Our Patch Spring 2018 Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush | Page 21

OUR PATCH SPRING 2018 HOUSE! may uncover bigger issues,” said John who set up O’Neill Chartered Surveyors three years ago after 30 years experience working in large practices. Architect Ivan Lazzaroni said that typically, downsizers were looking to buy for half the value of their current home. The director of Omnide said his company works on maximising the resale or rentable value by optimising layout, subdividing into flats, making it into a house in multiple occupation, building on, or creating a separate dwelling in the garden. Ivan, who lives in Chiswick, said that clients were also do wnsizing the number of rooms they have too. “We are increasingly being asked to change spare bedrooms into an en suite and walk-in closet, which actually improves the quality of the property and makes it much more comfortable, desirable and more saleable.” Matthew Ryder of Ash Island Lofts said his company had recently completed a loft conversion for a family who had moved from a large property in Bath to a Victorian townhouse maisonette in Chiswick. They had downsized from their country home, but still needed the extra space that a loft conversion could give them. Our property experts give Jane Grove advice on the ins and outs of downsizing CONTACT OUR EXPERTS FOR MORE INFORMATION: THE BUILDER: A typical W6 cottage “We added another floor to the semi-detached Victorian maisonette giving them an additional bedroom and shower – so their property went from two levels to three, and two bedrooms to three,” said Matt who started the Chiswick Park based company with his business partner Lloyd Taylor in 2012. “Some people have had loft conversions done for their nannies or au pairs,” said Matthew. “But equally, they can have them done for a live-in carer or other family member.” Another job for a downsizer was for someone who moved to a one-bed, ground floor flat in Shepherds Bush. “We converted the space into a two bedroom, two bathroom flat with the addition of a side-return extension,” he explained. Matthew Ryder Ash Island Lofts (Chiswick W4)  [email protected]  07595 002804 ashislandlofts.co.uk THE SURVEYOR: John O’ Neill O’Neill Chartered Surveyors  [email protected]  07495 620550 oneillsurveyors.co.uk THE PLANNING CONSULTANT: Yussuf Mwanza MZA Planning  [email protected]  020 8995 7848 mzaplanning.com THE ARCHITECT: Ivan Lazzaroni Omnide  [email protected]  07726 729043 omnide.com