Renovate or move? What to do when your home's no longer big enough

Is your home starting to feel like a sumo wrestler squeezed into a ballerina’s leotard? Bursting at the seams; packed to the rafters and generally driving you bonkers? You’re confronted with the age-old dilemma: renovate or move?

Moving has its benefits. You can potentially find a home that better suits you and your family. Improve your location, bringing you closer to better facilities, parks, or even the beach. You might even find a home with a bigger garden. Better access to public transport. Or closer to work, friends or family.

The other problem is, it's easy to forget to calculate the costs and hassle involved in moving. Moving means uprooting your life. Dealing with real estate agents. Spending the next... untold weekends visiting open houses. Facing disappointment at auction. Dealing with real estate agents. Hours of packing and unpacking. Even then, there's no guarantee you'll be able to find what you're looking for, no matter how many Saturdays you spend traipsing through strangers' homes. And Dealing. With. Real. Estate. Agents.

Plus, even the most bubbles-worthy sale price can is quickly eroded by stamp duty, bridging finance, building and pest inspections, removalist costs or van hire, connection fees and more.

Often, the better solution is to renovate... 

Renovating allows you to create a completely customised home perfect for you and your lifestyle.

Why renovate your home?

Renovating allows you to create your ideal home, so it takes the pressure off trying to find it somewhere else. You can stay in the neighbourhood you know and love. You have the benefit of maintaining the qualities of your home you enjoy. And you can address the problem areas you don’t like during the renovation process.

Let’s not underestimate this ‘devil you know’ effect. That dream home you’re eyeing off in the glossy real estate brochure could be hiding a multitude of potential sins. And you can’t uncover these until after you move in: noisy neighbours, freezing in winter, scorching in summer, hoons at night, the list goes on.

Mitigating the problems you already know about is a safer bet than signing up for unknown problems in a new home.

While renovating might be the best option for you, simply adding more space to your home might not be the best solution, either. Adding additional space without analysing how your current spaces are working and understanding your lifestyle is like going to a doctor complaining of chest pain only to be given a Gaviscon, a pat on the back and being sent on your way.

Sure, a bad case of indigestion might be the culprit, but without a thorough process of elimination, ruling out other potential causes, the results could be… costly. To say the least.

A renovated home can contain unique and personal touches which reflect you and your values.

Plan before you renovate

That’s why we undertake a thorough Design Diagnosis at the beginning of every project. And it’s also why it’s important to take your dilemma to the right professional: an architect. A Design Diagnosis allows you to see the potential of your home and assess different options before you commit to a full-scale reno. It’s what you don’t get if you take your problem directly to a builder or draftsperson.

On several occasions our Design Diagnosis quickly identified our clients didn’t actually need more space, they simply needed the space they already have to function better.

So, rather than signing up for a large extension with all of the associated costs and challenges that involves, we were able to make select changes to the interior layout which dramatically transformed our clients’ lives. Living in a smaller, more efficient home is the most cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution, so it’s win-win.

This renovated home didn’t require additional space. Instead, replanning the layout of the home transformed it into a beautiful and functional space.

Are renovations worth it?

There’s no argument that renovating and/or extending your home comes with its own set of challenges. So, are renovations worth it?

Deciding whether to renovate depends on your home, your lifestyle, and your plans for the future.

If you intend to stay in your home for the long term, renovating is 100% worth it.

By working with an architect, you can plan your perfect home now and create a design that is flexible into the future as you and your family’s needs evolve. If you’re in for the long-term, we encourage you to think less about ‘the market’ and resale value and more about what type of home can best serve you and your lifestyle.

Renovating for the shorter term requires a different approach: one where you will need to consider cost vs. benefit.

This approach requires you to be less emotional and make decisions based on what potential buyers are looking for rather than what you prefer. We can help you by providing a feasibility study and an independent opinion, so you can be confident that your decision to renovate is in your best interests.

Even if you do decide you want to sell and move, you might be better off if you renovate before selling. Renovated homes appeal to a larger set of buyers: those who want a home they can step right into, rather than a fixer-upper. A feasibility study can also help you determine if renovating before you sell is the best option for you.

Renovating before selling is an option to increase the potential interest in your home once it does go to market. Just don’t be surprised if, once the reno is finished, you decide you never want to leave!

Is it worth using an architect for a renovation?

We can emphatically say, it IS worth using an architect for your renovation. And we’re not saying that to keep ourselves in a job. Renovations are actually much more complex than building from scratch. You have to take into account how to make the renovation work cohesively with the existing house and neighbourhood, oftentimes you’re working on a tight inner-city site with its own challenges, plus you need to move out while the renovation is being completed which means that time is of the essence.

An architect’s design and construction experience and professional advice are invaluable in this complex situation.

Plus, a recent study showed how it also makes good financial sense to work with an architect on your renovation. Melbourne renovations designed by architects improve capital gains by 1.2% per annum. 1.2% might not sound like much, but over a 10-year period, that equates to an increase of $256,000.

On a property worth $1.2 million dollars. That’s nothing to sneeze at! Plus, you get to spend those 10 years living in a home crafted especially for you and your family.

So, even if we ignore how much easier using the expertise of an architect will make your renovation experience: it is worth using an architect.

Once you’ve decided to renovate, you might also decide you need help with selecting the perfect furniture for you home. Never fear, we’re here to help!

I want to renovate, where do I start?

Getting started on your renovation is simple. All you have to do is get in touch with us! We can guide you through the entire process: help you determine what’s possible for your home and budget, check and factor in any planning regulations, develop the perfect design for you and your lifestyle, prepare all the documentation required, help you find a great builder and quality control the build.

The best way to start is to take advantage of our Design Diagnosis service. That way we'll be able to help you identify the problems with your existing home and develop a plan for the best remedy for you and your family.

In no time you’ll be stepping into your new perfect home and you won't have to redirect your mail or deal with a real estate agent ever again.

Find out more about our Design Diagnosis service