To Move, or to Add on to Your Home... What to Do?

By: Joel McDonald

Whether you ve had a new baby or your kids are growing up and needing more space of their own, you may have suddenly realized that you need a bigger home. If you need more space for your family, there are two options. You can add on to your home or you can move into a larger one. The question is, which option is the best choice? Here is a look at the things you need to consider in order to figure out which option is going to be the right one for you.

The first thing to consider is if there is actually any room to build on to your home. There are many homes that are already as larger as they can be and the lot you have may not have any room for an addition. This can definitely quickly answer that question for you, but even if you do have room to expand your home, it s not always the right financial choice for you.

If you re trying to figure out whether to add on or move, get an estimate of the cost of adding on. Then find out how much the addition will add on to the home s value. After you figure out the new value, compare it to the local home prices. In certain neighborhoods, you are not going to get the investment back that you put into a home addition, especially with home prices falling across the country. The last thing you want to do is put a lot of money in the home, to find out that in a few years the entire home will be worth less than your addition.

Of course, if you have a good neighborhood and you are going to bring the home up to standards in the neighborhood, then financially it s probably a good choice. However, if you already have one of the nicest homes, adding even more to it may not be a great choice, since you won t get that money back when you resell the home in the future.

Some people think that moving is the safest option, but even though it can be expensive to remodel your home, moving is not always the right choice either. When you move, you aren t going to get a payback right away. Most people don t think about all the costs of moving to a new home. There are moving costs, commissions to real estate agents, charges for financing, deposits for utilities, and paying higher taxes in many cases.

When you are trying to figure out whether to move or add on, there is the financial side of the matter, but then you have to think about your emotions. Are you currently happy with the schools your kids are in and the neighborhood you live in? If you are happy, remodeling can be a good choice, but if you are not happy, moving may be a good choice emotionally. You also have to remember all the headaches that can come with remodeling as well. Also, consider what you ve already put into your home, proximity to amenities in the local area, and your family.

To make the best decision, you have to take the emotional issues and the financial ones and come to a reconciling. Figure out what makes sense to you emotionally and financially, and then make the right choice for you after taking the time to research and think it through carefully.