As the owner of a custom design-build company, my goal is simple – I want you to love everything about your home. The way it looks, the way it feels, the way it works for your lifestyle and meets the changing needs of your family.
Deciding whether it makes sense to renovate your older home or move into a new one can be difficult. But, there’s a lot that you can do to older homes to make them more modern and increase their value.
Today we’ll break down what’s important to have in an older home and how you can decide whether you should stay in your house or move somewhere new. Here’s what you need to consider:
Cost: What’s a Better Investment for You and Your Family?
One of the many reasons you might consider moving is the cost. It’s expensive to move, but it’s also expensive to stay in a home that’s costing you too much. A home that’s too large for your family or that has more space than you can use will likely end up costing you too much. It might also be out of your price range to renovate your home. Before you make any decisions about the next steps for your home, you’ll need to set clear financial goals for your family. Is moving or staying in your current home going to be a better investment for your family? Both processes will be expensive and time-consuming, but one or the other will likely have a better cost/value ratio.
Emotional Attachment: Some People Really Love Their House
At Thomas Buckborough & Associates, our goal is to help our customers fall in love with their homes all over again. That’s why we encourage homeowners that have a strong emotional attachment to their home to continue living it and renovate any spaces that they want to bring new life to. Maybe you love the location of your home or the memories you have with your kids in the backyard. If that’s the case, then don’t move just to find a home that’s already been updated. Contact us today to learn about some of the common renovations that we perform on older houses located on the east coast.
Timing: Are You At the Right Place in Your Life?
Timing is everything when it comes to renovated and moving. If you see your home as a real estate investment, then you might consider selling when the market is hot and you can get a good return. You may also try to build up your home equity by renovating and updated different parts of it. It needs to be the right time before you move or renovate. If you have young kids, you may want to hold off on moving or completing any big renovating projects until they get a little older. If you’ve recently had a job change and you’re considering moving closer to work, then it never hurts to look at homes! Zillow is a great place to look for homes. All you have to do is punch in your address, and you’ll be able to find homes in your area.
Location: Is the Home Where You Want It To Be
We’ve touched on this a little bit, but the location is one of the most important parts of buying and/or renovating a home. The home should be close enough to your job that you don’t need to spend a fortune on gas and in a good school district for your kids. Location likely won’t be “everything” for you and your family. It should make up a big part of the decision.
Renovate or Move: Pros and Cons
Next, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of both renovating and moving. There are obviously different advantages to both, but it can be hard to determine what’s going to be right for you. This quick pros and cons list will help a lot.
Pros of Renovating
Let’s start with renovating because it’s quite honestly one of our favorite processes at TB&A. We love the value that homeowners can find in their existing homes.
Customize to Fit Your Unique Needs
Renovating allows you to customize your home in whatever way you want to. Whether you’re looking to change up your home’s style or add an entirely new room, renovating offers so many different options. This is especially true if you choose to work with a high-end design-build firm like TB&A.
Increase Value of Your Home
Renovating will almost always increase your home’s value and help you turn a bigger profit on your investment. Whether you’ve owned the home for a few years or a few decades, there’s always something that can be updated to add more value to your home.
Cons of Renovating
While there are good things that renovating brings there are also downsides.
Risk Losing Money on Your Investment
Whenever you’re putting money into your home, you risk losing some money on the overall investment. It’s important that you do your research to find the different areas that will add more value than the others. Some renovations aren’t quite as valuable as others.
Possible Hidden Costs or Delays
If you’re starting a project on your home, it’s important that you’re aware of the possible hidden costs or delays that are associated with renovating different areas. If your renovation requires taking walls down, there’s always the chance that you’ll find something behind the wall that will be costly to repair. Talk with your contractor about the potential risks of starting the project.
Construction Around Your Living Areas
And of course, during the renovation, you’ll still be living in your home. This can make for a difficult few months of living. Depending on what you’re renovating the struggle with having construction around will vary.
Pros of Moving
There are many great advantages to moving, and everyone likes the feeling of something new!
Avoid Stress of Renovating
Renovating can cause a lot of stress that you won’t have to undergo if you choose to move instead. While moving always has its own stresses, you won’t have to worry about having construction workers in your home.
Purchase a Newer Investment
Some older homes will reach their peak value, and in that case, you might choose to upgrade or purchase a new investment. Perhaps you’d like a larger and more expensive home because you see value in that investment.
New Perspective
A new home in a new area will offer an entirely new opportunity for you and your family. This new perspective will likely be a welcomed change in many cases.
Cons of Moving
Paying for Moving Costs
Moving is a costly undergoing. Depending on how far you’ll need to move all of your things, the cost will likely vary, but you will need to rent a moving truck, possibly hire movers to help with the work. There’s also the closing costs on a home and other unfortunate costs.
Added Stress for Searching
Searching for the perfect home is a process full of ups and downs. At one point, you might find the right home, and the next moment someone will outbid you, or you’ll find a problem during the inspection. You’ll be able to avoid this stress altogether by staying in your home and simply renovating.
Spend Lots of Time Looking
Looking for the right home is always going to take lots of time in and of itself. You’ll want to find a home that doesn’t need any immediate improvements because you’re trying to get away from that sort of thing in general.
If you’ve decided by now that you’d like to remodel instead of moving, then we’re here to help! Thomas Buckborough & Associates is one of the best design-build teams on the east coast. Reach out to us today or learn more about our design-build process here.