Planning rules on extensions to be relaxed 'to boost economy

[freddiemercurystwin]

A house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, no more. Some people should consider this closely when they add on the kind of monstrosities that are either PD or get them approved through planning. Taking a long term approach is only viable if you intend staying in your house long enough for your investment to be realised.

 

[SaladFingers]

A house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, no more. Some people should consider this closely when they add on the kind of monstrosities that are either PD or get them approved through planning. Taking a long term approach is only viable if you intend staying in your house long enough for your investment to be realised.

Exactly what I've been trying to say.

Thank you, at least there's someone else out there with some common sense.

 

[qball101]

There's a simple rule of thumb when it comes to making money from extending that all those property show on channel 4 try too drum into wanna be developers. If you buy the worst house in the best area, development will always make money. You try to make a middle class house in a working class area and you deserve to lose money.

Also, round my way in sw London the typical moving cost inc stamp duty etc. will frequently cost more than extending anyway, which sort of makes it a no brainer if you're looking to move to a bigger house in the same area.

Add an aside I've found this very profitable in the past. Never underestimate the desire of the aspirational to get ahead of the Joneses by moving into the street's 'show home' no matter how much it costs.

Still I'd, to get back on topic. I'm keen to hear how the new rules might apply to existing unlawful development. What's happened in the past when pd rights have changed?

 

[frank999]

In many parts of NW London developers are carving up the suburban landscape, old metro land with its single family dwelling units is being replaced by houses chopped into 2/3/4 flats, the gardens are filled with 'exempt' outbuildings, plumbed ready for occupation - a time when all the long term residents have been surrounded and no one with a vested interest or civic pride is left to complain.

The rear of the houses have been extended on ground and first floor level rearwards - making them very over bearing on the gardens that do remain.
On those converted properties - just grey areas of neglected garden look very sad.
Neither the tenant or landlord care for their environment or each other.

Is this the sort of suburban landscape we wish to encourage ?

 

[geraldthehamster]

A house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, no more. Some people should consider this closely when they add on the kind of monstrosities that are either PD or get them approved through planning. Taking a long term approach is only viable if you intend staying in your house long enough for your investment to be realised.

Or if you don't intend to move again.

I'm not convinced that the proposed change to PD rights will happen, you know. This government has an extensive history of making announcements, then back tracking once someone points out the pitfalls. Except when it comes to macroeconomic policy, obviously.

Cheers
Richard

 

[Rob_Quads]

A house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, no more. Some people should consider this closely when they add on the kind of monstrosities that are either PD or get them approved through planning. Taking a long term approach is only viable if you intend staying in your house long enough for your investment to be realised.

Exactly what I've been trying to say.

Thank you, at least there's someone else out there with some common sense.

I think your problem is if that is what you meant to say, you said something totally different, you said

To be honest I don't see the point in extending. Once you've spent the money, you may as well have moved as its not always necessarily cheaper to extend. You'll never get your money back if you wanted to sell either as it'll be the same house just a bit bigger in the same location.

There is a big difference to say its only worth what people will pay i.e. if you spend 100K on a 400K house that is then worth 600k then its worth it - that does not = " You'll never get your money back if you wanted to sell either as it'll be the same house just a bit bigger in the same location"

 

[qball101]

A house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, no more. Some people should consider this closely when they add on the kind of monstrosities that are either PD or get them approved through planning. Taking a long term approach is only viable if you intend staying in your house long enough for your investment to be realised.

Or if you don't intend to move again.

I'm not convinced that the proposed change to PD rights will happen, you know. This government has an extensive history of making announcements, then back tracking once someone points out the pitfalls. Except when it comes to macroeconomic policy, obviously.

Cheers
Richard

I agree. I reckon there will be increases but not a doubling

 

[SaladFingers]

A house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, no more. Some people should consider this closely when they add on the kind of monstrosities that are either PD or get them approved through planning. Taking a long term approach is only viable if you intend staying in your house long enough for your investment to be realised.

Exactly what I've been trying to say.

Thank you, at least there's someone else out there with some common sense.

I think your problem is if that is what you meant to say, you said something totally different, you said

To be honest I don't see the point in extending. Once you've spent the money, you may as well have moved as its not always necessarily cheaper to extend. You'll never get your money back if you wanted to sell either as it'll be the same house just a bit bigger in the same location.

There is a big difference to say its only worth what people will pay i.e. if you spend 100K on a 400K house that is then worth 600k then its worth it - that does not = " You'll never get your money back if you wanted to sell either as it'll be the same house just a bit bigger in the same location"

I've said it in other posts. Why pick out the one post where I didn't?

 

[indus]

A house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, no more. Some people should consider this closely when they add on the kind of monstrosities that are either PD or get them approved through planning. Taking a long term approach is only viable if you intend staying in your house long enough for your investment to be realised.

Exactly what I've been trying to say.

Thank you, at least there's someone else out there with some common sense.

I think your problem is if that is what you meant to say, you said something totally different, you said

To be honest I don't see the point in extending. Once you've spent the money, you may as well have moved as its not always necessarily cheaper to extend. You'll never get your money back if you wanted to sell either as it'll be the same house just a bit bigger in the same location.

There is a big difference to say its only worth what people will pay i.e. if you spend 100K on a 400K house that is then worth 600k then its worth it - that does not = " You'll never get your money back if you wanted to sell either as it'll be the same house just a bit bigger in the same location"

I've said it in other posts. Why pick out the one post where I didn't?

