42% of people would rather extend their home compared to 24% who would rather move. The other 34% are undecided. There are many reasons why you can outgrow your home, such as your family is expanding or you’ve started working from home and need a study or workshop. It can be a tricky decision for whether you should extend your home and make some renovations or sell it and move into a bigger home. Both can be stressful and offer different benefits and downfalls depending on your needs, finances and personal circumstances.
Extend And Renovate
Adding an extension to your home is a good option if you have the space to do so. You don’t want to sacrifice most of your garden to add a room as this won’t help its market value if you ever did sell. If you’ve been in your home for a while you’re likely to know your neighbors and the local community, have rooms in your home you’ve already invested in and be close to family and friends, so moving away isn’t a good option. Extending and renovating are usually cost-effective and worthwhile investments. Adding a bedroom adds the most value at an average of 11.2%. However, 40% of those who have completed an extension said the biggest challenge was living in the property while work was being done.
Financing Extensions And Renovations
If you choose to extend or renovate your home the next thing you need to think about is money. Two in five people overspend on their extension by an average of 20%, so it’s worth having a little extra set aside in case you need it. You may not have the money saved up to pay for an extension and an alternative option will be the best way to fund your project. Loans or re-mortgaging your property are the most common ways to do this. If you are over 62 years old you might also consider equity conversion mortgages to fund renovations as this is often a better option for seniors.
Sell And Move
Sometimes moving to a new home and getting a fresh start seems like the best option. There are many costs involved in buying a new home and you need to consider that renting in between selling and moving may become necessary. You also need to consider storage and removal costs and all the fees and charges involved in buying a home, such as stamp duty, in addition to the down payment needed for the home. Moving can be costlier than renovating and a lot more stressful, but it’s often a good option for people. Your current house may not have the space to extend it to the size you need, or the price of the renovations would cost more than the value it would add or the cost of moving instead.
Whether you decide to extend your home or move, both are big financial and personal decisions. If you extend and renovate your home you should look at the cheapest ways to do it that will add the most value to your home. If you opt to move you can end up with your perfect home without having to put any of the labour in, but it can cost you more.
