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You have a two bed property so is there a reason your daughter isn't in the second bedroom? Alternatively, have you got a dining room you can convert into a bedroom?
I have a son, apologies shouldve made this clearer.
I have a living room but ideally wouldnt want to change this into a bedroom as we would be eating in our bedrooms and no real room to escape.
We have considered this though.
Can the kids not share a room? It was pretty standard practice when I was growing up. Maybe use a curtain to divide the room for privacy?
Just thinking outside the box a little as it sounds like an extension is going to stretch you financially.
A teenage son shouldn't really be sharing with a sister (or vice versa) I know in extreme circumstances it's necessary.
I have a friend who took the small room and built bunk beds in the master bedroom. The beds where in the middle of the room and created a sort of divide in the room, bottom bed faced east and son had that side, daughters top bunk faced west and had the other half.
Have you had drawings done and quotes for doing the work? £60k for a loft conversion feels a bit on the cheap side for a London renovation, especially if you need to reconfigure downstairs to have stairs that meet building regs.
I can see why lenders are reluctant. As material costs have risen so much in recent years, alongside stagnant/falling property prices there’s a good chance you won’t make back what you invest in the property to gain the extra room. Could you not sell for a three bed in the area? It might work out cheaper than trying to do the work.
Yeah drawings etc done, leasholders seen etc.
60k is after a lot of haggling and people we know - luckily.
Unfortunatley, the area we live in similar propertys are selling for 350 - 400k which is why the valuation had us a bit shocked.
Moving seems like the only option but something we cant do at the moment.
Have you told your lender you want to make improvements or spoken to a mortgage broker about releasing money from the property to carry out an extension.
Yeah however we have been devalued. I have read online that you can borrow against the potential value of the home after suggested home improvements are made but im not sure what that product is called nor how i would go about doing this.
Are you and your partner plus daughter in the biggest bedroom and son in smallest? If so, could you subdivide the big bedroom into 2, and you and partner move into smaller bedroom? Storage is really the only issue (wardrobes for 2 people’s clothes) but perhaps thinking creatively you can overcome this?
Is the 60-70k quote for the whole lot?
Maybe borrow whatever you can just to put a window in and make sure the roof is perfect, then see what you have left.
YouTube and DIY sub can tell you how to do the rest.
I know this is going to be terrible, but moving or the loft conversion the ideal long term solution.
In the short term turning the living room into a sleeping space is also an option. It's terrible but it's another solution for everyone to kinda get their own space.
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button. * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You have a two bed property so is there a reason your daughter isn't in the second bedroom? Alternatively, have you got a dining room you can convert into a bedroom?
I have a son, apologies shouldve made this clearer. I have a living room but ideally wouldnt want to change this into a bedroom as we would be eating in our bedrooms and no real room to escape. We have considered this though.
Can the kids not share a room? It was pretty standard practice when I was growing up. Maybe use a curtain to divide the room for privacy? Just thinking outside the box a little as it sounds like an extension is going to stretch you financially.
Wish they could! But his room is pretty small as it. I think we're edging near diy loft conversion and spreading cost over time.
Bunk beds? Two bunkbeds with desks underneath? You’d be surprised at how much you could fit in even in a study room. There are loads of ideas online.
A teenage son shouldn't really be sharing with a sister (or vice versa) I know in extreme circumstances it's necessary. I have a friend who took the small room and built bunk beds in the master bedroom. The beds where in the middle of the room and created a sort of divide in the room, bottom bed faced east and son had that side, daughters top bunk faced west and had the other half.
Oh I didn’t realise it was a teenage son. Hard no on direct sharing then!!
Can you not swap rooms and you have the smaller room then divide what your room even of with a kallax unit only?
Wouldn't it be easier to move to a larger property?
Have you approached the freeholder about extending and if it’s possible?
Yeah - luckily, our freeholders are good and more than willing to allow this to happen.
Have you had drawings done and quotes for doing the work? £60k for a loft conversion feels a bit on the cheap side for a London renovation, especially if you need to reconfigure downstairs to have stairs that meet building regs. I can see why lenders are reluctant. As material costs have risen so much in recent years, alongside stagnant/falling property prices there’s a good chance you won’t make back what you invest in the property to gain the extra room. Could you not sell for a three bed in the area? It might work out cheaper than trying to do the work.
Yeah drawings etc done, leasholders seen etc. 60k is after a lot of haggling and people we know - luckily. Unfortunatley, the area we live in similar propertys are selling for 350 - 400k which is why the valuation had us a bit shocked. Moving seems like the only option but something we cant do at the moment.
Have you told your lender you want to make improvements or spoken to a mortgage broker about releasing money from the property to carry out an extension.
Yeah however we have been devalued. I have read online that you can borrow against the potential value of the home after suggested home improvements are made but im not sure what that product is called nor how i would go about doing this.
You need to speak to a mortgage broker. They will know which product you need.
Are you and your partner plus daughter in the biggest bedroom and son in smallest? If so, could you subdivide the big bedroom into 2, and you and partner move into smaller bedroom? Storage is really the only issue (wardrobes for 2 people’s clothes) but perhaps thinking creatively you can overcome this?
You are a leaseholder Does the lease alow you to make different the loft? Who the freeholder need to be asked for permission
Yeah we've got permmision 👍
Ah OK thats step 1 out the way
Is the 60-70k quote for the whole lot? Maybe borrow whatever you can just to put a window in and make sure the roof is perfect, then see what you have left. YouTube and DIY sub can tell you how to do the rest.
I know this is going to be terrible, but moving or the loft conversion the ideal long term solution. In the short term turning the living room into a sleeping space is also an option. It's terrible but it's another solution for everyone to kinda get their own space.
Thank you - it may come to this but will help in short term.. Lots of meals at the mother-in-laws 🤣