If you’re a homeowner, you’ve probably faced this dilemma at some point in your life: you have built an emotional connection with your home but now find that it’s no longer an ideal home for your family. Perhaps, your family size is increasing, and so too are their needs. The decision is yours: you can either sell your home for something bigger or upgrade it.
To choose between these options, there’s a lot to consider, like, your current financial situation, your level of understanding in terms of estimating the return on investment (if you choose to renovate your home), and your affordability to purchase a new residential property. Plus you’re emotional investment in your home. It’s not easy moving out of the house you called home for the last 20 years or so. But don’t despair because many homeowners often face this dilemma. As Marc from Realty Management says, it’s quite posibbly one of the biggest dilemmas you’ll face in your life.
This ‘life-altering’ decision can be made easier when you become more aware of the pros and cons of both options.
Advantages of Moving
As you move to a new home, there’s so much to look forward to, for instance, decorating to put your mark on your new home, getting to know your new neighbors and socializing with them, having a home office that wasn’t available in your previous home and more. Such new beginnings can refresh your spirits while letting you enjoy the happy moments of your life.
Here’s another reason to move: modern construction is vastly superior than many of the older houses, where repair and maintenance bills often build up. With busy schedules, it’s almost impossible to take out time to carry out those stubborn repairs. All this makes for a perfect scenario to relocate to a brand new home. If you’re unsure how to get started with looking for a new home, you can find homes for sale here.
Challenges of Moving
There are some usual ‘known problems’ when moving to a new home. You can often end up overwhelmed by the procedure. Moving your possessions can be expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes hazardous. You need to make sure it is done right. If you don’t have access to a truck, lifting equipment and a few friends to help, hire a moving company or at least get some quotes.
The greater the distance between your new home and your old home, and the more stuff you need to move, the greater the moving bill will be. Is this something you can afford? Is the time it takes moving going to be too disruptive to your financial and family life commitments? These are serious considerations.
Pros of Improving
If your love for your current home gets in the way of you looking at alternatives, then you probably want to stay put. If this is the case you might have to consider investing in some changes and possibly remodel your home. There are some advantages to renovating your home as compared to moving to a new home. You can end up refreshing the feel of the house sufficiently to compare with having moved into somewhere new, without having to go through all the hassles of actually moving, and all that that entails. If you get it right, you can get the look and feel of a new home without any moving costs, without ending up in a new neighborhood – with new shops and schools, etc.
You will also know your house’s full maintenance history, like, when was the last time your roof was repaired, how much you usually pay for your utility bills, when your sewer line will require replacement, and so on.
Cons of Improving
Refurbishing your current home is a practical way to save yourself from paying a fortune and buy a new house. However, before jumping in, you should know that there are unique stresses associated with keeping the same, old home in a good nick.
For instance, what if your goal is to downsize and make your home smaller and cozier? In this situation, keeping your home and renovating it doesn’t make sense, as reducing the space can call for making changes to the external walls and the footprint of the house. This isn’t just home improvement, it’s entirely rebuilding. In other words, it’s a residential makeover that may require a massive amount of money. And here’s the hardest part: though you have spent your savings in improving some part of the house, this expenditure won’t reward you with a higher return on investment as a smaller home footprint can reduce the value of the home.
Whether you decide to relocate or renovate your home, you should stay focused on what really matters, and that is improving the quality of your family’s life. Often your choice will boil down to what you can afford, both in terms of money and time lost. But don’t let these be the only factors you take into account. Think about what can be gained.
Maisie Bevan has close to a decade of experience working in real estate. Now on an extended career break to raise her babies she gets her professional knowledge out into the world with her articles.
