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cm1179

cm1179

cm1179

Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2009
Posts
3,626
how long did you live in the first house you purchased for?
i live in an end terraced house purchased in july 2009. i thought that in the long term i would probably need to 'upsize' somewhere along the lines should i go down the wife and kids route but i feel that this house is extremely good value for the money i paid and the mortgage repayments and feel i may be better off having the loft converted (which is a huge space) should the time ever come where i am in need of more space.
just wondering if any other users felt that extending their first purchase (which a lot of the time aren't the biggest of places) as oppossed to buying a bigger place and how it worked out for them?
being a terraced, privacy isn't of its upmost but i do have my own drive which will comfortably fit 2 cars and the bathroom is bigger than most more modern builds, i just feel that the loft not being utilised as a living quarters is a terrible waste and if i could get it done, i could quite happily be here for a very long time.
 
My fisrt place was tiny. 2 bedroom detached but the second bedroom couldn't even fit a single bed in it. There was no space to build out, neighbours had already tried for planning permission and been turned down so we had to move. Now on my second house with my wife and we have just converted the garage to a new computer room. Cost us £6,000 and is a great size, probably saved at least £15,000 over moving again.
 
What sort of roof do you have, cut or trussed?.

If it's cut then it will be loads easier to convert into a proper room & that would sway me into staying. Plus if you move there are esate agent fees, solicitor, removal & possibly stamp duty to pay, the total of which would go a long way towards extending your current place!!
 
MatteH Oxford said:
What sort of roof do you have, cut or trussed?.

If it's cut then it will be loads easier to convert into a proper room & that would sway me into staying. Plus if you move there are esate agent fees, solicitor, removal & possibly stamp duty to pay, the total of which would go a long way towards extending your current place!!
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it's cut, it's literally a space that i can walk upright in and it runs the full length of the house, it's a massive waste of space atm
 
8 years in a three bed mid terrace. Just me and the Mrs. Both working we paid it off in 8 years and moved to somewhere bigger.

In hindsight I wish I'd stayed there and had one kid there. It wasn't the biggest house but enough for three of us and if I'd known or had the foresight to think about how utilities and Petrol would go up I'd have stayed there and bought a second house/flat to rent and enjoyed being mortgage free.

It amazes me that when we left there 7 or 8 years ago we were paying £90 a quarter for gas and electric, we easily do that a month now.

It's the feel of the place as well, if you are happy there stay. As I say our first house was much smaller but I found it much more homely and cosy.
 
dannyjo22 said:
It amazes me that when we left there 7 or 8 years ago we were paying £90 a quarter for gas and electric, we easily do that a month now.
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Scary isn't it and its going to get a lot worse I read in the Times or Independent a few months back that its expected the average family's energy bill in 2020 will be £5K per year ! £5K !!!
 
1 year in our first place. We left 17k up on the original purchase price which wasnt too shabby.
 
I'm still in my first house. It's a 3 bed, link detatched. I moved in just over 4 years ago, originally with a partner and have since bought him out.
 
I had my first place for around 2 years (around 23 months i think), I only sold it as I thought the economy was about to head south. It only took me a few days to find a buyer at my asking price.

I was really sad to see the place go as I really loved the flat and spent 40k on a new kitchen, wardrobes and stuff but it turned out I made a very good move as the market collapsed sooner after I sold the place.

I then used the money to buy a huge space from a distressed seller in the UK at a knocked down rate (unfinished project).

I personally dont like the idea of extending a house as I quite like to move from time to time and a extension is never as nice just having a bigger house in the first place.
 
cm1179 said:
it's cut, it's literally a space that i can walk upright in and it runs the full length of the house, it's a massive waste of space atm
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Fantastic, that makes a whole world of difference to how easy it would be to convert. I would sort it out pronto, it would be a very quick way to transform your home into something a lot bigger & far more cost effective than simply moving to a bigger place.

Go for it, I very much doubt you would regret the decision! :cool:

P.S. a velux window would look good or perhaps even a dormer which would add a bit more space?. You might need planning consent to add a dormer or another type of window though. Shouldn't be a probelm if it were to be located on the side of the roof facing the rear garden though, rather than looking from the front of the house.
 
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i would go for a dormer on the rear elevation. the terraces which look onto my rear garden (which run back to back so it's the longest possible distance and good tree screening) have them so i can only assume planning wouldn't be a problem. going to go around and ask if i can have a nosey at their conversion on the weekend. my only concern is that a structural report says i would need steel reinforcement.
 
My parents had their first place for 3 years. It was only a 2 bed flat though. Their second home was a 3 bed end terrace and they are still happy there today, 30 years on.

We bought a 3 bed semi in a nice area as our first house. Neither of us wants to leave it so unless a job opportunity comes up that is impossible to turn down, or the wife has octuplets, we'll probably still be here in 30. I like the idea of staying in one place for ages though, it means you can do the things you want to it and know that you'll be enjoying it for ages. I'd hate to live in 3-5 year houses all the time because there is little point in doing any major work since you'll not get the use out of it for the amount it costs.
 
First house was a two bedroomed end terrace which was quite small. Lived there 5 years before buying a much bigger two bedroom house which had an attached barn which we then got planning permission to make part of the house.

We never really thought our old house was "that" small until we dicovered that the recently bought carpet for the old lounge was too small to carpet the smallest bedroom in the new house!

Since then I have converted the barn and made it a two lounge, 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom property which is more than big enough for our needs for the rest of our life.
 
atpbx said:
It won't be, so don't worry.
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You sure? Ours is cetainly heading that way. Electric is already £1000 per annum and because we only have heating oil as an option for heating the house, we are now spending £2000 a year on oil.

When we first bought the place in 2000 our oil costs were £600 per annum and our electric was £500.

So in just over 10 years our energy costs have increased from £1100 to £3000.:eek:
 
We've been in our house for 4 1/2 years now. In a few more years, when we've got some more cash, we'll either convert the loft or move.
 
Greebo said:
You sure? Ours is cetainly heading that way. Electric is already £1000 per annum and because we only have heating oil as an option for heating the house, we are now spending £2000 a year on oil.

When we first bought the place in 2000 our oil costs were £600 per annum and our electric was £500.

So in just over 10 years our energy costs have increased from £1100 to £3000.:eek:
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wha?! how many people live in the house?
 
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