Should You Remodel or Move? 12 Questions to Ask Yourself

Remodel or move ? There are pros and cons to both, and there really is no one size fits all answer. 

The choice between moving and remodeling has a long-term effect on your life, so you shouldn’t make a quick decision. Here are some things to think about to help you make the best choice for yourself and your family.

1. You Love Where You Live

Friends, school zones, work commute, access to shopping, walkability, quiteness…. the location of your home is probably more important than the home itself in many ways. 

It often isn’t easy to find a new home in the same area you currently live in, and it is difficult to find a home in a different area that you love as much as your current neighborhood.

Are you ready to give up the mature trees lining the streets? Being able to walk your children to school every morning? How about the short commute to your job, so you’re home for dinner every night?

Not to mention the familiarity. You don’t have to leave your comfort zone and rebuild a whole new community of neighbors and friends.

2. You Love Certain Aspects of Your Home

If you’re trying to choose between moving or remodeling, there are things you don’t love about your current home. However, the fact that you’re not ready to pack up and leave quite yet means there are also aspects of your house you love.

Loving your home means you’re better off than the 44% of people who are dissatisfied with this home.

Think about what you love about your home and how easy or hard it is to find a new home that has everything you love about your home.

Things like a bedroom with large windows the morning sun creeps into or a house overlooking a lake are hard to replicate in a new home.

If you can’t live without those features, remodeling may be in your best interest.

3. What You Want is Possible

Remodeling allows you to customize your home to your lifestyle. You have complete control over the remodeling process and choose everything from the paint color to taking down a wall and creating an open-concept floor plan.

The options are nearly endless, but there are some limitations. Sometimes you can’t add on the extra bedroom to have enough room for your expanding family.

However, if you can create your dream home out of your current home, it might be easier to remodel rather than move.

4. Better Financial Decision

For most people cost is going to be one of the most important factors when deciding whether to remodel or move. Depending on what needs to be done remodeling might be your best choice. 

Depending on where you live and what renovations your house needs, it may be significantly cheaper to remodel your house rather than buy a house that already has the features you want.

The average price of a new house in the United States is $408,800, but it can cost you significantly more than that depending on what state you live in and the upgrades you want your house to have.

Of course, moving does not necessarily mean you won’t be remodeling… your new home is also likely to need improvements as well. 

Selling your house and spending an extra $100,000 to buy a house with the features you want may not be in your best financial interest if the cost of remodeling your current home is significantly less than that.

5. You Know Your Home

Once you’ve lived in a house for a while, you start to know all the quirks about it and how to resolve them. You are also aware of all the recent repairs and tweaks that have been made over the years.

You know what your average utility bill is and have expectations for what you’ll need to replace in the coming years. You’re familiar and comfortable in your home.

1. The Location Isn’t Right

Location plays a huge role in how much you enjoy your home. You can’t put a price tag on being close to work, family, and friends.

You also need to feel safe in your home. If your current neighborhood makes you feel on edge or you have unruly neighbors, it might be time to move rather than remodel.

2. Your Home is Nicer Than the Neighborhood Already

When deciding between moving and remodeling, you have to consider the overall quality of the neighborhood.

If you already live in one of the nicest homes in your area, remodeling likely won’t pay off. As a general rule of thumb, you don’t want to over-improve your house when remodeling.

That makes your house too expensive for the area, and you’ll have a hard time selling it when it is time to move. You may even have to sell it at a lower price and not get the full value of the upgrades.

3. You’ve Been Thinking of Moving Anyway

Do you spend your evenings scrolling through your local real estate agent’s listings page? That may be a sign that you’ve fallen out of love with your house.

Will remodeling your home make you fall back in love or is it time to join the nearly 10% of Americans who move every year?

4. Too Many Changes

The extent of the renovations required may be the deciding factor between moving or remodeling.

Upgrading kitchen appliances is one thing and tearing down walls and adding rooms is a whole different ballgame.

A major home remodel takes on average between 6 and 12 months. That’s a huge financial and time commitment you need to consider before choosing to remodel your home rather than move.

5. You Find Remodeling Frustrating

Remodeling isn’t for everybody. You have to make a lot of important decisions, invest a large sum of money, and deal with people coming in and out of your house on a regular basis.

It can be exhausting, and a lot of people prefer to move rather than endure the remodeling process.

If a calm home is important to you, remodeling may not be the right choice for you.

1. Do you love your home?

• Is it in the perfect location?
• Have you grown attached to it?
• Do you like the general floor plan?

2. How much are you willing to spend on a remodel?

• Can you get more space for the money?
• Will remodeling increase the value of your home?
• Would it be cheaper to remodel or buy a new house?
• What is the housing market like?

3. Is now the right time?

• How long do you plan on living in the home?
• If you have a family, how will moving affect them?