Uproot or down stakes? Home renovations or start moving house?

At some stage, due to either family or lifestyle changes, many people will face the prospect of either moving to a new home or look at the logistics of renovating their existing one. Both options have their pros and cons so you will need to give both some serious consideration before proceeding with either.

Move or renovate?

It's a big decision but should you reach the stage where you feel you need to something about your present home situation there are some things that you need to take into account when choosing which option will suit you best.

• How settled are you in your current location
• Calculate the disruption to your family and lifestyle as a result of a relocation versus the disruption to your household resulting from renovations
• Weigh up the costs of each option
• The time factors

Choosing to renovate

If you are happily settled into your current location and it suits your lifestyle, you may prefer to update rather than uproot to start again elsewhere. If you plan your renovation carefully you can avoid the common pitfalls of overcapitalising, hidden costs and a job that conflicts with the style of your home, your streetscape and your neighbours.
The main thing to consider though, if you do opt for renovating is that it will probably be stressful, time consuming and will require a lot of energy on your part.

Decided to move?

There are several things that can prompt people to sell up and move to a new location and when it comes down to either moving or renovating, some people feel moving to be less of a problem when weighed up against the dust, grit and the comings and goings of tradesmen and builders. Once again, the cost of buying a new property and moving into it should be a major consideration.

For further information on moving and renovating

Often it's a good idea to get some advice on both options before making a final decision and two very useful sites are www.echoice.com.au and www.parktrent.com.au . Both of these sites outline the upside and downside of moving and renovating and can give you a good insight into what's involved in both to help you to make an informed decision.