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Published: 15 May 2023

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Many homeowners desire more space for a whole host of reasons.

You may have a growing family, a change of personal circumstances, or have simply outgrown your current home.

A difficult decision then lays ahead. Do you extend and renovate your current property or sell on and purchase a new home?

The Advantages Of Building an Extension

1. Familiarity of Your Neighbourhood

The very fact that you are considering extending your current home means that you are probably happy with the local area. It may be that you have friendly neighbours, excellent local amenities, or brilliant nearby schools.

2. Added Value to Your Property

A bigger kitchen, extra bedroom or purpose-built office space will add a considerable amount of value to your home.

When the time eventually comes to sell the property, you will have a significantly larger asking price to look forward to. However, consider the impact of a decreased outdoor space on the value of the home.

3. Personalised Plans

One of the greatest advantages of building an extension is that it can be designed and constructed precisely to your needs.

Most people will decide to redecorate their entire home after the upheaval of having an extension built, meaning, the entire property will then be finished to your personal tastes.

The Disadvantages of Building an Extension

1. Extensions Can Be Expensive

The costs of architects, contractors and planning permission can quickly mount.

A contingency budget is always recommended for those carrying out an extension to cover any unexpected expenses.

2. Investment is Not Always Linear

Extending and renovating your current home will undoubtedly add value to the property. However, this price is not always wholly reflective of the funds and time your family dedicated to the build and finished project.  

3. There Are Limitations

The size of your outdoor space will place the most obvious restrictions on the scale of your extension.

Planning permission may also impose restrictions on your build. Additionally, your neighbours will need to be informed, who have the choice to submit an objection should they feel that it will negatively impact their home.

4. Extensions Can Bring Stress

Having a team of builders, electricians, plumbers, and other contractors in your home will undoubtedly bring stress to your family.

A two-story extension can turn your whole home on its head and means your family will essentially have to accept living on a building site for a number of months and this is why many home owners opt to move home instead.

The Advantages of Moving Home

1. It’s a Fresh Start with New Opportunities

Moving to a new location presents a wealth of new opportunities for your family. It gives your children the chance to make new friends and experience new schools and areas. It may also present fresh career prospects for yourself.

2. You’ll be Forced to Declutter

Many of us avoid a thorough home declutter for years. However, a move forces it.

Most home movers cannot afford to transport years of trinkets and storage items. Therefore, moving home has the unexpected benefit of forcing movers to re-evaluate their possessions.

3. There’s Unlimited Scope

Renovating or extending a home has obvious limitations. These might be caused by garden size or the availability of planning permission.

Granted, most families will have a budget and may have work limitations, but the scope of moving is otherwise generally vast. Moving allows you to choose a home that is substantially smaller, larger or a completely different style from the one you have currently.  

4. It Makes Financial Sense

The housing market is currently moving at a rapid pace and is very lucrative. Even those who have done little to no renovation work will notice their home has grown in value.

The profits might even be enough to allow you to purchase the home of your dreams. This is especially apparent for those who have owned their home for a substantial amount of time.

The Disadvantages Of Moving Home

1. Moving Home Can be Stressful

Various surveys have shown that most adults in the UK rank moving home as one of their most stressful life events.

The logistics of viewings, packing and relocating the family often fills individuals with anxiety and dread.

At Warren Powell-Richards we aim to make your move as smooth as possible, helping you with every aspect of your move from marketing your home to offer to completion.

2. It’s an Upheaval For Children and Pets

Children can often feel the most nervous surrounding a home move.

Once they are settled into a school, it can be tricky to take them out of their friendship circles and routine. However, thoroughly researching the local schools and amenities will ensure a smooth transition into the new area.

3. Moving Away from Friends

Additionally, if some distance is involved, it can be incredibly difficult for adults to move away from their tight social circles.

Especially for those who currently live in the same area where they grew up, the upheaval of leaving friends and family can become overwhelming. On the positive side, you’ll get the opportunity to return for visits and your friends can visit you and experience a new area too!

Warren Powell-Richards are your local property experts. Call into our office  or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to chat with a member of our friendly and experienced team.

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Published: 05 May 2023

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An open-plan home with shared living, dining and kitchen spaces can have many benefits. It can even help give your home an edge when it comes to selling it later down the line.

But there can be cons as well as pros. It’s important to weigh up your options and consider both negatives and positives to determine what’s right for your home.

If you’re thinking about whether you should make your home open plan, here’s a summary of the pros and cons to help you decide.

What are the Benefits of Having an Open Plan Home?

1. It’s Sociable

Since open-plan homes have shared dining, living and cooking spaces, it’s easy to see how it makes your home a more sociable space. Preparing food in the kitchen as the host of a dinner party doesn’t have to mean you’re cut off from the conversations. Plus, you can chat with the family wherever you are on weeknights.

2. It Maximises Available Space

Open-plan living means knocking down walls, which doesn’t just give the illusion of more space, it actually increases your available square meterage. With shared living, kitchen and dining areas, you can maximise your space and make a smaller home look bigger.

3. It Boosts Sunlight

No matter which floor plan you opt for when opening up your home, you’re bound to boost the natural light in all your key spaces. A healthy dose of sunlight can easily make a space appear bigger. Plus, it’s a top selling point for most homes!

What are the Drawbacks of Open Plan Living?

1. Noise

Even though an open plan home can make a space more sociable, it can feel noisier. If someone’s cooking in the kitchen while you’re trying to watch TV in the living room, you may not be able to hear your show over the clattering. The slightest sounds can carry across the entire house in an open plan home and make it harder to enjoy the quiet.