No you haven't, you've talked about extensions being in the eye of the beholder and something about not wanting to be the sort of person who owns a flash car and parks it outside a crappy house.

What any of that has to do with the discussion god only knows

 

[SaladFingers]

Goodness me, we have a comedian

 

[noseall]

Some of the detached houses they are building today are dire.

The space between them is appalling, the gardens are tiny and in a lot of places, will not sell.

There are many young families in need of affordable three or four bed homes, or may just need a bit more space and this is the crux of the extension economy.

I would sooner live in an extended three bed semi than live in a detached dump that i have had to pay another 40 grand on top of my extension for the privilege. My uncles new house is less than 900mm from his neighbour and the back gardens are tiny.

The houses they are building now are a disgrace and are the slums of the future.
However, i do agree with Salad spoons that you can not polish a turd. Adding a 25k extension to a house worth 50k is not financial wizardry at its best. But people do do it and that is because they are happy where they live and want to stay put.

P.S. i build extensions for a living and get a lot of feedback. The main point being that people have found a good home in a nice area and just want a bit more space. This accounts for a large percentage of the extensions i build.

Also to add, one or two have moved since building an extension i have built though i have not had the chance to ask if the extension helped sell their house or if it added a great deal to the overall value.

 

[SaladFingers]

Some of the detached houses they are building today are dire.

The space between them is appalling, the gardens are tiny and in a lot of places, will not sell.

Aboslutely. Cardboard walls, so close to other houses there isn't any proper space and gardens are too tiny. Seems to have been happenging since the 80's. I guess it's because we're running out of space.

I've known a few developers only getting permission to develop houses so long as some of the houses get rented out to the council to house chavs in.

I wouldn't want to buy a lovely looking new house, only to find out I'll be living next door to some coke heads.

 

[geraldthehamster]

Some of the detached houses they are building today are dire.

The space between them is appalling, the gardens are tiny and in a lot of places, will not sell.

There are many young families in need of affordable three or four bed homes, or may just need a bit more space and this is the crux of the extension economy.

I would sooner live in an extended three bed semi than live in a detached dump that i have had to pay another 40 grand on top of my extension for the privilege. My uncles new house is less than 900mm from his neighbour and the back gardens are tiny.

The houses they are building now are a disgrace and are the slums of the future.
However, i do agree with Salad spoons that you can not polish a turd. Adding a 25k extension to a house worth 50k is not financial wizardry at its best. But people do do it and that is because they are happy where they live and want to stay put.

P.S. i build extensions for a living and get a lot of feedback. The main point being that people have found a good home in a nice area and just want a bit more space. This accounts for a large percentage of the extensions i build.

Also to add, one or two have moved since building an extension i have built though i have not had the chance to ask if the extension helped sell their house or if it added a great deal to the overall value.

There was a survey a couple of years ago that suggested the happiest people are those living in bungalows. This was put down to the fact that older bungalows tend to have massive gardens.

Cheers
Richard
(Bungalow with massive garden)

 

[frank999]

"There was a survey a couple of years ago that suggested the happiest people are those living in bungalows. This was put down to the fact that older bungalows tend to have massive gardens"

Part of what I was saying then ... although there are other factors age of occupant etc.

Living on a postage stamp isn't good for you.

I am living (temporarily) in a property built in 1985, its a two bed terraced. The Ceiling height is 2.2mt, the 2nd bedroom - is tiny, dont know how you'd get a single bed in there let alone any other furniture, at mo it has a small desk and a chair. The garden is the size of an average garage floor. The terrace is in a row of three houses, just one house built a few decades previously would occupy the same area.
The for sale signs are constanylt up, as couples just cant stay in them to raise a child, tooooo small.

When you read the allowable minimum room sizes allowed its shameful, how is that allowed to be !

I am witnessing Semi's being chopped into flats, they are moving all the internal walls to squeeze in as much as possible - be like living in a padded cell.

You definately couldn't extend these modern dolls houses - just no room to do it, and the semi's chopped into flats - the extra allowance would simply let developers cram more rent paying tenants in.

 

[SimonH2]

What you describe is the effect of several decades of planning restrictions which have unbalanced the supply-demand equation. It's resulted in the price of land on which houses can be built going up (lack of supply, rising demand = higher prices) which in turn has a knock on effect both on the size of plots and the cost of properties.
Just across the road from me is a small plot for sale with planning for 3 houses - he's just been turned down for planning for 4. The asking price is £1/4M, which means £80k/house just for the land. Given the location, I doubt you could build a house and then sell it at a profit with that sort of up front loading. On the other hand, if I hit the jackpot on the Premium Bonds I could be tempted to see what sort of cash offer he might consider - I reckon I could build something a lot more attractive (and spacious/usable) than the unimaginative plans he had in

A mate has recently bought a bungalow built in the 70's I think - nice large plot. When I suggested that these days there's be 3 or 4 properties on the same plot he scoffed at the idea - till he had a look round the part of the estate built a decade or two later where the gardens are miniscule.

It's also ripping the heart out of town like the one I live in. There used to be a lot of small garages, workshops, etc. But over the last few years they have virtually all disappeared and houses or flats gone up in their place. Hard to criticise someone with a small business that's struggling along when they can make quite a windfall by selling up. And it's hard to criticise developers who are, after all, merely meeting a need - if people didn't buy these shoeboxes then they wouldn't build them.