Now that Christmas has been and gone, you will be able to get your mind back into the reality of everyday life. This means that it is finally time to figure out the conundrum that you have been considering for the last few months, but have been putting off with the excuse of the seasonal festivities. What are you trying to decide is whether to buy a new house, or stay put where you are.
Of course, there are all sorts of factors and permutations that make your situation unique, so there is no ‘right’ answer. What you will decide will be the best solution for your needs, but first you will have to think about what these are. This basically means you should weigh up the costs, effort, and potential benefits, as well as the disadvantages. In order to help you out, here are a few points for you to get thinking about…
Space
A common reason that people move home is to get more space. This makes sense as we all need room to live out our lives. However it is worthwhile for you to contemplate whether your home actually has more space than you think it does. For example, if you have space in your attic, you could actually create another bedroom or study – the web has plenty of loft conversion ideas. Alternatively you could see whether getting rid of some of your clutter could open up spaces, or even give you an extra room in the home. If one of your children will be moving out in the next couple of years, this could give you the square footage you need if you are able to be patient.
Neighbourhood
Maybe you want to move because you feel as though you would reap more benefits from another community or neighbourhood. It is a good idea to go and experience these other areas before you set your heart on one, as the reality can often be different from your perception. If you have children of school age, will they need to change schools if you move to another locality? Or perhaps you are thinking of bringing them to the same school but from further away. Either way, think about how this would affect them, as well as you as parents. Maybe you could write a list of advantages and disadvantages to help you to figure this point out.
Cost
Ultimately in life, a lot of things come down to money. Therefore you will find that a potential house move will have a lot of financial factors. Not only is it the cost of the house, but it is also tax, solicitor’s fees, removals, paying off contracts and so on. It isn’t the cheapest activity in the world, and in some cases it can cost less to improve the place where you are currently living. Draw up a table of costs so you can find out the expected charges of certain aspects of the move, and see if it all weighs up.
