Could you learn to love your home again with a little update, or is it time to move on?
When it comes to ‘love it, or list it’ there are many things to consider, especially when it comes to the costs involved in both updating and selling your home.
Let’s get improving!
Your extending options
There are many reasons for wanting to move to a new home, but the most popular is needing more space. Depending on the type of house you live in you could achieve more space by extending outwards or upwards.
If you’re in a semi-detached, is there space at the side of the house to extend your living area and even continue the extension to two floors and add an additional bedroom or bathroom upstairs? Yes, this will eat into your outdoor space, but many side extensions can be achieved by getting rid of the driveway that you don’t use or even the garage that stores more boxes than cars. If the side isn’t an option, could you afford to extend into your garden? Even by extending by a few feet you can gain a much bigger kitchen without losing too much of your outdoor space.
When extending outwards is ruled out, think about going upwards. If your loft space is a good size, you could add an additional bedroom, and an en-suite if you’re lucky.
No matter what option you go for, if you do choose to renovate your home there is a cost involved. These include planning permission for the work, hiring labourers, buying materials and even employing an architect or designer depending on the level of work. If you’re extending to add a new kitchen or bathroom, you’ll also have the cost of installation and fitting. Try and factor in as much as possible, even down to small things like fittings and fixtures. Once you’ve got a rough idea of the full costs, add some extra for contingencies as, with all major work, you might hit some bumps along the way.
Giving your rooms a facelift
Your kitchen and bathroom are the two most expensive rooms in a home to upgrade, due to the nature of work involved with skilled tradesmen, the inconvenience it can bring and normally, the size of them. A new fully fitted kitchen can cost upwards of £5,000, hitting the 5-figure mark depending on the range of kitchen you choose and the fittings etc. Bathrooms can be the cheaper of the two rooms but still cost thousands to upgrade, along with the cost of plumbers and labourers. There are of course low-cost options when it comes to these rooms, from painting your kitchen cupboards, choosing vinyl tiles and flooring, giving the walls a lick of paint, and even picking up a cheap bathroom suite in the sales.
Let’s get moving!
Selling fees
When advertising your property with an estate agent you will incur marketing costs and selling fees, where the agent will take a percentage of the overall selling price. This can vary but is likely to be between 1-2%. Some online-only agents will have a fixed price and can be a lot cheaper so it’s best to shop around and look at reviews too. You can also list your home privately without the need for an agent, which you can do at s1homes.com/post.
Home report
Obtaining a home report is non-negotiable. This document is the most comprehensive buyers’ guide to your property and can be organised by your estate agent or solicitor. You’ll often find that it is part of the overall costs from your estate agent. Fees in Scotland range from £585 to £820 and on top of this, as a seller, you’re obligated to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which can be around £50.
Legal fees
Once your property is on the market you will want to enlist a solicitor, or licenced conveyor, to handle all of the legalities involved in selling your property and the purchase of your new home. If you don’t have a solicitor in mind, many estate agents have preferred partners that they can refer you to and often at special rates. Legal fees vary, depending on the nature of your sale and purchase but typically range from £500 to £1500 plus VAT.
Moving costs
When you’ve sold your property and are ready to move to your new home there are some additional costs to consider, but mainly when it comes to vacating the property. These are things like renting vans, buying boxes and packing materials or just hiring movers to do all the work. Depending on the transition between moving from your current property to your next one, you may need to pay for storage of some items or even temporary rented accommodation. Selling and moving home doesn’t always run smoothly or at the same timeline, so you may need to be prepared to juggle moving dates.
If you’re considering selling or moving home, then visit s1homes.com today to find all the best property advice, contact your local estate agent, advertise your property and search the best new properties added to the market.