Sell as is or extend and sell ?

calistro

Considering putting our 1 bedroom renovated cottage up for sale but talking to an estate agent and he casually mentioned that a minimum of 2 bedrooms would be most sought after. The cottage itself is in one corner of a full acre site so space to extend is not an issue. I'm not sure with the cost of materials/labour today that we would recoup the money back in the sale.

Now the cottage may suit someone starting out or maybe a parent(s) looking to downsize and/or pass on the family home to children struggling to get onto the property market but if it were you and you were in the market fo r this type of property would you prefer a 2nd bedroom or prefer to buy as is and have your own extension planned later?

BronsonTB

Sell as is - Let the new owner decide if & what extension is built.

(Labour & materials are crazy at the moment - Extending to sell would not be my first choice)

raxy

Not an easy 1 to answer. I'd probably prefer to extend myself. I might have a completely different idea for extending than you would. From what I've heard of builders too you could be waiting a long time to get the work done.

On the other hand if you sell as a 1 bed a lot of people may not see the add as they would be looking for a 2 bed.

I'd try sell ad a 1 bed & if it's not selling then look to extend. As you say you may not get the investment back if you do the extension.

spaceHopper

It's a blank canvas on a large site, I'd sell it as is and get a better estate agent

asdfg87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058250980/sell-as-is-or-extend-and-sell

You need a new estate agent, thats awful rubbish.

Penn

Sell as-is. The time (an extension may require planning permission) and expense (especially with building costs as they are now) means you're unlikely to get back the amount of money you'd spend on it. It'd be better to sell as-is and hope it appeals to those who wouldn't get planning for a new-build and instead want to buy the small cottage and extend/renovate to their own design/needs.

calistro

Appreciate all the replies folks, will go ahead without extending and will definitely look at another estate agent!!

macvin

Get someone to do drawings and a ball park price for extension (40sq m - no planning)

This would show someone what is possible at a future point in time.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119226045#Comment_119226045

The estate agent actually gave you good advice. A one bed requires a 20% deposit so severally effect the price you can get. You aren't selling it as a site and this is how some developers turn a quick easy profit. Most council allow 40 sq metre extensions with no planning. Add a room and you have more people who have more money to pay.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119227734#Comment_119227734

40sqm extension would probably cost around 100k in today's market, so this would only be advisable if the OP is very confident they'd be adding 100k onto the value.

Smarter to just sell IMO.

LunaLoo

By the time you get an extension built the property market could be rock-bottom so ypud have to be prepared to have to wait a while to get the costs back. Between that and the price and shortage of materials it would be madness to try and extend.

Sell as is, market it as "opportunity to extend subject to pp"

macvin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119227734#Comment_119227734

Where is this 20% rule?

SOME banks will only give 80% mortgage for one bed APARTMENTS outside Dublin. But there is no rule, just their own policy.

Nothing says that a 1 bed cottage on an acre of land (and likely under 250k) requires more than 10% deposit.

asdfg87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119227734#Comment_119227734

I never hears of 20% deposit on a sale contract, signed 10% is the norm, where did this info come from?

connected1

As LunaLoo above says, market it as "opportunity to extend subject to pp" or invest a grand yourself to get outline planning permission and sell it with that permission.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119228101#Comment_119228101

That policy restricts the amount of people who can and how much a mortgage is. They will give a bigger mortgage available if a 2 bed. It isn't complicated

No planning needed as extension can be built without planning UP TO 40sqm obviously it doesn't need to be that big for one extra room.

It is rarely worth building or extending to sell but in the case of one beds it normally is worth it. It isn'tjust the increased price but the increase in the number of people interested and able to get mortgages

looksee

Never do major works for a sale. Tidy the place, coat of paint at most. If you are a builder or in the business of 'flipping' properties then its a different situation, but with no team at your disposal you could be putting off the sale for 18 months or so by trying to line up people to do the job for you, with every chance you will not recoup your outgoings.

JohnnyChimpo

Almost everyone here is correct, but one additional point is that people tend to only price the explicit cost of renovation/extension, but tend to discount the cost of their own time, opportunity cost, etc. Doing a big project like that is a huge time-suck and source of stress, often it's like having a second job for 6-12 months. It's one thing if you're doing it to realise your dream home but otherwise - what's all that hassle worth to you?

asdfg87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119229539#Comment_119229539

I think thats the max in planning, from meomory i think it has to be at rear of house so i am guessing if original house was say 25sq metres it unlikely add on could be 40 metres.

ballyharpat

sell as is, people may want to add 2 bedrooms on, and a bathroom, lots of options for what people may need in the future, but right now, you would be adding cost and stress for a minimal if any return.

Also, there are many people that could be within their budget with what you have, if you add abother 50/60/70k, you are pricing them out of the bidding, but as is, the people in the higher bracket would still be looking at your property, with the potential for extension.