Want a bigger home? Converting your loft – if you do it right – should ultimately mean you make more money on your home when it comes time to sell.

Nationwide’s Chief Economist, Robert Gardner said in 2016 that “The House Price Index has revealed that adding a loft conversion or an extension incorporating a double bedroom and a bathroom could add more than 20% to the value of a three-bedroom, one bathroom house”.  All indications are that these numbers have remained consistent since then.

Is a loft conversion disruptive?

While it may may seem daunting, choosing the right company to do the work will hugely limit the disruption and unpleasantness. An established, specialist loft conversion company are a good option – they know what they are doing, will have good processes, reliable suppliers and qualified builders.

Or you could just move home now, to something bigger. Wouldn’t that be easier?

Let’s take a look.

Just move house instead?

If you’ve lived in your home for a while, you may have forgotten what a hassle moving can be. There’s the marketing of the house, the packing, or organising packers – and even before that you probably want to do some serious decluttering – anything you haven’t used for two years, let’s face it, you’re probably not really going to miss. Can you remember unpacking old junk the last time you moved and wondering why you paid someone to pack and move it?

You need to find a new home too, and that takes valuable time. Our own time and the monetary value of that is something we tend not to factor in. Remember the agony of the chain? That delay when someone dropped out? The disappointment when you were gazumped on the house you’d set your heart on?

If only it was that easy!

The real cost of your new home

What about the cost? We don’t always tot up the total cost of moving house either – we just wince and pay the bills one at time. But it’s a good idea to get the high cost of moving into perspective before you take the plunge. There are a number of Moving Home calculators you can use online – here are a few examples:

The cost calculator on reallymoving.com told us that:

Moving from a £500,000 3-bed house to a £600,000 house just 5 miles away would cost a whopping £33,000, with the largest chunks being estate agent’s fee of £12,000, and Stamp Duty Land Tax at £20,000.

and

To move from a £350,000 1 or 2-bed home to a £450,00 3 bed just 10 miles away we’d fork out £18,315 in accumulated fees.

So your £600,000 house actually cost you £633,000, and your £450,000 house cost £468,315.

That’s money you’ve basically just given away.

Spend less, get more

So, how about considering a better way to spend less? A way that will end up actually giving you more?

For a lot less than the price of a new home AND none of the sunk cost or hassle of moving, you could invest in the asset you already have – your current home – and get that money working for you.

A high quality loft conversion will considerably expand your living space, improve your quality of life, make use of views you may not even know you have and give your home more character – at the same time as adding considerable value to your main investment.

Light and views add to the feeling of space in an urban loft conversion

Consider adding at least one bedroom (11% added value for one room) and an extra bathroom (5% or more) as minimum for your . Choosing larger windows to bring in light, and luxury touches such as a juliet-style balcony and a chic wetroom en-suite can help to maximise the value you’re adding to your home.  Not to mention the extra pleasure you’ll get from your new loft conversion (20% or more total added value).

Sound good?

Take a look at our gallery to see the kinds of things that can be achieved with a loft conversion in a home similar to yours.

Stay in the home you love and get the house you desire.

I’d like a free, no obligations quotation for my loft conversion

You might also be interested in our article ‘Creating space for your family’