Sell and Move OR Renovate and Stay in your Home

At one time or another, most people consider the question of whether to sell their home and move to a new place or renovate their current home. They know they want a change but aren’t sure how to achieve that change. If you and your family are pondering this question, it may help to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

The Advantages of Renovating

• Fulfil Your Visions for Your Home. You moved into a home you love, but you’ve always wanted to modernise the cabinets in your kitchen or enlarge the space in your sitting room. A renovation project can make your visions for your home into reality.
• Stay in a Neighbourhood You Love. You want to create more space in your home or update its appearance, but you don’t want to move and leave a neighbourhood you love. Choosing renovation allows you to make the changes you want in your home without leaving a beloved neighbourhood.
• Stay in a Home Where You Are Comfortable. When you move to a new home, you have to become familiar with all of its rooms and the sounds a house makes when it is settling along with all of the quirks of a new place. Staying in your home and undertaking a renovation project allows you to remain in a home you’re familiar with while making it even better.

The Disadvantages of Renovating

• The Mess. Whether you’re knocking down a couple walls or putting in new kitchen cabinets, there is a certain amount of dust, dirt and debris that goes with a renovation project of any size.
• The Inconvenience. When you have a renovation project going, you have workers coming in and out of your home as well as different pieces of equipment and tools laying around. You may even have an entire room blocked off in your home. This means you must change your daily routine and rearrange your setup at home until the renovation project is complete.
• The Cost. Before a renovation project begins, you receive an estimate for the work from your contractor. A renovation can start out as a costly endeavour. Also, as the renovation project gets underway, the contractor may find an unexpected issue that adds on to the price of the project. For example, while putting in new cabinets in the kitchen, the contractor may find mould behind an old cabinet which requires a professional to come in and dispose of the mould in the proper way before renovation work can continue.

The Advantages of Selling

• Starting Fresh in a New Place. One of the biggest advantages of selling your home over renovating it, is you get a fresh start in a new home, new area. You can move into a home that fits more with your current needs and preferences than your current home.
• Leave the Work to Your Real Estate Agent. For a renovation project, you’re in charge of making the decisions, hiring a contractor, overseeing the work, etc. Alternatively, if you choose to sell your home and move, you hire a real estate agent to look for homes that meet your needs and preferences. The agent does the footwork in looking for potential homes and you get to say yes or no to the options.
• Enjoy a Modern Home with More Conveniences. When you choose to move, you can find a new home with updated appliances and decor. Also, you can find one with an updated HVAC system, plumbing and electrical work. This can cut down on costly repairs in the future.
• Enjoy a Whole New Area. Moving to a new home allows you to relocate to another part of the country, across town or wherever you want. If you want to see a completely new group of people and enjoy completely different surroundings, then moving may be the best option for you.

The Disadvantages of Selling

• Relying on the Current Housing Market. After deciding to move, your home can either sell quickly or slowly depending on the state of the housing market. There are times when people are buying more houses and times when sales are slow, speak to your estate agent about peak times. The state of the housing market is a factor you can’t control when you’re trying to sell your home.
• Packing, Packing, Packing. Moving to a new home means you have to pack up the items in your current home to get them ready to move. Of course, you can get the help of movers in the packing process, but you need to oversee what goes where. This is a tiring part of moving, but it is also a necessary part of it.
• Not Getting the Price You Want for Your Home. This disadvantage relates to the housing market, as well. If the housing market is down for sellers, you may not get the price you want for your home. This may convince you to stay in it until the housing market changes. This decision depends on how much you want to move.
• Logistical Work. When you move to a new home, you have to spend time on logistical work such as making sure doctors, dentists, friends and various businesses have your new address so they can contact you. Also, if you have children, you must look for good schools for them to attend or search for quality childcare if you have very young children. Moving to a different place means resetting your life in many ways.

After considering the advantages and disadvantages of both renovation and moving, think about what you want for your future. Are you really attached to the home you’re in now? Or, are you ready for a fresh start elsewhere? Take your time thinking about the answer to these questions so you can be at ease with your final decision.