7 Reasons To Stay And Remodel Instead Of Relocating

A high percentage of homeowners who just relocated will quietly regret the decision to move. Preferring to suck it all in instead of looking like a fool in front of family and friends.

People move for a variety of seemingly big and small reasons:

• Insufficient storage space
• Kids are grown up and need their own personal space
• Not enough bathrooms
• Upgrading as always been the plan from the start
• Want a layout that the “dream house” can be built
• etc

Yet a lot of the key motivations to move don’t require moving to be resolved.

It takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to go through the whole process of relocating.

It entails, among others:

• The headache of finding and negotiating with a real estate agent
• Running all around town or open house viewings
• The stress of negotiating for an acceptable price
• Meeting interior designers to craft and decide on a satisfactory home design
• Dealing with lenders for financing and low mortgage rates
• Packing and transporting your personal property
• Familiarizing yourself with the new neighborhood and environment
• etc, etc, etc

This is why the decision to move should not be taken lightly indeed. Not only will you be going through all that hassle, but your family will have to tag along for many of them as well.

If you are at the crossroad now of whether to move or stay, here are some reasons that make staying and renovating the place not such a bad idea after all.

1) The flaws of the home is what makes it so beautiful

You must have heard of the phrase “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”. This don’t just hold true in love, but also for the home as well.

For example, some people simply love the rustic and classic look of older houses. And their shortcomings are precisely what makes them so attractive.

These things can be very difficult to replicate… if even possible.

If the condition of certain fixtures of the house is the main reason you started entertaining the thought of moving, make a list of all these blemishes and meet up with a contractor. Discuss options of what can be done and the price involved.

Cosmetic defects can often be rectified easily and cost-effectively.

You might see your whole situation in a whole new light after talking to a contractor.

2) Love for the community

When you are moving, locations can be changed, convenience can be added, and houses can be bigger. But what you have little control over is the surrounding community and how well you blend in.

This is also the reason why so many people who are structurally underemployed or blatantly underpaid willingly stick to their jobs. Because the dynamics and culture and work is so enjoyable that you cannot put a price on it.

If you currently have great neighbors who you love the company of, or part of a community where you have worked hard to be accepted, remember that you will be going back to square one when you relocate into a new town or neighborhood.

Don’t take the bliss of having a close friend as your neighbor for granted. Because you can easily end up with an enemy or rival as a new one.

And while the local community might have enjoyable weekly family events for you to alleviate stress, it might be a totally different story in another neighborhood.

3) The current home has very convenient transport infrastructure

One of the things I personally value a lot is the availability of transport infrastructure.

The convenience of being near the subway station, highway exit, or even a bus-stop, is often overlooked when people are moving.

The thought of a bigger house and more visually appealing interior/exterior can often cloud the judgment of the convenience factor.

I always find it amusing when friends move from what I would describe as great locations to one that is “out of the way”. But I make these assessments based on what I value personally.

Different people could value the convenience of commuting differently.

If for example, the subway is what you use to get to work everyday, moving from a home near the station to one without a station within 10 miles can only be described as a bad move in my opinion.

4) Big things are happening around the existing home

If the timing of moving is not all that important in your situation, you might want to consider delaying the move if the area in general is undergoing a lot of upgrading projects.

Master plans can give you an idea of what is being built and what will be built in the near future. And these plans can very well pull the value of the house upwards significantly.

There are 2 main reasons why you might want to consider delaying.

1. To reap the rewards of appreciation
2. The solution to why you are moving could already be in the works

Maybe you feel that there are too little amenities in the area. This might be solved with development plans for the location. You just need to wait it out.

5) The finances just don’t make sense

Unless you have a lot of cash to burn, finances is definitely a key criteria that determines your choice of staying or moving.

I know of people who move into condominiums simply because of the perceived prestige that comes with living in one. And they do it with a combined household income of just under $4,000 a month. So even though they might be living in a condo, you can tell that they will have to compromise their lifestyles in one way or another.

It wouldn’t be far-fetched as well to suggest that they will be spending all their hard earned money on keeping and maintaining the apartment.

If your situation is eerily similar to the example above, do review and reconsider your decision.

If you are already stretching your financial limits to upkeep the current house and meet your mortgage obligations, guess what? Moving into a bigger house means a bigger mortgage to look after.

What’s the point of moving into your dream home when you will be struggling each month just to make ends meet?

You can still make that move when your income makes upgrading to a bigger house more comfortable and manageable financially.

6) There’s really just ONE thing you cannot stand about the house

We often talk about how home buyers can make emotional purchases and overpay for a house.

The same can be said of homeowners. Just that they make emotional sales instead.

A lot of times, a homeowner can be desperate to sell the house simple because of one problem that is getting to his nerves. It is affecting him so much that he simply has to rid it by selling it.

It could be the:

• moldy bathroom
• faulty ventilation system
• rats in the kitchen
• wet basement
• ugly defects of flooring
• etc

In many of these instances, these problems can be fixed individually or as a group altogether. You just need to go out and seek a solution to it.

And the solutions can be much more simple than you think.

Relocating for problems that can be fixed makes little sense…. unless you are just using them as an excuse to garner the support from your spouse about moving.

7) Negative impact on kids

Children are usually powerless in these decisions that the adults make. Their social needs are often neglected by parents who see them as just kids who know no better.

I myself have lost childhood friends from relocation. It still hurts a little when I think about it now.

Changing schools require a lot of adapting for a child. This includes finding new friends, new travel routes, new bullies to stay away from, etc.

If your kids are having the time of their life in school, it would be a good idea to stay in the current home at least until he finishes school.

It takes at most a few years of waiting. And that is a drop in the ocean in real estate years.

With all that said, do be mindful that while moving to your dream home can enable you to strike off one of the items on your to-do list, sometimes the best action to take is to stay. At least until a better time comes for a move to have a smoother transition.

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