Loft - Is it worth it?

[Darr6n]

Hoping someone can give me a bit of guidance.

I have just recently bought a house and am getting a lot sorted out before we move in. The Kitchen is coming on slowly and isn't to much of a hassle.

The loft has some issues, it is a 1903 terrace in Sheffield and has had the loft converted already. The survey showed that the joists don't conform to current building regs, so we managed to get some money off the property to put this right.

To put things right we are going to have to get a structural engineer to do some calcs, the council to come and see it before work starts and when it is complete, this is going to cost far more than anticipated.

Basically we have 2 choices, spend the money and have that bit of paper that says building regs have been met or don't!

The engineer has said that the existing floor seems fine, no bounce at all.

Does anyone think by spending the £4000 that it will probably cost that we will make this back and more, than if we just leave it and advertise as a 2 bed house when we come to sell.

Are there any other things we need to think about?

Thanks in advance

 

[Static]

Loft conversions normally pay for themselfs when selling, but chances are if the joists werent replaced when the loft was converted then insulation, fire escape, stairs etc may also be wrong, it could cost you ALOT more. Depends if you have the spare cash to set it right. Did you pay the going price for a 2 bed or a 3 bed?

 

[Darr6n]

The floor/stairs might have been original to the house, but no-one is able to confirm this for us.

I'm possible thinking of spending the money on a structural engineer to do the calcs and then investigate exactly how much it will cost to bring it up to building regs.

We did get a very good deal on the house, but there wasn't much other interest due to the work it needed in total.

If we were to do everything else i.e Kitchen, Bathroom, Damp sorted, floors etc, would a non-conforming building reg loft put people off?

 

[Deluks]

If we were to do everything else i.e Kitchen, Bathroom, Damp sorted, floors etc, would a non-conforming building reg loft put people off?

Usually not, but you wouldn't be able to sell/advertise it as a converted loft. You can only sell it as a 'posh' storage area, not a bedroom or study etc.
Having said that what they do with it once purchased is up to them. How many bedrooms does it have without the loft? Do some research into property prices in your area and see if an extra bedroom would increase the value enough to warrant the cost of work. Ask a few estate agents for advice.

 

[bpowell555]

I've got something similar: posh storage. Wasn't there a case that if work was done to a certain standard before regs were updated / came out then it was ok? Or do lofts always have to be up to current spec?

Currently we're faced with the final exit problem, i.e. the staircase exits on the ground floor between an open kitchen and a door to the lounge. Front door is through the loung and back door is through the kitchen. My understanding is unless the final exit is to a real final exit, and not another room, then even with escape velux it is not regs compliant. This would require remodelling the kitchen to introduce a hallway... b*ll*x to that.

We;re thinking we might sort the building regs on the top half to make it more practical and then leave a potential buyer to think about whether they want to finish it proper / bear the cost.

Need to get a specialist in to confirm all this however, and price it up.