Do bathrooms with windows, and conservatories add value?

[Tink78]

Hi

We aren't moving or anything, but whilst we are living where we currently live, we are trying to make improvements to increase the value of the house for when we do sell, as the market seems very flat at the moment.

Our bathroom doesn't have a window and we often talk about putting on a small 2 storey extension on the side of our house, so we can change upstairs around a bit to incorporate a bigger bathroom with a window (we would still keep it as a 3 bed house though) upstairs, and a dining room area downstairs.

Or would it best to just put in a sky light (although it would have to be a tube type one as the loft is above our bathroom so it wouldn't actually be a window - just a device that uses mirrors to trap the light in a tube and reflects it into the bathroom) and build a conservatory which we could use as a dining room - but then that eats into the garden which is already quite small.

Or just build a single storey extension for a dining room, or use that space to build a garage??

Any tips or advice?

 

[Goofyish]

I think the general rule is that any additional rooms will add value - depending on the type of room/construction you may not get back the cost of the extension, but it may make the house more marketable.

 

[Hilary]

I don't think I'd be tempted to do any type of building work as substantial as you mention unless I was going to benfit from using it as well as (hopefully) add to the value.

If I was looking at houses of similar price, I think one without a bathroom window might get my thumbs down before one without a conservatory, but an extra reception room would also be nice!

I always understood the general rule to be that good kitchens and bathrooms sell houses before the other rooms get a look in.

 

[Tink78]

I always understood the general rule to be that good kitchens and bathrooms sell houses before the other rooms get a look in.

Good advice - thanks.

Hmmmm, we have just put in a new kitchen which is looking lovely now.
So next year I think we must do a new bathroom, and try to get some sort of natural light coming in there somehow.

Maybe leave the extension / conservatory idea then.

Thank you.

 

[LeCras]

My advice would be to get the opinion of one or two local estate agents. They know the area and will know what type of improvements are most likely to add value for your particular type of house.

Charlotte

 

[Tink78]

My advice would be to get the opinion of one or two local estate agents. They know the area and will know what type of improvements are most likely to add value for your particular type of house.

Charlotte

I think we will be doing that in the new year.

We want to move probably in 2 years or so, so there's lots of time but we don't want to leave it all until the last minute, and we want to start a family soon too.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We had a conservatory built about 4 years ago, I believe it does add to the value of our home and make it more attractive should we wish to sell.

 

[Tink78]

We had a conservatory built about 4 years ago, I believe it does add to the value of our home and make it more attractive should we wish to sell.

Our garden isn't very big though, so if we have a conservatory built, the patio would have to go outside if, and then we wouldn't be left with much garden, and as it's a 3 bed house, it's great for young families who would want a little bit of running around space in the summer.
I love conservatories though, and would love one, but I just don't know if it would be right for this house.

 

[gilld]

A conservatory doesn't add as much value as a proper extension but then to be fair it costs a lot less to build. We LOVE our conservatory, in fact from March to the end of October, we don't use our sitting room at all - great for the furniture/carpet in there - it lasts for ages!

 

[Clare D]

Hi Karen
My sister is an estate agent and normally what adds value to a house is extra square footage. The thing is if you are planning on moving you probably won't recoup the cost of it on sale. It may make your house more appealing.
Kitchens are the current big thing at the moment and most people look at the kitchen when wanting to buy a house.
Also check out nethouse prices for the prices of what other houses sold for in your area and get the opinions of an estate agent.
Even if you are planning on starting a family you propbably won't get the benefit of the extra room until they start getting to about 3 in which case you will have moved by then.
Clare

 

[carolfoy]

When I was an estate agent we'd only get a valuation by comparable prices, ie if every other house in your row had a conservatory you'd almost certainly need one to get the same price. having said that a bad conservatory or extension would devalue not increase your house price. windows in a bathroom DO make it more saleable but will not increase the price, it certainly wouldn't be a 'deal breaker' for anyone looking at that type of house. If you'll get ,say, 5 or more years use out of the conservatory before trying to sell then yes its a good idea but a conservatory will generally only add the value it cost to build it!
Best ways of adding value - having the outside absolutely pristine, having parking/garage, inside being totally neutral in colour and brand new carpets throughout are definate selling tools!

 

[stevechase]

hi all

My own advice would be to get extra bedrooms on not worry too much about the size of a bathroom as long as it is done nice. a downstairs loo is a bonus with kids we find. And on a personal level, I do like a house with a hallway.

But the extra bedrooms I think are the big bonus.

I have done all the donkey work my self, digging putting up internal walls putting the footings in. You can save a bomb if you just get the tradsmen in to do the important stuff, like the brick work. Do all the 'crap' jobs yourself.

Our original extention in 98/99 was 2 story, downstairs was an exxtension to the kitchen, utility and loo. upstairs was a new bedroom. I did all the digging put the concrete in all the donkey work as I said. I then got 2 brickies in just to lay the bricks, i got all the materials the lot, they just layed them. I put the roof joists on and then tiled the roof. To get all this done, a 2 story extention up and sealed (no internal work) and a completed detached garage, cost us about 6 grand. i was quoted 14k for a single story kitchen extension.

Do as much as you can yourself, you can save a small fortune and so it does make it a much more profitable project. A lot of it is no more than hard graft, nothing technical. I got stuck putting the steel work in the ground before the concrete was poured. I got a bloke down from the council to give me advice and it was all sorted.

And no, i'm not a brickie or anything, i'm a computer programmer!

Cheers and best wishes to all

Steve