Updating a House: Determining Whether Your Remodel Is a Want or a Need
Whether it’s early on or decades into homeownership, many of us will think about updating a house at some point or another. There are those of us, too, that get so accustomed to our surroundings that we begin to ignore or neglect a dire need for change. But is now a good time to remodel your home, should you wait, or should you start over entirely?
Your best approach, of course, will depend on how much of your house needs updating, how significant you want those updates to be, and whether your budget can accommodate them.
Why would you want to remodel vs. buying a new home?
Remodeling a home you already own can present several advantages over buying a new home
- Your neighbors and your neighborhood have a direct impact on your quality of life — if you enjoy where you’re at currently, there’s no guarantee you would have the same luck following a move.
- If you have a family, uprooting can be very disruptive, especially to younger children.
- Selling your home — and consequently finding a new one — can be a time-consuming and expensive process when factoring in real estate agent commissions, closing costs, and the fact you may need to make fixes or upgrades to your home anyway in order to sell.
- Familiarity — over time, we become well acquainted with our home’s admirable qualities and its shortcomings. Therefore, when you plan a remodel, you’ll have a much better idea of how to play up the good and minimize the bad.
When to remodel: minor issues vs. major issues
So how do you know when to remodel your home? In a perfect world, the answer would be “whenever you feel like it” — but money and the pull of career and family and life can drastically sway timetables and priorities. Depending on the season and the remodeling job you have in mind, it is very possible that your preferred home remodeling contractor may not be available. For this reason, it may be wise to save interior home remodeling projects for the winter when there is less demand.
Less dire reasons for remodeling would include aesthetic or cosmetic updates — and to that end, some of these are easy enough to make yourself (painting, swapping out switch covers, door knobs, and/or light fixtures). More dire reasons for remodeling relate to how your home is functioning — does it seem too small or too big? Are your cohabitants bumping into one another in the kitchen or fighting over the bathroom? Perhaps the areas for work and play are not well distinguished or separated.
Other reasons you might have for remodeling, such as a leaking roof or rotting floors, would be better classified as home repairs. Obviously, these items should be addressed before planning more topical updates.
When would I be better off buying a new home?
When updating your house starts to look like transforming it into something unrecognizable, or something it can never be, then you might be better off buying a new home. For example, if you have only a tiny piece of property to work with, you’re never going to be able to create that outdoor living space or build that home addition you’ve been dreaming of. If you really want an open concept and your existing structure can’t support that, then perhaps you’re best served to look elsewhere. And of course, if that existing structure has suffered major damages due to wind, fire, or water, remodeling may no longer even be an option.
Complete home improvements with Ayars
Your home may have more to offer than you think. If you don’t know that yet, then perhaps after a consultation with Ayars Complete Home Improvements you will. Over the course of 50 years, we’ve worked with hundreds of homeowners throughout South Jersey on projects great and small. It’s not that we’re mind readers, it’s just that we’ve spent a lot of time listening to what’s on your mind.
And remember, if you have any further questions or concerns, we are only a quick phone call or message away.
