You might be at a bit of a crossroads wondering whether its better to renovate your home or move on to pastures new. We are having a similar dilemma after spending over seven years in our existing home. I would prefer to be closer to the boys school and sometimes you just feel like you need a change.

Here are some reasons which might help you decide what to do.

The Best Place To Live

It can be a difficult decision sometimes when you are looking to choose the best place to live. Various factors could come into that such as climate, healthcare and safety. Perhaps where you live now things are starting to change. The house you once loved is no longer in the best area. You want want access to better facilities. Especially if you now have a family and want to get into better schools.

Cost of living might also play a big part. You might need to move out of the city to take advantage of cheaper house prices, particularly due to mortgage rates haven risen considerably.

House Value

You might be pleasantly surprised by how much it has increased in value. Knowing its worth will make it easier to plan your next step. Although remember just because an estate agent values a property at a certain price doesn’t mean it will go for that. It all depends on how interested people are in buying your property.

You should have a good idea but seeing how quickly similar priced properties are selling in your area. However, what you will tend to find if you now have more equity in your own home, other properties will have also gone up in price too. So, your money won’t stretch any further you might just get the change you want.

Costs of Moving

You do need to factor in the cost of moving house. Even if you have found the perfect St Albert Homes for Sale you need to think about legal costs, estate agent fees and moving costs before you get too carried away. It’s not as simple as unlocking the capital in your existing home there are considerable costs involved when you move. Stamp duty is probably the highest cost depending on the price of your planned next home. It is frustrating that in every aspect of our lives we seem to be taxed!

Costs of Renovating

You need to balance the cost of moving with the cost of renovating. Even if you plan to move you will need to probably spruce up your house anyway to get it ready for viewings. You might make some changes and decide your home is still where your heart is and not move after all.

If you only wanted to move to have more space, you could check whether you would get planning for an extension. But you will also then need to factor in the cost of labour and materials over buying a bigger house. Also getting workmen these days is a lot harder as everyone seems to have gone crazy for renovations since COVID. Then on top of that the cost of supplies has risen with demand. Everyone seems to have jumped on home improvements in a BIG way.

Time frame

You could think about your time frame. Bear in mind moving house can take a considerable length of time if you struggle to find a buyer. Some houses languish on the market for years. In that case it might be better to renovate your home instead. You can also return to the idea of selling your home in the future.

Your Hopes

Renovations will only solve certain things if you have issues with your neighbours that will unlikely go away. In that case you might feel you have no choice but to move. We are fortunate and have lovely neighbours, the kind that give your children freshly baked cookies or tomatoes from their garden for our lunch. Also, we have had lots of gatherings which I will miss if we move. For us it’s the distance to school that we would like to solve.

Hopefully these reasons have given you something to think about when deciding whether to renovate your home or move. I look forward to showing you pictures of our next home assuming it all goes to plan!