After years of comfortably living in your home, you have a dilemma on your hands. Maybe you want to start raising a family. Kick start your own small business. Or simply give yourself a new space to call your own. Regardless of the reason, your existing house just isn’t big enough anymore.
When this happens, you have two options: move in to a new home that better fits your needs, or build a new house extension. While each of these two options have their own distinct pros and cons, there are key advantages to building a home extension that makes it a more sensible choice.
Here are 6 reasons why it’s often better to stay on home turf and upgrade rather than move out.
Stay Where You Love:
Chances are you have probably spent a few years living in your current suburb. And, unless you have some major issues that cannot be overlooked – for example, the crime rate is high or the location is inconvenient –, then you have probably grown quite fond of the existing area.
Simply put, you know where everything is. Your house is conveniently located near all the shops, your children’s school, your job, and your close circle of friends. Perhaps there are some great parks and recreation areas nearby too. As a result, you know exactly where everything is and the best route to get there.
By investing in a house extension, you get to enjoy the benefits of a bigger home and continue to stay where you love. You don’t have to change jobs, schools, or make any other major lifestyle changes. How’s that for convenience?
Avoid the Hassle of Moving:
Moving house can be a long, painstaking process. You have to advertise your home on the market, host property inspections and the auction, negotiate with potential buyers and go through the settlement process.
On top of this, you have to find a new home to live in which involves going to your own house inspections, bidding at auctions, and going through the entire sale process. With this double-whammy of commitments, it can really bring your life to a screeching halt.
In comparison, a house extension is much easier. Sure, there are things you have to do – such as attend meetings, design the extension with a draftsperson, get council approval, acquire funding, and go through the building process –, but overall the process is less time-consuming and you get to keep living in the same house afterwards.
Freedom of Design:
When it comes to buying a new home, unless you plan to buy a plot of land and build a new home from scratch, you are ultimately limited to pre-made homes that – although technically proficient – may not ‘quite’ fit your lifestyle needs.
How many times have you been initially impressed by a prospective home only to be let down by a minor flaw? For instance, you find a great looking 3 bedroom house, only to discover the third bedroom is far smaller than the other two. Or perhaps it has one too few bathrooms to fit your exact needs.
With a house extension, however, this is no longer a problem. You get to keep everything you love about your existing home and make it even better. You have the freedom make an existing room bigger, build new rooms, and even add a new first-floor addition.
As a result, you can build rooms that you previously couldn’t have – for instance, a personal gym or home theatre – and repurpose existing rooms to better fit your lifestyle needs.
Boost the Resale Value of Your Home:
Adding a new extension to your home is pretty much guaranteed to boost the overall value of the property. Of course, how much value it adds will depend on the type of room. For instance, a secondary bathroom will most likely garner a higher resale value than a dedicated pool room. Again, this depends on what rooms your house already has and what the market perceives to be of value.
By far, the best way to find out what kind of extension is right for you is to speak to a local designer/builder. They can assess your existing layout, listen to your ideas, and propose a custom extension that fits your lifestyle needs and is guaranteed to boost the overall value of the property. You can also speak to your local estate agent to find out what type of extensions are currently in demand.
Keep in mind, you should always focus on what rooms you think will make your home life better. Don’t just go with an extension that an article told you would yield the highest resale value. Consider the specific needs of your family and how an extension can fill in the gaps of your current lifestyle.
More Affordable Than Moving:
Both moving into a new home and a house extension each have their own unique set of costs.
When you move, you are not only banking on the profit you earn from the sale of your home, but you have to consider associated costs like estate agent fees, stamp duty, title searches, survey fees, removalist costs, and the potential cost of refurbishing the new place.
When you extend, how much you pay will depend on the size (per square meter), the type of extension, including other associated costs like paying the builder, council approval, site surveys, excavation, and the cost of materials.
Which one is right for you? Again, this is not an easy question to answer. It depends on the current value of your home, and what the value potentially could be if you were to extend. Your best bet is to seek out a few estimates from your local builders and take on-board their expert advice. You can also review properties in the market that are of a similar type to what you want.
Personalise Your Home:
Have you been living in your home for a few years yet it still doesn’t quite feel like home yet? Extending is the perfect chance for you to truly ‘own’ your home. Whether you want to build extra bedrooms, a private office, or a second living room – an extension lets you tailor the home to suit your individual needs and taste.
On top of this, you can update the interior and exterior design of the home as well to give it a personal touch. Or, if you are already happy with the style of your home, you can make sure the extension blends in seamlessly with the existing design. Ultimately, the choice is yours.
