Remodel Home or Move? Here is How You Make the Right Decision

Pam Dollesin, April 5, 2018

Making the right decision is not an easy burden to carry.

Quality living is an option you would not want to compromise, but one of the toughest challenges you can face is deciding whether to renovate your home or move to a new place. To many people, such questions can be a dilemma, as it requires considering multiple factors. They say home is where the family is, but it is also your place of comfort. It takes time and effort setting up a home. You decorate the walls, purchase the right furniture, and settle in; nothing feels more relaxing than home. However, what should you do when it comes down to deciding whether to move or renovate.

Well, there is a cost factor in both options, and you fathom the challenges that may arise in both options. Time ages everything, even the best-constructed homes, which make it imperative to renovate or maintain the house over time.

One biggest factor is the cost, which is constant in both cases. However, here are a few factors that can help you make the right decision:

Weighing your Emotional Indulgence

First, you have to evaluate your emotional indulgence. The home you currently dwell in could be where you spent your childhood or saw your children grow up. When you spend a lot of time in a place, you make memories that would be cherished for a lifetime. Sometimes, letting go of all the nostalgia and memories can be a difficult decision. If the house has been in the family for centuries, it could become even more challenging to let go and move to a new place.

Moving to a new location is never an easy decision, but it is your, emotional indulgence that can make the whole idea of moving out even worse. Your emotional tolerance is one of the first factors you need to consider when you want to decide whether to renovate the house or move out.

Get advice from the experts

Here’s what Ali Wenzke from the Art of Happy Moving had to share:

Consider your home goals first. Why do you want to remodel and are you doing it for you or the next homeowner? Renovating a home takes considerable time and money. If you are doing it for you, then the hassle of living in a home under construction may be worth it. If you’re only doing it for the resale value, then keep a close eye on your costs and realize that there is a ceiling to how much your house is worth.
Be realistic about your budget. Construction costs often run higher than initial estimates. Plus, it’s hard to say “no” to the nicer bathroom tile or wooden floors. Think about whether it makes more financial sense to buy a house that already has what you want.
Take the neighborhood into account. It’s possible to find another house that you love, but it can be difficult to replicate a neighborhood. If you love where you live and you can’t imagine living anywhere else, then renovating your house may be a better choice for you than moving.

Bigger Space or More Rooms

You need to determine whether you need nostalgia or more rooms in the house. If all you need is a bigger space, and you have additional land for the extension, you can go for it. It could also be that your family is growing, for example, the children are growing up and need separate rooms or if you are expecting long-term guests and need additional rooms to make them feel comfortable.

In either case, you should first consider expansion and build new rooms. Now, this would be quite easy if you have a 3000 square feet ranch and only used half of it for your dwellings. However, if you live in a rented apartment or in the city with insufficient space options, you might need to consider moving to a new place.

How much does the renovation cost?

As I mentioned earlier, some homes remain in the family for centuries. While that may be where all your precious memories are stored, it would also be very medieval in terms of construction and ambiance. If you prefer a modern lifestyle in modern dwellings, then renovating an old home will cost you a fortune, as it would be similar to a reconstruction.

Renovating ancient houses can be tedious and very costly, in which case you need to rethink your options. However, if it is just a minor renovation work that is affordable, then moving out will not be a wise decision. Moving to a new house will cost time, money, and maybe a few of your furnishings. It can be a stressful task and will disturb your routine for quite a few days.

Is renovating worth it?

Renovating your home is a costly endeavor, and a capital investment, which is why you need to consider whether investing in the renovation is a lucrative option. You need to evaluate the possible return on your investment if you ever need to sell the house.

If it seems that, the renovation costs will not pay off in any way, you should drop the plan and just move to a new place. Spending thousands of dollars in renovation costs on a house that will not give you substantial returns is not a wise move. In such cases, investing your funds in purchasing a new home would seem like a brighter idea. But if you’re about to have your kitchen appliance update, a new over the range microwave is a minor investment that can make an impact to the way you cook and live in you current space.

How long will the renovation take?

You need to consider the time it would take to renovate the house. Renovating the house can be messy and tedious, especially if you need to break down the walls, change the pipelines, change the flooring, etc. If your home needs a major renovation, then it will attract a lot of dust, noise, and mess all over the house.

Moreover, any major improvement will require time; nothing happens overnight.

Therefore, get a realistic timeline from a professional contractor to understand the scope of work. If the project is going to take too long and you do not feel comfortable with it, then it could be time to move into a new house or temporarily move to a new place until the renovation is complete.

How will it affect your quality of life?

A crucial factor when considering whether to renovate the home or move into a new place is to measure the impact on your quality of life. How will renovating the house improve your quality of life?

Home is our personal space for comfort and Zen. Everyone wants superior quality of life for himself or herself, so do you. Therefore, you need to consider whether renovating the home improves, your quality of life, or does moving to a new place gives you a better stand of living. If you were living in an old and rusty house that is squeaking all over, it would be a nuisance to continue living there. In which case, moving to a new place will be a better option.

Can you afford to move to a new place?

The last and the most crucial question is; can you afford to move to a new place?

Shifting to a new house or purchasing a new home is easier said than done. You need to consider factors such as:

Whether or not you can use the existing furniture, do you need new furniture to fill the space or do you need to hire a professional moving company?
Can you afford the purchase of a new property?
Do you have any other property to sell fast and fund the new one?

Packing and shifting require cost, but the most critical question is if you can afford it. If you feel that moving to a new location will be a cost burden on you, then it would not be wise to make that move. Depending on your budget, companies like the London StrongMove.co.uk might bring the cost of removals down as you book multiple services or companies in a partnership.

Conclusively, deciding whether to renovate or move to a new home is not easy. However, these questions will help you make informed decisions and will give you a broader scenario. Renovating or relocating are big decisions and need careful planning to ensure you do not waste your time and money, as you cannot undo your actions midway.