Loft Conversions – Are They Worth It?

Many people are realizing that building a professional loft conversion is a lot better than moving home if all you need is one extra room. At this time, house prices are on the decline in big cities like London, it can be a big risk to move house just to gain an extra room and it could turn out that you end up losing a lot of money. (With the additional costs of stamp duty, increased mortgages, conveyencing fees and paying removal companies it can really be expensive|Not forgetting all of the usual moving costs such as a bigger mortgage, stamp duty, normal removal expenses and solicitors fees it can really mount up|Then there are the costs which are always associated with moving home such as removals, the cost of hiring a solicitor, higher mortgage payments and stamp duty}.


So if you need that extra room what do you do? A loft conversion is a very good idea as it will meet your requirements for that other room and it will add value to your precious home. A leading high street building society – the Alliance and Leicester – discovered that a well planned and built loft conversion can see the value of your property soar by as much as £40,000. You also have the benefit of not moving house and all of the costs that come with that.


A change in the planning laws in 2008 has seen a real surge in loft conversions. What it means is that the majority of loft conversions don’t require formal planning permission but instead can be constructed under a term called “permitted development”. This should not be confused with building regulations as these still need to be adhered to as the conversion will be used for additional living space.


Prices will vary from different contractors when estimating your loft conversion. But you need to be careful here as an inferior conversion will not add value to your home and may even decrease it. Temporary staircases are not recommended and estate agents will tell you this really doesn’t add much value. It is well worth paying more now for a totally professional job as you will reap the rewards of significantly increased value in the future.


Loft conversions have lots of advantages over traditional extensions so what are they? There are lots of advantages. Whatever kind of house that you own it is very likely that it will be suitable for a loft conversion. A traditional house extension should be far more expensive than a loft conversion and you won’t lose any valuable outside space either. Local government planning permission will almost certainly be required for an extension whereas a loft conversion shouldn’t under permitted development. Another major advantage is that loft conversions often take less time to plan and build which means that you are not sharing your home with local builders for weeks on end .


With an installation of solar panels you will be helping the environment by using the panels to generate electricity and hot water too. This will also decrease your fuel bills too. The government are offering incentives to people who use solar electricity and a scheme for solar water will be available soon.


The cost of your loft conversion will depend on a number of factors such as the size of your loft, structural requirements, whether existing water tanks need to be moved or replaced, floor structure requirements and so on. Whatever the final price it should always be a good investment.



There are many advantages to choosing a loft conversion if a quality solution is sought. To find out more about quality loft conversions visit this link loft conversions London.