Building New Or Renovating – What Makes More Sense
What makes more sense? Building a new home or renovating an existing one? This is a question that homeowners and prospective homeowners often grapple with whenever they wish to upgrade their living standards.
Well, there isn’t a clear one-size-fits-all answer to this question because there are many factors that come into play when remodeling or building a new home. The best you can do when presented with this question is to consider each option separately and then see which one will work best for you. In this post, we will look at the differences between building a new home and renovating an old one in regards to 7 key factors.
1. Desired quality
How qualitative is your existing home? Is it structurally sound in terms of the electric wiring, plumbing and heating systems? What about the quality of the home’s workmanship: Do you find it unique to the extent that modern contractors cannot replicate? If you answered yes to any of the questions, then remodeling will work best for you. That will allow you to modernize it and still maintain its original uniqueness.
If your current home is in very bad shape and quality, then you may need to build a new one. Maybe the plumbing and heating systems are failing or outdated, the uniqueness it had initially seemed to be structurally off nowadays, or maybe you there is certain design specification that you desire, but the current home cannot be transformed exactly into that design.
2. Neighborhood
How do you like your current neighborhood? Have you developed strong emotional ties with your neighbors? What about your kids: Are they in love with their current school? Are you ready to find another church? The amenities in your current location; are you willing to leave them all behind? If you are skeptical about moving to a new neighborhood, then renovating your current home would be a good idea.
However, then there could be that your current neighborhood isn’t as appealing or maybe you have gotten a chance and the finances to move to a trendier neighborhood. In that case, building a new home would be more fulfilling.
3. Financial Considerations
What is your current home’s worth and how much will it cost to renovate it? After renovations, will it be worth as much as its current worth plus the renovation costs or will it cost lower/higher? If its worth will be higher, then renovating it would be a good Investment decision. If its value depreciates or stagnate, then renovations might end up being a total waste of money.
Can you qualify for a mortgage loan to finance a new home? Can your current home raise enough equity loan amount for renovations? Moreover, if you sell your old home today, how big will the real estate commissions be? All these factors put together will tell you which option will work best for your case.
4. Convenience
Renovating or building a new home will have their unique challenges that you must learn to live with, at least temporarily. In the part of renovations, you will have to spend a month or even five months with debris all over the place, noise, or even weeks of alternative accommodation. That’s all depending on the magnitude of renovations.
If you wish to demolish the current home and build a new one in its place, then you will be looking at six months of alternative accommodation or more. However, if you are planning to build on a different plot of land, then your life will continue undisturbed.
5. Available space
Renovating your house may limit you in terms of space. You can only either build out which means that your yard will shrink or build up which means that you will have local zoning laws to contend with. Also, remember that your house’ foundation may limit you when adding extra stories.
6. Wear and tear
Renovating your existing home means that you will retain most of its old infrastructure. A new home, on the other hand, comes with an entirely new infrastructure. All things being equal, wear and tear will necessitate repairs to your old house sooner than in a new house.
7. Technology
This goes without saying: Renovating your new home will deny you a chance of enjoying modern technology. Its bathroom, showers, kitchen, and even the overall house design may not have the space to accommodate new heating, lighting, and other vital technologies.
If you are thinking of building or renovating your existing home, please review our blog for more information on most of the things you will need along the way
I would have to say that a renovation or teardown makes more sense for economic reasons. You may have the option of working stages which can save money. Good post
I reside in Ancaster Ontario where the teardown and monster rebuild phenomenon has been going on for some time. The entire landscape of the town has shifted dramatically in the last five years and there are now tougher zone and permit laws in place as a result. Your article shows both sides of the coin which I appreciate as there is much to consider for the homeowner. Our business, http://www.yardandgardenserviceshamilton.ca has been met with a few challenges around providing landscaping and hardscaping services during any construction when homeowners are still wishing to retain some semblance of normalcy to their property in the midst of chaos. I think your breakdown of key considerations is fantastic and I hope that people read and consider this prior to making a decision. Thanks for a great article-enjoyed the read!