Do you buy or do you renovate? It’s the eternal debate every homeowner has with his inner self. If you want to start a family, do you do it in a new location or do you transform your old one to accommodate your wishes? If you feel like you need some extra room or a fresh start, moving might seem like the most appropriate option. However, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of a proper renovation project. It can make some unexpected and welcome changes to your home that make it way more attractive. To better understand which option would best suit you and your family, you need to look at how they compare.

1.     Buying gives you a fresh start

There are a lot of benefits that come with buying a brand-new home, but none of them come close to the satisfaction of knowing that you now have a fresh start. When you walk into that new house for the first time, you’re opening a whole new chapter in your life. This place has no memories that tie you down, so you can always decide to make some new ones.

A fresh start also allows you to enjoy the home as you please. If you want to work on the design of the home, you have a clean slate right n front of you. You can go wild and create an interior that fits you best. You get a lot more freedom than if you simply renovated the home. If your home already has tons of furniture, it’s hard to come up with something new that will still include it. Instead, you’re probably going to place it in a pretty similar way. It’s understandable, considering you don’t want to throw anything away, especially if you’ve spent a lot of time designing your home.

A new home takes some of this pressure off of you. It’s okay to start over when there’s a whole new place at your disposal. Plus, it helps motivate you to get some new furniture to match the home.

2.     Renovating is a lot cheaper

It’s no secret that buying a home is pretty expensive. Getting a piece of real estate is going to cost you a mortgage that you will need to work to pay off for years. It’s very likely that it’s going to take you decades to pay it off. You can consider it a lifetime investment. It’s not something that you should take lightly.

However, renovating the space is a lot more forgiving on your wallet. You can add as many new and interesting elements as you want, and it will never come close to the cost of buying a house. There are other numbers to consider as well. Construction and taxes are a huge part of why homes are such an expensive investment. When it comes to renovating, you don’t have to worry about many of the costs that a house incurs.

You aren’t limited to superficial renovations, either. You can make some big changes to your home and not come close to breaking the bank. You can even add some additional space to your home by expanding it. On a per square meter basis, adding additional surface to your home doesn’t cost nearly as much as a square meter of a brand-new home. If you consider a lack of space to be the biggest issue in your home, you can solve it rather easily without outright buying a home.

3.     It’s important to consider energy efficiency

No matter what your house looks like, you still have to pay the bills. It wouldn’t hurt you if those bills were a bit lower. If you’re torn between renovating your home and buying a new house, things like energy efficiency might sway your opinion. After all, high bills are just one of the many costs that come with your home. People will always look for ways to reduce them.

When you decide to renovate your home, you need to look at all the aspects that affect your bills. Faulty piping and bad insulation are the best examples. You can’t expect your home to keep the heat in if you don’t put the necessary effort to create proper insulation. The same goes for all of your water pipes. If they are leaky, you can expect a higher bill to come in every month. Not to mention, there’s also the damage that comes with water leaking everywhere.

There’s not much you can do when it comes to the total efficiency of your home. Older houses just aren’t as efficient as newer ones. Construction materials and plans evolve every single year and this means that newer homes are often a lot more efficient. This leads to a significant reduction of bill payments for those that wish to purchase a new home. It’s a lot easier to buy a home that is efficient from the get-go, instead of patching up some of the many problems that come with your older residence.

4.     Renovating is an investment

Sometimes, your home just needs an overhaul that will better its looks and increase its efficiency. If you ever intend to sell your home, making some crucial renovations can up the value by quite a bit. It’s one of the safest investments you can make. This is because the renovations that you introduce to your home will up the value significantly, even if those same renovations don’t cost you much. Everything you invest in your home is going to pay off big time, which is why most renovations are extremely worthwhile.

Let’s not forget the impact of those renovations on the image of your home. People don’t want to buy a run-down piece of real-estate. They want a house that’s in its prime. You might think that your house is a bit too old to qualify, but there’s nothing that a few renovations can’t fix. Giving your home an overhaul is going to make it extremely attractive to potential homeowners, which means you should strive to make as many changes as possible.

