Advice For Landlords

Table of Contents

• Adding An Extension
• Costs Of An Extension
• Will It Add Value?
• Anything Else?

With property prices on the increase, with no imminent view for it to come back down, many are considering extending their properties to accommodate for their growing families.

This could be looked at as a wise move, trying to sell up and purchase another property will incur a much higher purchase price, as well as legal and stamp duty fees. So, extending the property you already own looks like a wise move in hindsight.

If you're purely looking to extend to increase the value of your home - maybe for sale purposes, well, this is where you'll have to be a little savvy and do some homework beforehand, because it won't always be the case.

Adding An Extension

Extending backward, sideward, beneath, or above your property will definitely open up more usable space within the footprint you own. Some will require planning permission, others won't. But in all cases, it's ideal for you to have a builder and architect at arms-reach. 

Costs Of An Extension

Costs will vary depending on size, quality of finish, structural conditions, and whether you need to factor in the cost of remedial works on wear and tear items as the building-works proceed.

Always get quotes from only recommended tradesmen, a badly built extension could actually damage the value of your home and cause long-standing issues due the quality of the build. Agreeing a single price for the build, as opposed to a day rate could save you in the overall cost too. 

In the current climate the estimated cost of an extension is up to £1,400 per square meter. Using an example of a 20sqm extension, you'd be looking at a cost of up to £28,000 for a build this size. The dynamics and size of an extension will vary to your expectations, so take these figures as a rough guide. 

Ensure you get accurate information beforehand too, if you think you don't need planning permission, and it turns out you do... You could risk being ordered to take down the extension as a result.

Will It Add Value?

For example, take a £300,000 property with a total footprint of 85sqm.

£300,000 / 85 = Approx cost £3529 per square meter.

Use this as a general rule of thumb. 

If you're adding a 25sqm extension and spending £1200 on average per square meter build. It comes to a total build cost of £30,000.

Then working out the existing house value per square meter of £3529 x 25sqm = £88,225.

Technically the figure of £88,225 is the approximate value you've added to your property, with your initial outlay of £30,000. It leaves you with an approximate property value increase of £58,225 after costs incurred.

The nature of your extension will reflect the demand of this additional value, so bear this in mind. The market will focus on the buyers demands and needs, some will favour an extra bedroom or two, over a playroom or utility room. But this is research you should conduct on the buyers' market for your area.

Anything Else?

It's imperative you do your research beforehand, as much as you can.

It'll keep you best informed on the in's and out's of things you may not have even considered before. Speaking with multiplereputable builders will help you get a gauge of exact costings; at the same time, it would be a good idea to ask for example from a portfolio of similar examples they've built previously.