Renovate or upsize? Some things to consider

You’ve been living in your home for awhile and, like many, your family has grown over the years. It doesn’t take much to make you feel like you’re outgrowing your home, does it? But what are your options?

You’ve got two – the first is to sell and buy a larger home, and the second is to renovate or extend and stay put. There are pros and cons to both. At Established Property, we’ve dealt with a lot of families in this predicament, so we’ve learnt a lot about what decision people make and why they make it.

Making the decision to renovate

Plenty of families make the decision to renovate or extend their home over selling and buying again, and they do it for a few reasons, including:

• Getting to stay in the home that holds plenty of memories
• Getting to stay in the area where you’ve made friends
• Your children get to stay in a school where they have friends
• You won’t lose money in stamp duty, and sales costs
• You can design your ideal home

However, as with everything, renovating doesn’t always run smoothly. You need to be prepared for issues such as:

• Long waits for builders
• You may need council approvals which can take time to come through
• Materials are expensive right now and finding them can be difficult
• You may need to redesign your renovations or extensions if approvals aren’t gained
• Renovating takes a lot of pre-planning
• You may need to move out temporarily or live with the dust, debris and missing facilities
• You will need to pay an designer/architect, builder and project manager
• It may be hard to stick to a set budge

Right now, the biggest issue with renovating or extending will be construction costs. Residential construction costs have increased 7.3% nationally over the last year, which has been the fastest rise since 2005. There are material shortages, and plenty of tradies have more work than they have time available. These factors may mean that renovating or extending may take longer, or just not be as cost effective as you hoped for.

The case for upsizing

Many homeowners choose moving to a new home over renovating and extending simply because it is generally a much more straightforward process. Here’s some of the reasons why they decide to take this path:

• The process is a lot less stressful
• You can buy a ‘move in ready’ home
• You won’t be waiting for builders or materials
• Your life will certainly be less interrupted
• Finance will be more straightforward (generally)
• You can take your time finding a home that suits your family

What about holding on to your current home?

Most homeowners will tend to automatically think of selling their home when they go to upsize – and it’s probably the option that is chosen the most. But there is another option; you could turn your current home into an investment property. While your home may be a little small for your family, there’s another family out there that it will suit perfectly. We can talk to you about the current rental market in Melbourne’s west to give you an idea of what your rental income might be.

Given the current buoyant market and shortage of tradespeople, taking the plunge to buy and sell in the same market may just be the better option right now.

If you are thinking of selling, come and have a chat with the professional and friendly team at Established Property. We can give you an idea of what’s happening in the market, and arrange an appraisal for your home so you know where you stand.