2. Heating

Naturally, open-plan homes are harder to heat since bigger spaces can take longer to warm up than smaller ones. However, there are lots of ways to combat this, as an open plan home doesn’t necessarily mean a cold one. Ensuring you have good insulation, double-glazed windows and efficient energy options (like underfloor heating) can make it easier to keep your open plan home warm.

3. Lack of Zones

With the rise of home working, having ‘zones’ is becoming a desirable feature for many buyers. Before making your home open plan, consider the working arrangements of your family. Noise travels far in open-plan spaces, which can make it harder for multiple people to work. Plus, having separate ‘work’ and ‘play’ spaces can be more desirable when selling your home.

Need Advice?

Choosing to make your home open plan is a big decision. There are many factors to consider about how you utilise your space currently and what makes sense practically for your family. Plus, resale value should always be taken into account.

If you’re looking at making your home open plan for re-sale purposes, Warren Powell-Richards are your local property experts. Our friendly team would love to chat about the value of your home.

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Published: 05 May 2023

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When you’re selling your home, you may be considering what fixes you need to do and what you should leave for your eventual buyer to do themselves.

It’s always best to ensure your home is in tip-top condition before you put it on the market, but if there are lots of niggly jobs to do, you should prioritise those that will make the biggest positive impression on potential buyers.

In our experience, garden fences are often one of the things that sellers query, particularly if they are in poor condition.

To help you, in this article, we’ll explore four key things you should consider if you’re a seller, wondering, “Should I replace fences before selling a house?”

1. Where is the fence?

Let’s take it from the top! Firstly, where is your fence, and how visible is it? Is it hidden behind a shed and shrubbery? Or is it in your front garden and rather obvious to everyone passing?

While a fence in poor condition is likely to be noticed by a potential buyer during a viewing, it’s important to consider how obvious it is before deciding whether to repair it.

Take into account too that for security reasons, a broken fence in the back garden can be more of a concern than one at the front of the house.

2. What is the condition of the fence?

Be honest, how bad is the fence?

If it’s a back garden fence, is the entire fence falling apart? If it’s in the front garden, does it severely impact your kerb appeal?

Ask yourself how concerned you’d be with the fence if you were a viewer to your home.

3. Does it Impact Security?

This is an important aspect to consider. Does the broken fence make your property less secure? Does it make it easy for burglars to gain access to your back garden and, therefore your house?

A fence in poor repair at the front of the house may be less of a concern for potential buyers as a side or back garden fence will be – particularly if your property backs onto fields, a park or an alleyway.

4. Who is your target market?

• Is your property targeted at first-time buyers?
• Families?
• Property developers?
• Or someone looking for a fixer-upper?

Understanding your target market will help you determine whether it’s worth the upgrade to your fences or not.

For example, if your target market is property developers, someone looking for a fixer-upper, or even a first-time buyer, these buyers may upgrade things themselves.

However, if your target market is a family with children and pets, a back garden fence with holes in it could be a serious concern.

Get Expert Advice

At Warren Powell-Richards, we are your local property experts. If you’re thinking about selling your home and are currently preparing it for sale, our friendly team are happy to answer your questions and help you determine your target market. Pop into the offices or send us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more.

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Published: 02 May 2023

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Which Fittings And Fixtures Will Be Needed After Moving Out?

If you’re ready to sell your home, you may be wondering what you must leave behind when you sell your property. It’s often hard to decide what to leave behind and what to take with you when you move out. In fact, there aren’t any laws to dictate what you must leave within the property, but it goes without saying that your buyer may be upset or angry if they don’t know what you’ll be taking with you.

It’s helpful to think about what you expect the property’s former owners to leave behind when you’re buying their home. Which fittings and fixtures will be needed after moving out? Once you’ve decided, put it all down in writing then confirm the buyer’s agreement, and remember the house has to be empty on completion day.

As expert estate agents, our team at have some great advice about what you may want to leave when selling your home.

An Inventory Of Fittings And Fixtures

To avoid disputes and confusion, an inventory that explains specifically what will be included within the sale and what you’ll be taking with you is very helpful. You should complete this and agree on it early in the process as, without there being an inventory in place, many buyers assume all fixtures and fittings are going to be included in the sale.

Fixtures are any items permanently fixed to the structure of the property such as bathroom and kitchen suites, inbuilt wardrobes and cupboards, plugs, light fittings, radiators, and boilers. Fittings are any freestanding items, or items hung on a nail or hook such as lampshades, mirrors, carpets, ovens, washing machines, freestanding fridges, curtains, beds, curtain rails, sofas, and freestanding furniture. If you want to take or leave any specific fixtures or fittings, try negotiating with your buyer.

What About Lightbulbs?

There’s no legal obligation to leave the lightbulbs behind when you move out unless it’s stated specifically in the contract. However, many sellers choose to leave them since it’s a little petty to remove them and most home movers would like to think that the ‘leaving the lightbulbs in’ option will continue down the chain! You must, however, replace or leave light fixtures when you move out since exposed wires represent a hazard.

Do I Take The Wheelie Bin With Me When I Move?

When moving out, you should never take the wheelie bin! You’ll have a bin at your new home, and it’s very unlikely that the people who will be moving to your property will bring one with them. It’s also generally acceptable to have some rubbish left behind in the bin when you move out. If you do this, though, make sure that there’s enough space remaining inside the bin so that the property’s new occupants can add their own rubbish to it until bin collection day. If there is excess rubbish, it should go to the dump.

If you’re ready to sell your home and are looking for an experienced estate agent to list your property, please call us, email us or pop into one of our friendly high street offices.