With a new addition in our family (baby N born on Christmas day), we knew we’d need more space in our home. However, after trawling through the properties available locally, it soon became clear that we’d be better off simply extending our existing home rather than selling up and moving into somewhere bigger.
I’m taking part in the #SagaHomeImprovements campaign, to help you find out how you could use Saga’s equity release scheme to finance home improvements in your own house.
To improve our home and make more space for our family, we decided to do a loft conversion, which has added 2 bedrooms and a bathroom – taking our total to 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms in the house, which gives the children a bedroom each and means we will have plenty of space here as the kids grow up! I’ve been so happy with our loft conversion work and would definitely recommend this to anyone who’s been thinking about it but is on the fence.
Naturally I was a bit apprehensive about whether it was going to cause a lot of upheaval in the home, but overall I found it easier than moving house and our builders were brilliant, and really considerate and respectful in regards to the mess and disruption that was caused – they always made sure to keep it to a minimum. Our work was a little late starting due to some delays with party wall issues, so we started in November while I was heavily pregnant, and they just about finished the first fix by the time baby arrived in December! I am really glad we went ahead with it at that time, rather than putting it off until next year, as it’s so amazing now to have all that extra space.
In fact, we were so happy with the improvements to our loft space that we decided to go ahead and re do the other bathrooms in the home too. I feel like money spent on improving the home is money well spent, as not only do you get to enjoy your beautiful new living space but it adds value to your home for the future. If we would have moved house, so many thousands would have been wasted on fees, stamp duty, removal costs and more. I’d much rather spend that money on renovation!
Another thing I’m looking at for our home is the Mixergy Tank, an eco-friendly hot water tank that would help us save money as well as energy, as it only heats up the amount of water that’s needed. This water tank uses technology that actually allows for hot water to “float” on top of cold water layers. At the moment, this is available within the M25 area exclusively from My Plumber
After that on my renovation to do list is the garden. We had new paving about a year ago, but I’m planning to re do the lawn with artificial grass to make it better for the kids to play outside all year round, and hopefully add an outbuilding or home office style building at the end of the garden within the next few years.
Here’s some info from Saga on the top improvements that people do to add value in their homes. As you can see, major improvements like a loft conversion have the potential to add quite a lot. Especially in or around London, 12% of the house value is a big deal! I have to confess though, ours didn’t come in anywhere around 20k – more like double that – but it’s definitely worth it!
What home improvements have you done to your property, or what’s on your list for the future?
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
I couldn’t agree more converting the loft into another room is an excellent investment to your property. Also creating more room if you don’t want the hassle of moving.
These are great suggestions! Thank you for sharing these house improvement ideas!
Valuable advice! I glad to read your post. I love your work, so impressive. Thanks for sharing.