Bungalow question

[Lord Tyrion]

We were walking our dog tonight and passed a bungalow that had a dormer room built in the loft. I mentioned that changed the bungalow into a house and would possibly reduce the value as bungalows incur a premium. She thought that was daft, it would remain a bungalow. I disagreed. Once there is an upstairs it becomes a house.

Who was right?

 

[Hobbit]

I can't believe you're asking the question! Every HID is always right. In fact, the only time she thought she was wrong, she was wrong...

 

[Old Skier]

You have to ask, how long have you been together

 

[Grant85]

We were walking our dog tonight and passed a bungalow that had a dormer room built in the loft. I mentioned that changed the bungalow into a house and would possibly reduce the value as bungalows incur a premium. She thought that was daft, it would remain a bungalow. I disagreed. Once there is an upstairs it becomes a house.

Who was right?

Its still a bungalow & should be worth more if a reasonable job has been done of the conversion.

 

[ColchesterFC]

I thought that the main reason that a bungalow was more expensive was due to the size of the plot required for it to be built. As an example, a three bedroom bungalow would cost more than a three bed detached house as the footprint of the former would be bigger than the footprint of the latter and would therefore require a bigger plot of land.

As an aside, the reason that it is called a bungalow is because the builder ran out of bricks and they bung-a-low roof on it.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Its still a bungalow & should be worth more if a reasonable job has been done of the conversion.

I'm pleased I managed to get one sensible answer 😁.

I know that my wife was correct, obviously. As far as the discussion went I officially accepted my stupidity. I just wanted to know the answer 'off the record'.

 

[ADB]

We bought a 2 bed bungalow and turned it into a 4 bed house - price doubled

 

[fundy]

Were looking at buying a bungalow that has had a dormer and loft room added, theyve made such a horlicks of it that its actually worth less than it was before they did the work!

The real answer to your question depends how much of a bungalow premium there is where you are. We have renovated a 4 bed bungalow in milton keynes, downside is theres not much market for bungalows here so the premium is negligible. Were looking to move to the seaside and retirement capital, the premium there is far greater hence the one that has been turned into a so called chalet bungalow is actually worth less and theres plenty of chalets cheaper than similar unconverted bungalows

 

[Dellboy]

When you build up in the roof of a bungalow it’s then turns into a Chalet bungalow.

 

[AMcC]

I would call it a one and a half storey house. It wouldn't necessarily reduce the value of it as extra bedrooms normally add value to the property. Where it would make a difference would be in sellability. As you said a bungalow has a premium and would sell more easily

 

[Lord Tyrion]

When you build up in the roof of a bungalow it’s then turns into a Chalet bungalow.

Thanks everyone for the answers. I'm pleased Dellboy has identified the name for it 😀.

I mention the valuation aspect as at the moment my in laws are toying with the idea of moving to a bungalow, specifically so they don't have to deal with stairs in old age. They will not look at anywhere with stairs so any bungalow that adds a bedroom in the loft is instantly ruled out. I absolutely see the benefit of adding space up top, who doesn't want more space, but I also see a downside for that particular type of house.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

My neighbour converted his three bed large bungalow into a five bed.
Cost him £40k [West of Scotland rates].
The value of his house did not immediately reflect the improvement but it does now, 10 years on.

Many old seaside bungalows in affluent Scottish towns are being bought, flattened and the land used to build a much bigger new build.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Many old seaside bungalows in affluent Scottish towns are being bought, flattened and the land used to build a much bigger new build.

My mum lives in a, now, affluent part of Cheshire. In many of the houses near to her old people die or move into retirement flats, new people come in, flatten the existing house and build a footballers house on the plot instead. At first I was not enamoured by it but the builds are getting much nicer now, better architects rather than an 80's supermarket look. Having seen the replacements I don't blame people for flattening the old houses. Room sizes, styles, trends etc were different then and don't reflect what people like now. As long as the planners keep a grasp on it and don't let it become too extreme it can be a good thing.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

The suburbs of Glasgow contain vast swathes of 1950s and 1960s built bungalows (Lawrence-built on the North side; MacTaggart and Mickel on the South-Side - the latter being better quality of course )...and so bungalows most of the time don't really attract much of a premium in themselves, but in the posh suburbs they can, as they usually have all round and bigger gardens so more scope for extensions - and some folks double (and more) the size of their bungalow through massive extensions. Others just buy the bungalow for the plot of land - knock it down - and build a big detached house.

 

[MegaSteve]

My mum lives in a, now, affluent part of Cheshire. In many of the houses near to her old people die or move into retirement flats, new people come in, flatten the existing house and build a footballers house on the plot instead. At first I was not enamoured by it but the builds are getting much nicer now, better architects rather than an 80's supermarket look. Having seen the replacements I don't blame people for flattening the old houses. Room sizes, styles, trends etc were different then and don't reflect what people like now. As long as the planners keep a grasp on it and don't let it become too extreme it can be a good thing.

Adding the word retirement, to a property description in these parts, seemingly raises the premium quite remarkably...

 

[JT77]

yep definitely a chalet bungalow! We moved in to 1 around 5 years ago now, great job, all the work on the conversion was done to a high standard, and it enabled us to move from a 3 bed semi to 2 bed bungalow, now 4 beds, for less money! ok, so we no longer have a large dining room, but soon as number 1goes to uni, I hopefully will once more!! haha