The Dilemma Of Renovating Your House Or Buying A New One

Posted on May 26, 2021

Moving to a new home is among the most stressful life events, and many people will agree with that. However, something else that is not easy is living in a construction zone. There is a lot to consider when making this decision. The most important consideration is your financial situation. It is a known fact that if you have a dilapidated house and another identical house that is new, buying the new house is always costlier than renovating the other. So, how do you solve the dilemma of choosing between renovating and purchasing a new home? Let us look at the pros and cons.

Relocating and its pros

Gaining a new perspective

Sometimes, there could be a feeling of discomfort with your surroundings. Having a sense of complacency whenever you get into your house is a good sign that you need a new environment to clear that feeling of being stuck in a particular place. The new environment goes a long way in determining your mental health and well-being.

Avoiding the stress of renovations

Some people definitely cannot stand all the buzzing and hammering sounds from renovations. Renovating requires that you move things out of each room that is due. The stress of putting them back, cleaning, and moving stuff out of the next room doesn’t augur nicely with some people.

Purchasing a new Investment

If you have equity, then selling your home and buying a new one will be a great way of upping your portfolio, especially if your home is worth more than your previous mortgage loan. But turning your old house into a rental property is also a good idea, if you are too busy with the purchase of the new house, hire a property management company to take care of the rental process.

Getting professional help

If you decide to buy a new home, some companies can help you find that perfect new home. There are even platforms, that can offer new-home solutions for you. You can find land or houses by navigating the different options on their website. If you are renovating, then an excellent contractor would suffice. You can try to do some of the renovation using DIY tutorials.

The cons of relocating:

Some of the reasons why you shouldn’t consider relocating are:

Impatience in looking for the perfect house

Getting a new home that suits your needs may not be easy to locate. So, there is the disadvantage of not being patient and just going for any option available. There are many elements to a house, such as siding, roofing, basements, to name a few, that take quite the time to find one you really like.

The stress of searching

Searching for the perfect option could be very stressful, and if you had been a busy person almost seven days a week, then you should be thinking of renovations instead.

Paying for moving your things to the new home

Moving your stuff to the new home costs a lot. If you were renovating, it would cost less because you wouldn’t have to move your things over a long distance.

The pros of renovating:

Some advantages of renovating over relocating are:

Increase in the value of your home: If you are looking to sell your home in the future, then renovating it first will increase the value.

Renovating makes your home fit your needs better: Renovation involves changing some features in your home to better suit your comfortability.

Saving money: Renovation is more friendly to your pocket. You also do not need to pay for moving your things.

The cons of renovating:

Reduction in stress level and saving some money are advantages of renovating, but what of the discomfort you or your neighborhood stand to suffer from it. Some of the cons are:

Risks of hidden costs: Sometimes renovation could cost more than planned. The quotes by the contractor could get overshot by other unforeseen circumstances. Or if you fix up the kitchen and then look out the window and realize you wanted to change the backyard to spend more time outdoors as well, it could cost you more than you have planned.

Disturbance from the noise: You may think of moving to another place temporarily till the completion of the renovation to stay away from the noise, but can your neighbors do the same? It might cause them some discomfort.

Risk of losing money on your investment: Sometimes, the plan to renovate before selling at a higher price may not come out well as planned. If you do not make a proper inquiry on how much you can sell your renovated house, you may end up having to keep the house after renovating.

Essential things to consider in fixing the dilemma of choosing between renovating and relocating

Costs: One of the things to consider is the costs. Is it cheaper to renovate or move? Sometimes renovation could cost more than relocating. It depends on your taste for a new house. For instance, if you are wondering how to make your home more comfortable during summer or winter, think of the cost.

Emotional attachment: What will you miss about your former environment? If you have family, what will be the impact of your kids changing schools and not seeing their friends regularly again? How friendly have your neighbors been? These considerations are crucial as you are not sure of what to expect when you change your environment.

Real Estate market: If you plan to sell your former house, you may have to check the real estate market to know if it is the right time to sell or if you need to renovate before selling.

Timing: You need to consider some other things on your list of to-dos before choosing whether to renovate or relocate. Drawing a scale of reference would help. You want to make sure that home upgrades will prove their ROI, in cases when you are going with renovations.

Final word

To choose between relocating or renovating requires a thorough consideration of all the pros and cons. If you have a bottomless supply of cash, you can decide to go for any of the options after weighing up the other factors like the emotional attachment involved if you have to move. However, nothing beats making a better decision and not regretting it later.