It’s Expensive To Move Home While moving home has always been an expensive process, the current economic climate has increased this even more so. As well as the fact that many houses are in negative equity (meaning that moving home would involve losing money) there are legal, agent and moving fees to consider. Moving home is also a huge hassle (particularly for those who have resided in the same property for a long length of time, and have accumulated many belongings) and many people find they need to take time off work in order to complete the move. This will entail the use of either paid holiday, which could be better used for other pursuits, or unpaid leave, which would lose the homeowner further amounts of money. It’s A Very Versatile Space Both loft conversions and bungalow loft conversions offer the homeowner a new space that is very versatile. It could be a bedroom (or two if the space is quite large), an extra bathroom, an office or even a playroom. The space is also easily adjusted to a new purpose should the need arise. For example, a playroom or office can quickly and easily be converted to a bedroom should a new addition to the brood call for the need for more sleeping space. The Space Is Otherwise Wasted Most homes have a loft which is made up of a structurally sound space that is essentially sitting there doing nothing. While other home extensions entail adding a whole new part of the building to the existing one, a loft conversion simply involves converting the existing space into something useful. It must be noted however, that this isn’t always the case with bungalow loft conversions. Many bungalows are built without the strength to carry a second floor. While the building can be reinforced thereby making it suitable to convert, this can be an expensive and intrusive operation, so isn’t ideal for everybody. It Will Add Value To Your Home Although the value a loft conversion will add to a home varies widely from region to region, research by Egg cites the average gain to be £18,000. If the current economic market is making you consider a loft conversion as an alternative to moving then it is clearly a fantastic choice to make – when the housing market recovers, ideally your home should be worth significantly more than the original buying price. Surely this is a no brainer as an alternative to selling a home at a loss?! A Final Note Whatever your reason for choosing to invest in a loft conversion, make sure you employ the right people to carry out the work. A rogue firm may charge you too much, take much longer than planned to complete the work or worst of all – take your money and run. In order to avoid such disasters, make sure to do your research before signing on the dotted line. As well as talking to family, friends and neighbours who have had similar work completed, ensure to embrace the power of the internet. For example, if you’re on the hunt for a bungalow loft conversions specialist, try inputting ‘bungalow loft conversions Birmingham’ into a search engine. The results should include a number of local firms and ideally, a number of reviews by past customers. This will help to establish who the trustworthy and talented firms are in the local area, and help you to avoid any bad eggs. This article was written by Amy Fowler on behalf of Buckley Loft Conversions. Amy writes on a variety of topics including home extensions such as bungalow loft conversions. Read more »
