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Throughout the last year and a half of living through a global pandemic, many of us have found our priorities shifting surrounding what we want in a home. This seems like a natural result of spending a lot more time in the home sphere. We start asking more, is this space working for me? For my family? Is it functioning smartly for our needs? These are great questions to ask when considering the bigger question: renovate or move? Do you stay put and tailor your current home to better meet your evolving needs? Or do you use that chunk of money towards a down payment for a new home that might already come with more of what you want? Let’s look at a few key aspects to think about as you work to make your decision.

Step one to thinking through this decision is to consider how much do you love your current location? Is this neighborhood your dream location already? Think about what you are close to in terms of amenities, school districts, restaurants and shopping and friends and family. You may know you love your neighbors but you live on a busy street with a lot of traffic and that’s a downside to you. 

You’ll also want to consider how much you love your current home itself. Is the charm there for you or was it more of a starter home? Do you love the bones or structure enough to want to put a lot of time, energy, and money into making it more specifically what you want? Start with these questions to feel out if your gut reaction is to stay or move?

Next, start to do some research and budgeting. Determine what all renovations you would need to accomplish to make the space work smarter for you and your family’s needs. Are you talking a bathroom renovation and perhaps upgrading some light fixtures throughout? Or are you talking knocking down walls to make it open concept, redoing floors as well as upgrading appliances. These two options will have very different price points. So get together what you want realistically and how much that will cost. Then put that alongside what it would cost in terms of down payment, mortgage payments, taxes and fees to buy new in the location you want and with all the bells and whistles you want in a new home. Compare and contrast. 

Another aspect of the cost is determining where the funds will come from. Most likely, the funds you’ll need for either are found within your existing home. You could refinance or take out an equity loan in order to get the funds needed for renovations. Or you could sell and use the equity in your home towards your down payment. 

It seems that if the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that our home can function as much more than a place to relax. It can also be an office, a classroom, a gym, a spa, and much more. With today’s low interest rates for mortgages and also the amount of equity you’ve already built up in your home through appreciation, it’s a good time for a big renovation or a big move. It might be the perfect time to go for it and dream big with what you want and can have in a home base. 

Let us know how we here at Cheriton Storage can help you with all your storage needs as you tackle renovation projects or start the moving process. We are here to help!