Renovating Might Be the Key to Securing Your Dream Home, Not Moving
If you could change things about your home to keep from buying a new house, would you? Renovations are more cost-effective than moving, so if you want to save yourself the stress and money of switching homes, you should envision your current one becoming your dream space.
It might not always fit the image in your head, but you can make the place you love into something you love even more. You can still turn your current house into your dream home.
Why You Should Stay in Your Home
You chose your current home for a reason. Whether it was passed down to you or you went through the buying process yourself, you have an attachment to it because you picked it as your main dwelling space. You can recover that love through renovation. Here are just a few reasons why you should choose to renovate instead of buying a new home.
1. You Have Roots
You’ve likely spent a long time in your local community. The roots you’ve placed there can help you feel like you belong to something grander than just your household. Community participation keeps people healthy and protected, creating an irreplaceable defense system. If you move, you can’t pick the community up and bring it with you. The connections you made might be enough to entice you to stay in your current space and work to make it your dream home.
2. No Need to Wait for the Market
When you sell your home, you can’t exactly do it on your own time if you want the best deals. You’ll need to watch and wait for a seller’s market to get the greatest possible value. Then, you’ll need to navigate the buying process carefully and there’s no guarantee you’d be able to get the house you want. When you choose renovations over moving, you know t you can complete them on your own time.
3. Renovation Is Cheaper
When buying a home, you must be aware of everything in the market. You need to watch how mortgage rates trend. With a goal of 2% annual inflation, the country could see rates evening out before long. You would need to act before you’re ready and might get tied up in a mortgage with a rate that makes you pay more over time.
In the long run, renovation might be the cheaper option for you. In the short term, getting your home as you want will cost more money upfront. However, you won’t have to worry about the financially and emotionally taxing process of selling your house and buying a new one. Your funds will only be tangled up in what you want them to be rather than a brand-new mortgage.
Most Common Renovations to Make You Love Your Home
You should go into your renovations with a goal. If you don’t have a specific plan, you may find it challenging to keep up your motivation throughout the upgrades. Here are some of the most common renovations that can significantly transform your home, getting it closer to your idea of a perfect dream home for your family.
1. Structural Changes
Before you step into any other kind of renovation, work with the structure of your home to make it what you want. If issues with older houses are addressed, they could help the foundation and prevent costly fixes if they cause extensive damage over time. Deal with the must-haves before you move on to things you want to change about your house.
You may have little wiggle room to work with as far as the layout of your house, but you could make space for certain things. You might be able to take a closet out of a spare room to create more area for guests, for example. It’ll be easier to make cosmetic changes once you change the structure to how you want it.
2. Landscaping
Sometimes, you just need a change of scenery to help you realize the potential of your home. What might be an average lawn of grass can transform with landscaping to increase your house’s curb appeal and draw the eye.
You may also want to repaint your front door and shutters alongside your landscaping decisions. Changing up some of the colors can help you get that “brand-new home” feel without actually moving. It’ll save you more stress of setting up a new household, but the color change will give your eyes something different to rest on.
3. Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations
By transforming your kitchen and bathrooms, you could give your home the like-new feeling you desire. Since the kitchen is the heart of the home and the bathroom is where you pamper yourself, you should focus on these common renovations if you want to feel an immediate difference in your house.
The average cost of a kitchen remodel is around $21,000, but it doesn’t have a great selling point, so keep that in mind if you plan to sell your home in the future. Still, if you feel happier by being in a renovated space, it’s all the more worth it. You’ll also have the kitchen you want in a home that means a lot to you.
When Should You DIY?
Before you choose to DIY something, ask yourself a few questions. How difficult or time-consuming is the task? Will you give up if you don’t finish in a day or two? You have to know yourself to DIY effectively — it’s the only way to ensure you complete your projects.
If you’re intent on learning, DIY projects are a great way to teach yourself and improve upon your skills, making you more self-reliant. However, it’ll likely take you longer to complete a project than a professional would. Turning to a professional is the best option if you’re in a rush.
DIY projects are almost always more cost-effective than opting for a professional. However, if you don’t have the skill set for a big fix or renovation, bring in a contractor. The easiest thing to DIY would be cosmetic changes, like paint or wainscoting. Start with those projects before moving to something on a larger scale.
Create the House of Your Dreams Without Moving
Whether you DIY or hire out for a project, you’ll find it cheaper overall than taking on a new mortgage. Coupling the financial benefits with saving the stress of moving and finding a new community may just help you realize your house has been your dream home all along.
Things are rarely perfect, but you can likely alter enough to make your home a stellar fit for your household. There’s no deadline to finding your dream home — or creating it yourself. Take your time and enjoy the ride of making your perfect house a reality.