5.     There’s no urgent maintenance necessary

When it comes to regular maintenance, every home needs to be taken care of. If you neglect your home’s needs, you’re going to find that it will quickly deteriorate and lose value. However, the rate at which it deteriorates depends on the age of the home and how long people have been living inside of it.

Certain things like the piping in your bathrooms will deteriorate no matter what. You can’t really stop rust from forming in the pipes that are in the wall. Cleaning this up would be extremely costly, and it might not produce any noticeable results.

This is part of the reason why newer homes are often preferred by those seeking to invest in real estate. There are very few long-term problems that can manifest themselves in a new house. People need to live there for a while for these types of problems to show up. Any maintenance that your house might need is probably going to be minor, simply because the construction is still fresh. An older will need some critical renovations to make sure that certain systems don’t fail and cause problems. Plus, you have to make these renovations or else it’s going to incur further costs when the problems start getting serious.

6.     Enjoying the benefits

Renovations can turn your house into a dream home pretty quickly. This dream home might be reserved for potential buyers, but it can also benefit you in some great ways. There’s nothing stopping you from enjoying the benefits of some house renovations. Even if you intend to put your house on the market, you can still live in the residence before buyers come knocking.

Renovations help improve the quality of life in your home whether or not you’re inside of it. If you happen to still live inside, you can enjoy these renovations all the same. Positive changes will enhance your living situation before you decide to sell your home. If your home really needed a new kitchen, you’re going to have a blast when cooking in the renovated version.

7.     Making the property safer

As a responsible homeowner, you want to make your home as safe as possible, whether you decide to sell it or not, it’s in your best interest to increase the safety factor of the home. You never know when someone might decide to burglarize your home, which is why some precautions should be made.

When you buy a new home, you should make sure that it has all the necessary security systems in place to keep you safe at night. In most cases, a new home will have strong locks and window guards that make the home slightly more impenetrable than an older home. People pay attention to safety, which is why a well-protected home is such an attractive option.

It never hurts to add a little more protection every once in a while. When you decide to add some renovations to your home, pay attention to its weak spots. All the alarms in the world won’t help if the door lock is easily broken. Investing in a strong entrance and lock mechanism is something every homeowner should consider. It’s a small change with enormous security potential. Let’s not forget about windows, either. They should have locks to protect your home from any burglary attempts. If someone decides to break a window to get in, the noise will allow you to contact the authorities quickly. At the very least, locks will help give you an early warning sign.

8.     Time-consuming renovations

Introducing practical and aesthetic changes to your home can be very time-consuming. Renovations take a while, and they can get very disruptive and messy. If you decide to make some major changes to many of your rooms, you’re going to have to relocate while these changes are worked on. This can really hamper your enjoyment of the renovations and it might not motivate you to introduce further changes.

Some people will go the DIY route during their home renovations projects, which can use up even more free time. It’s a very satisfying experience that allows you to make things exactly as you please, but it also requires a lot of your time, money, and dedication. Homeowners often have to take out a loan from places like OurMoneyMarket to fund their renovations, but the results make the investment well worth it. As long as the homeowner knows what they’re doing, this kind of investment should be able to pay off rather quickly. Once you see the results, you might forget about how long it took to get there.

9.     Packing and unpacking

When you purchase a home, all of your stuff needs to be transported from your old location to the new one. This can be a monumental task for someone with a lot of things or someone that is moving very far away from their original home. In many cases, moving might require significant funding and transportation efforts.

Purchasing a home will certainly put a dent in a person’s finances, which makes the moving process even more stressful. If you have to hire movers to get all of your furniture from point A to point B, moving is going to look a lot less attractive. However, it’s something that every new homeowner has to tough out.

Renovating your original home doesn’t put you in as much of a difficult situation. You need to keep your stuff outside the home while major changes are being made, but that can be a one-man job if done right. As long as you protect your furniture from the elements, it can even stay in your shed or garden while you renovate.

Conclusion

Every homeowner has probably been torn between these two big decisions. It’s a tough choice to make, but there are arguments that make both options very attractive. Renovations aren’t as much of a commitment, but they are a lot cheaper than outright purchasing a home. Still, you should try to do your research and make an informed decision before making any major moves.