Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

We are in our "starter home." We love it, love the neighborhood, but need some repairs, upgrades, and could use more space. However, we bought when market was overinflated. We still have equity in house, but wont sell it for as much as we paid. We really need to come close to have enough to buy.

Looking around in our price range, we have seen nothing we like. Plus, the thought of moving costs, closing costs, commissions, storage costs, finding a neighborhood I like as much, and timing it all just terrifies me. So we are considering putting money into our current home and staying.

People mostly disagree with that bc we will be pricing ourselves higher than our area, plus it will be so expensive (we need new kitchen, bathroom, deck, and more). Has anyone went this route? If so were you happy or did you regret it?

Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

We struggled with the same question and ultimately expanded and renovated. My DH was impatient and didn't want to wait until we found something we liked.

There are additional expenses with renovating also. Depending upon how much you plan to do, you may need to move out of your home and rent somewhere, you may need a storage unit for your belongings, there are permits and COs to obtain, architect fees, dumpsters, etc.

I am happy with the result of our renovations but I would have moved also. It can be very stressful for an extended period of time doing renovations. We stayed for the same reasons as you - we like the neighbors and the neighborhood, the school district, location, etc.

Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

It's really a personal choice. If you see your home as an investment, don't do it. If you see it as a place to live, store your stuff and will stay put for the rest of your life (and OK with the potentially added risk) then go for it. We have a starter home but bought something turn key. Any renovations or additions will price us out of the market. When the time comed we will either sell and likely break even or make a small profit/loss depending on market or will just stay put and make the space work for us. Probably the later.

Re: Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

We decided to expand our house. We doubled the size of the house, added a bathroom, and redid the kitchen. I am so glad we did. We love the neighborhood, and the house is now exactly what I wanted because I helped design it. I also know, and have pictures of, every element of the house. I know where the wires run inside the walls, I know where all the studs are, etc, etc. To me, that's very comforting. A lot of our neighbors did something similar, so we're right in line with the rest of the neighborhood.

Re: Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

my SIL and BIL are going through this now. personally, i would never move.. i chose this house as my forever house and i will renovate as needed, because it's where i want to be. even if i outdo its worth in the neighborhood. i plan on staying forever.

my ILs have a growing family and will need more space. but as my BIL pointed out (he did all of the work on his home)... when you buy, you really dont know whats going on behind walls, with pipes etc. for him, starting over isnt worth it. he'd rather wait and expand as needed for his family. especially because the larger houses would still need work and would cost more in the end anyway.

if you like where you live, that's something major to consider.

Re: Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

Re: Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

Its a hard decision.

we had a starter house in a nice neighborhood and renovated it when we moved in and while we were there. When we were done, it was a nicer starter house.

We decided not to go up on it, to expand due to a number of reasons. Property was smaller than average for the area. street was a little busy(not crazy, but not quiet). we shared a driveway with the neighbors. The basement was 6'6" so it would never get finished. Kitchen (that we renovated) was still a small galley kitchen with no additional way to reconfigure without an addition. No garage, and no where to put one.

we struggled finding what we wanted pretty bad. Finally ended up buying a cape on bigger property, in a quiet area with a basement that was taller and did a 2nd floor addition on the house before moving in. Seemed like a good idea at the time, its nice, but cost a lot of money, and a LOT of aggravation during the construction.

My view is, some starter houses are just that, starter houses. The cost to reconfigure into a family sized home and renovate is too high, and there will still be some things you can't fix. Be very wary of jumping into expensive renovations that don't fix all your problems, b/c you will end up with an expensive compromise.

If I could do it over again, we'd buy an intermediate or larger house in OK shape and renovate piece by piece if need be.

Re: Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

Thx for the replies! Yes we could use more space and I know a renovation can be burdensome. Im just really not sure I want to take on another huge mortgage to start over in another house that in all likelihood will also need work.

Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

We had a similar experience. We bought a short sale starter home 5 years ago for a great price. We moved in, did some updates and we're happy. We eventually wanted more space, and a pool and decided to sell. After the house was on the market, we talked, and decided we were crazy to sell. We had a great neighborhood, a nice street, good neighbors, plus our mortgage was very reasonable.
We wound up staying, redoing the kitchen and a few more updates and installed a beautiful pool, paver patio and screenroom. Now while we didn't gain any extra sq footage in the house, we did outside and its become another living space that we use year round (we are in FL).
Would we like more sq footage? Yes. But by staying here, we will be able to afford another child, 2 daycare bills and all that kind of stuff. So, i say stay and try to make it work.

Re: Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

My sister and BIL did this. They bought a small cape at the height of the market. They decided just to expand/renovate (I will say the house looks totally different now).

Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

if i lived in a different town i would definitely renovate/expand.
i put so much into this house already !!! but i want a different town & road (semi- major)
also bought overinflated

Re: Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

We are underwater due to when we bought and the market just not rebounding where we live. So we have gone the reno/improvement route. I am not happy about it, was hoping to have moved by now, but it is our home so I want to at least make it someplace I want to live!

Re: Move or renovate? Has anyone struggled with this?

Yes I moved recently and it was a major decision and I lost many nights of sleep over it.