If your needs have changed and your current home no longer meets them, it’s time for a change. Deciding whether you should invest in a significant home renovation, buy or build a new home can be challenging. Here are some things to consider when making this tough decision.
Where do you want to live?
If you love your location and can renovate your home to suit your changing needs, staying put might be the best idea for you. Consider your location, and it’s proximity to schools, work, parks, and other services. Do you have good relationships with your neighbors or are you tied into the community? These things are possible in a new location but might take time to develop.
Talk to a licensed home builder like By Design Construction. They can help you determine if a duplex can be built or perhaps if a laneway home can be built on your current lot or suggest a new neighborhood that will meet your needs.
What is the condition of your current home?
A contractor can inspect your current home, and see if a new design and renovation is suitable, or if there are issues that could prevent that. Companies that only focus on home renovations, might be reluctant to point out issues like outdated framing and joists, electrical systems, and foundation issues could factor in your decision to renovate or build new. Sometimes homes don’t have good ‘bones’ and require extensive work to get it into good shape before the big remodeling project even starts. Depending on the home renovation company you contact – you might not find out that starting from scratch and building a new home is a better option.
What is your budget?
Once your design and renovation company works out a reasonable budget for your home renovation or new home build, it can help you decide the next course of action. With financing in place, you can get a cost estimate to either remodel or price out a new home build on a new or existing lot. It helps to understand the costs of building and moving vs. the cost of renovating and staying.
Determine the costs of selling and moving. That includes realtor fees, storage, movers, cleaners, taxes, and sometimes having to rent a place temporarily. Moving is also time-consuming and stressful. If you’re embarking on a significant home renovation, you should consider the remodel cost plus additional costs. If the remodel is extensive, you might not be able to live in the house during construction. Do you have somewhere you can stay, or will you have to rent storage and suite elsewhere? These are all things that should be included in your budget plan.
What is the return on investment?
For some, the value of staying in a neighborhood they love is enough return on investment. Others might want to see that value added to the price of their property. Get an appraisal of your home before and after the project. A home renovation company or real estate agent can help you with this. If a monetary ROI is essential to you, you should invest in renovations that recoup more of their cost at resale. These renovations include exterior improvements, kitchen, and bathroom renovations.
Whether you decide to renovate or build a new home, By Design Construction are custom home builders and renovation contractors that can offer guidance and cost estimates in the Vancouver and Burnaby area.
The best place to start is with a conversation.
