OK, so you’ve worked hard for years, bought the house of your dreams, live in a great neighbourhood, have plenty of friends close by, and then all of a sudden, the kids arrive, and your house is no longer large enough to house everyone comfortably. What do you do?

On the one hand, you could sell up, move on, and buy a bigger place where everyone has their own space, but the downside of this is that you will have a much larger mortgage to pay unless you compromise on the area you live in, and will probably have to move a long way away from friends. Then you have concerns about the local schools, and so many more factors that make moving to a neighbourhood a real pain.

A great option if you have the space around your home is to extend your existing property. You can add to your home and make it larger and more comfortable for less than you would think, and the huge advantage of increasing the size of your home is that you get to stay close to the people that you like, and get to stay in the area that you feel comfortable in.

The most important thing about home extensions is to ensure that you meet any local guidelines regarding permission to change your home, and employ a qualified builder to carry out any structural work.

You should engage an architect in order to make sure that the plans are attractive and in keeping with your existing home. The best way of funding the extension is to take out a secured loan against the equity that you have in the property, rather than re-mortgaging, although both options are worth considering dependent on how much the planned work is likely to cost.

Extending your existing house will add a significant amount of value to the property – often more than the work to extend it actually costs, meaning that you can enjoy more space for a lower cost than a new home, but still benefit from a higher value of your real estate while you enjoy living in it.