Your house no longer seems to suit your family’s needs. The rooms are a bit small, there is not enough storage, the bathrooms could do with an update and the kitchen………. just thinking about it makes you have visions of money flying out the window!

So, what do you do?  Buy or renovate? Do you just pack up and find a new place or is it worthwhile to renovate the home you already have?

You will need to weigh up various things before deciding what is best for you.

Expense and Admin

Both options will cost money.  But which one will cost the most money and which one will be most worth it in the end? Buying a new home comes with various fees including bond cancellation and transfer fees and moving company fees. Relocating also comes with the frustrations and admin tasks of updating your address, moving subscriptions, and possibly having to move your kids to a new school. Renovating comes with building costs, and possibly, unforeseen costs if problems come to light along the way or the timeline of the renovation increases.

What Can You Live With

Consider what aspects of your home can and cannot be changed with a renovation.  If you have seriously outgrown your present home, it might be that the current square footage of your home cannot be increased in any way, in which case, it is probably better to find another home. If you are happy with the square footage but the layout is no longer working, renovations could be the way to go.

Where Do You Live

There are various areas in Cape Town where renovating is a great idea. Areas like Green Point, Camps Bay, and the CBD have all benefited from the renovation of the older homes. Woodstock, Salt River, and Observatory offer great opportunities to update and makeover older homes. Remodeling of homes starts to change and uplift the whole suburb and as this happens, property prices increase. Thus, you are very likely to get a good return on your renovation investment.

Inconvenience

You can’t get away from frustrations and inconvenience either with selling or renovating. You need to decide which you can live with best. Selling your house and buying another takes time. You might not find the right home for a long time. You might end up sitting with your home on the market for many months.  You might get stuck having sold your home and having no home to go to! With renovating, you have a more definite timeline but are you able to live in your home during the renovation?  Will you need to move out for a time?  This is again, an added expense. If you can live around the renovation, are you prepared for the dust, noise, intrusion of workers, and complete upheaval of your normal routine?

Expert Advice

Before you make a final decision, it would be a good idea to get advice from property agents, renovation experts, or home designers. Let them assess your current accommodation and give you their ideas on what you can do to improve what you have. They will be able to see things from a less subjective perspective which could be very valuable in you making your final choice.

Buy or Renovate? Let Us Help You

If you need advice on a possible renovation project, contact Wendy Holmes of Living Design. She has many years of experience and will be able to give you expert advice and ideas on costings to help you decide whether to buy a new home or renovate your old one.