The £20,000 hidden cost of spare rooms

Tuesday, 17 October 2006 12:00 AM

The attractive prospect of having a spare room to accommodate the occasional guest or visitor can come at a price of over £20,000, a new report finds.

Research by Travelodge shows over the lifetime of a mortgage, 45 per cent of the 15 million Brits who buy properties with an extra bedroom for friends and relatives to stay over could be saving an estimated £20,857 by just buying according their space needs.

However, the survey also finds that once homeowners have their desired spare room, few put it to much use.

On average Brits put up their friends and relatives up only 11 times a year, and more than half of homeowners just use their spare room for their spare junk.

And though spare rooms can be an important asset when it comes to selling up, only nine per cent buy a property with an extra room for financial reasons.

Guy Parsons, of Travelodge, commented: "Buying a house that's too big simply to accommodate visitors just doesn't add up. . . Brits' inclination toward maintaining unused spare rooms is a tremendous financial drain.

"If you don't have regular overnight visitors, buying a house with fewer bedrooms can make a lot of sense. Your mortgage is lighter and you can put visiting friends or family up in a hotel - everybody stays happy in the process."

Brits' top reasons for buying properties with extra rooms

• Visiting friends and family (45 per cent)

• A love of the property, no matter the number of rooms (15 per cent)

• Expanding family (13 per cent)

• Financial sense (9 per cent)

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• uk property news