At first, you really liked your small and cosy home. It had everything you liked – a sizeable living room and kitchen, an even bigger bedroom, and a romantic, calming seaside view. But as your happy family quickly grew in numbers, you couldn’t shake the feeling that all the walls were closing in on you. But should you stay and expand your familiar surroundings or should you fly to a different nest? Should you renovate or move?

The Benefits of Renovation

1. Your Renovation Project Will Cost You Less Than a New Home

First things first – when deciding is it better to remodel or move, you’ll need to put your dreams aside for a moment and look at the price tag. Thankfully, a well thought out renovation project will not empty your bank balance as much as buying a new dwelling. What makes this approach more affordable is the fact that you can update your rooms one at a time, allowing you to freely control the workflow in accordance with your available budget.

2. You Can Customise Your Home to Your Heart’s Content

There are always small trade-offs to be made when buying a brand new home. For example, you may fall in love with your high-tech kitchen, but your living room may feel a bit too cluttered for your taste. And if you decide to make any changes, you’ll likely find that the project’s final cost will rival that of your entire house! Conversely, if you decide to upgrade your old home, you’ll be able to equip it with all the bells and whistles you desire at a quarter of the price. Want to install underfloor heating or that oak flooring you’ve always wanted? Go ahead. Need to remove a couple of internal structural walls? If your wallet can handle the expenses, then go for it!

3. You Will Live in Familiar Surroundings

If you have been living under one roof for most of your life, chances are that you know your way around. You’ll get along with your neighbours and know where the best coffee shops, bars, and retail stores are located in your neighbourhood. You won’t have to quit the job that you love doing. Your children won’t have to stress about leaving their friends or loved interests behind. And, unlike the uncertainties that come with a new property purchase, you’ll know exactly when your roof, air conditioner, or kitchen stove were last maintained.

The Drawbacks of Renovation

1. It’s Not Always the Practical Thing to Do

If you’re planning on updating a few rooms, that’s fine. But if you wish to remodel every inch of your home, it’s just not worth the investment. Before you know it, you’ll be spending thousands of British pounds on what is essentially house rebuilding, with little to no investment returns to speak of. In fact, it would be much more cheaper and practical to get a new property. And if your goal is to actually downsize your dwelling, then remodelling is clearly a no-go.

2. You’ll Need to Find a Place to Stay Until the Work Gets Done

Even if your bedroom is the only room that’s being renovated and you don’t mind sleeping on the couch, the daily commotion is bound to eventually get on your nerves and disrupt your sleep. In other words, for the next several weeks (or months), you’ll need to either crash at a friend’s place or find a suitable hotel room. And neither option is particularly cheap.

The Benefits of Moving Out

1. You Can Turn Over a New Leaf

Yes, a new home comes with bigger and brighter rooms, but also with better schools, parks, venues and, hopefully – better neighbours. You will finally be able to free yourself from the boring and familiar shackles of your old place and dive into a new and exciting sea of possibilities. Between meeting interesting people and exploring your new landscape, you will also have plenty of opportunities to spend quality time with your family.

2. Your New Home Will Be in Touch With the Modern Times

When it comes to the moving vs. renovating debate, you always need to keep in mind the often astronomical costs of furnishing. With that said, relocation will almost always come out a clear winner. The newest household designs have everything built-in from the outset – wood flooring and wall panels, spacious and modernly furnished rooms, and even small details like an already installed Internet wiring will save you lots of effort and expenses. As an added bonus, you’ll also end up with a more manageable power bill as most modern equipment nowadays is made to be energy efficient.

3. Your Estate Agent Will Do All the Work for You

Sure, you can hunt for the diamond in the rough yourself. But it’s much easier to find your near-perfect home with the help of a seasoned professional. Your estate agent will know how to promote and sell your old nest to potential buyers. In the meantime, he or she will also be on the lookout for a home that perfectly matches your family’s vision, as well as handle your insurance and taxes. In short – as long as you’ve got the funds, it’s easy to get the cogs turning. Just don’t expect your agent to give you an unbiased opinion on your “should I renovate or move” dilemma.

The Drawbacks of Moving Out

1. Your Relocation Can End Up Costing You a Fortune

You would think that the money you’ve got from selling your home should be enough to cover all expenses. And, in some cases, this is true. But between paying your agent commissions (once for selling your property and once for buying a new one), covering endless legal fees, dealing with appraisal costs, and hiring a certified man and van team, you’ll be lucky if you have enough money left over for a beer.

2. You Will Need to Go Through a Logistical Hell

The bigger your family, the more you’ll have to rummage around before you decide which possessions should go and which ones should stay. After infinite hours of sorting and packing comes the time for the actual moving of your heavy TV, your wife’s even heavier stack of clothing, your children’s fragile fish aquarium, and your aggravated cat who clearly doesn’t want to go anywhere. In other words, things can get pretty stressful and hectic during a move.

The Benefits of Doing Both

Why choose between renovating or moving when you can get the best of both worlds? You can use your need for renovation to sell your home faster and at a better price. Begin by doing realistic assessment of your property. For example, if your bathroom is in a deplorable state, invest in new tiles and accessories. If you have a front porch that has started to show signs of rot, repair or replace it entirely.

Once you’ve refreshed your home, speed-dial your estate agent and find a company that offers reliable man and van in London. When you’ve unpacked your belongings, you can use the extra disposable income from your sold home to change everything that you don’t like about your new place. Now, with a perfect home and a perfect family having your back, you’ll be more than able to tackle the new challenges on the road ahead and to renovate your new home as you would like!

Final Word

Moving away from the home that you’ve always known and loved can be scary. And sometimes, it takes one simple room extension to solve a problem that you’ve thought only a new house can fix. But if you find your neighbourhood unattractive or long to recolour your life with new experiences, then by all means fly to a new nest. Just make sure to improve & sell your old property first to start your adventure at a comfortable pace.

If your family voted for a new home instead of doing a renovation project, Best Move is the man and van company in London you can rely on.