiling of the street.
thanks for your comments.
Mark
Can you legally say it has 6 bedrooms? I remember viewing one 3 bedroom bungalow (I'm not old but it had those slatted stairs which I thought would be great for pull ups 
) and it turned out it actually had 4 bedrooms as there was a massive loft conversion BUT the estate agent said they were not allowed to market it as such. Any thoughts?
) and it turned out it actually had 4 bedrooms as there was a massive loft conversion BUT the estate agent said they were not allowed to market it as such. Any thoughts?Mark996C2 said:
We are quite a large family, number 4 child is on the way thus my wife would like a loft conversion.
ETC......
Put the thought of adding and the size of the £££ value to the property out of your mind. As you need the additional space and moving is not an option then it doesn't matter what value your house is.ETC......
At the end of the day this is your home first and foremost. Only property investors need to worry about the profits.
ShadownINja said:
Can you legally say it has 6 bedrooms? I remember viewing one 3 bedroom bungalow (I'm not old but it had those slatted stairs which I thought would be great for pull ups ) and it turned out it actually had 4 bedrooms as there was a massive loft conversion BUT the estate agent said they were not allowed to market it as such. Any thoughts?
Probably doesn't comply with building regs for a habitable room, or something similar? ) and it turned out it actually had 4 bedrooms as there was a massive loft conversion BUT the estate agent said they were not allowed to market it as such. Any thoughts?Probably done on the cheap by the owner, as any decent builder would have told them they'd need building regs.
I am looking at doing almost exactly the same. Have a four bedroom house and looking at a loft conversion to make a bedroom overlooking the rear of the property as there is a very nice view to the rear. There are no five bedroom properties on our street but on the next street up with the same view the 5 bed houses are around £250k more. Was thinking happy days, until it was pointed out to me that it won't be a five or six bedroom house, it will be a four bedroom house with a loft conversion and therefore worth a lot less as the ground floor living space will not be on a par with the larger houses. In my area changing the loft into one large bedroom should have the effect of adding around £35-40k, the cost to me is projected to be £50k. As we have just moved into the property and plan on staying there for many years I am willing to take the hit in order to achieve the view for a reasonable number of years.
Ask a few estate agents their thoughts but as said don't get too tied up in will it lose money. Think along the lines of the value it will add to the property plus the value it will add to your life. Hope it goes the way you want, and hope what I've said helps.
Ask a few estate agents their thoughts but as said don't get too tied up in will it lose money. Think along the lines of the value it will add to the property plus the value it will add to your life. Hope it goes the way you want, and hope what I've said helps.
kazste said:
In my area changing the loft into one large bedroom should have the effect of adding around £35-40k, the cost to me is projected to be £50k. As we have just moved into the property and plan on staying there for many years I am willing to take the hit in order to achieve the view for a reasonable number of years.
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