If you’re a homeowner growing weary of your current living situation, you’ve probably been thinking about whether to move into a new house, or renovate your current space.
Maybe your family has changed—you might’ve added new members, or some may have flown the nest—and the house you bought no longer serves your needs.
Maybe you need more space that no amount of renovation can change, or perhaps you have a growing family and would like to explore homes in a new school district. Whatever the reason, you’re considering a change: remodel or move?
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Download NowIt’s a big decision, and you have many factors to consider, such as: your budget, your current property value, your emotional attachment to your current home, whether or not your kids are in the middle of a school year, and the out of pocket expenses that come with a major renovation. In this article, we’ll go over the pros and cons of each option.
Moving to a New Home
Pros
New Home, New Layout
If your current house no longer works for your family and lifestyle, a new house just makes sense. You can hone your needs down and search for exactly what you’d like to have, such as an additional bathroom or an extra room so your kids are no longer sharing bedrooms.
New houses come with a fresh start, with no baggage or memories that you might want to leave behind with your old home. Whether you’re planning a long-distance move or down the street, a new home comes with lots of new possibilities.
Modern Design
When it comes to whether to renovate or move, a major factor you might want to consider is the time-consuming and huge cost of furnishing and updating your decor.
While you might be thinking that the main costs of home renovations will be changes to the layout, you’ll likely spend more money than you anticipated on items like new furniture, cabinetry, flooring, and decor items.
If your current home is in desperate need of a major facelift, relocation over renovation is a clear winner when it comes to saving money and time. New houses will be modern, up-to-date with the latest technology and appliances, and as energy efficient as ever.
Make Money Off Your Home
Buying a brand new home can be a great way to upgrade your equity. The real estate market and home prices will fluctuate, but there’s a good chance that your home value is now more than what you owe, which means it’s a great time to sell and reinvest that money.
Whether or not you sell depends on your current mortgage situation. Do you have enough equity to pay off your mortgage costs, cover any closing costs and realtor fees, pay moving expenses, and deal with current interest rates?
Cons
Lots of Planning
If you’re thinking about leaving your current home because it isn’t working for you, you’re likely to be extremely picky about where you choose to live next. When you’re looking for something more specific, it’s going to be harder to find options.
You might find a perfect house, but it’s in a new school district. Or you love the layout, but the cost of home repairs makes the cost of buying it unfeasible.
Whatever the reason, a search for a new home is stressful and requires plenty of planning. You might not want to deal with the hassle of it all, especially if you’re thinking about a long distance move.
Moving Costs
Even though selling your house can be good for your financial situation, think about the expenses this option entails before you start packing. On top of the asking price for a new, possibly bigger house, you have to consider the cost of hiring movers, getting home inspections, realtor commissions, and any potential home improvements or repairs.
Be sure you spend some time researching just how much it costs to move, and factor that into your decision.
Renovating Your Home
Pros
Refresh How Your Home Looks
Remodelling lets you decide exactly what style and feel you’d like to have for your home. You’re able to customize your house feel, look, and layout to be exactly what you need. Keep Family Memories
You’ve likely already put years, even decades, into your existing home. Those memories are priceless, and giving them up might not be such an easy decision to make.
Renovating your current home means you don’t have to worry about finding your way in a new neighbourhood or school district, and you know exactly how well the house has been maintained.
Increase Value of Home
An update is a great way to increase the value of your house. Not only will you save money over purchasing an entire new home, but renovating today will lead to future dividends on the eventual sale of your home.
While renovations do require significant upfront costs, the value add of a remodel could be enough to skyrocket your net profit in the future.
Cons
Renovation May Be Too Costly
If you’re tired of your decor or the style of your home is outdated, remodeling is likely a good solution. However, if the floor plan isn’t working for you anymore, and you need to make structural changes, a remodel is probably going to end up costing you more than is practical.
Bad Timing for Your Family
There’s probably never an ideal time to renovate and turn your house into a construction zone, but if you add a busy schedule into the mix, it can make your life a major hassle.
A disruption to your daily routine, often for months on end, might have negative effects on your kids’ schoolwork, your own job, and will almost certainly stress out your pets.
Takes a Lot of Time
If you decide to renovate, be prepared to have things go over budgets and deadlines. You’re probably going to be dealing with multiple contractors and work crews, who all have their own schedules and availabilities, and delays happen often enough that they’re almost a guarantee.
Unexpected discoveries, such as faulty wiring or plumbing, might be discovered during the process, which means more money and time spent to get your home up to code.
Find a Place to Stay
Whether you’re renovating a single room or your whole house, your daily routine will be interrupted during the process.
Even if you’re able to sleep in your own bed, the nerves, stress, and commotion will probably negatively affect your sleep. If you plan to renovate your entire home, you might have to put your family up in a friend’s house or hotel room (which won’t be cheap).
Renovate or Move?
Whatever choice you decide, this will be a major life upheaval. You may realize that working with what you know and remodeling your house is right for you.
Or you might find that moving is the way to go, and would like to hire professional movers to give you one less thing to worry about. There’s no right or wrong answer; it depends on your specific situation and needs.
Whatever you decide, Cassidy’s can help you with any packing, self storage shipping containers or moving needs. We’re a full-service moving company that can handle everything, and we’ll provide you with a free estimate.
