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When to Renovate vs Buy New: 5 Tips for Making Your Decision

While people are buying and building bigger and bigger homes, the fact of the matter is that these huge homes are not making them happier. That’s because buyers don’t often take the time to think through the question of whether to renovate vs buy new.

They see a home that’s “close enough” and figure they can always make updates later. Unfortunately, they often find that the projects they had in mind are far more complex, disruptive, and expensive than they originally thought.

Before you make this critical decision, here are four important considerations to help you get started.

1. Will You End Up Renovating Anyway?
The first thing you want to think about is whether or not you’ll end up renovating after you move. If you have very specific needs and your current home no longer cuts it, what are the chances of finding a new home that has exactly you’re looking for?

It could take a great deal of effort to find a new home — maybe even a year or more of searching.

If you already have enough room in your current home to handle a major overhaul, you might consider staying put. This is especially true if you’re already really comfortable living there. You can sometimes get what you’re looking for with far less hassle.

However, you’ll have to be prepared to deal with mess and hassle that comes with renovations. Think about the dirt and dust, contractors traipsing through your house, and the disruption that comes with not being able to use portions of your home while you undergo multiple remodeling projects.

Instead, consider moving into a brand new home that is customized with everything you need.

2. Consider Your Finances
You need to start your journey with a decent chunk of money. While it might seem like a home that is personally customized would be a costly venture, it’s much cheaper than buying a resale home that you have to renovate. A new home has everything you need from day one.

While renovations can increase the value of a home, a new home will start off with high-value amenities that keep it from depreciating. While piecemeal renovations could be a way to go, this will leave you living in a construction site for years to come.

If you work with a home builder who has your interests and, importantly, your budget in mind, you can ensure that you stay within the original planned budget. The best home builders can help you keep your overhead down while enjoying the luxuries of a new home.

While you might be adding up the high costs of the kitchen and bathroom upgrades you need, imagine if they come standard with your home. With Clark Wilson Builder, you get high-quality materials and appliances as a baseline standard. Rather than moving into a home that’s only partially ready for you to relax, you’ll be completely moved into your dream home on day one.

3. Speaking of Moving
Several writers have talked about moving as a stressful life experience, some going so far as to compare it to the stress of a divorce. Not only is it costly, but it’s an act of literally upending your life and causing total chaos.

The cost of packing, hiring movers, finding a new place, and buying all of the packing materials can be calculated in several ways. There’s the hit you take in your wallet, the amount of time that you devote to the process, and the emotional stress that goes into moving.

Expect a short move to cost more than $1,000 for an apartment and up to $10,000 if you live in a house. Full-service movers with just a van could end up costing you a lot more than you realized.

If you move into a home that’s not quite perfect, you’ll have to move again. All of these moving costs are wasted when you don’t get into the right home the first time. To get into the perfect home for you and your family without having to move again, hire a home builder and move just one time.

4. Do You Have Time For a Remodel?
When you have very specific needs, own a home currently, and are displeased with your current design, there’s always the possibility of a brand new home that has all the customized features and layouts that you are dreaming of in your new home.

Experienced homebuilders eliminate the need for you to hire contractors for renovations. You don’t have to retrofit your current home, they will take care of the whole thing so long as you approve of the blueprints.
Rather than having to manage an army of people to turn your current home into your dream home, you can hire a home builder to do all of the heavy lifting for you and get it right the first time. Clark Wilson Builder includes standard high-quality materials and appliances from the get-go. There’s no need to renovate when you buy a new home.

The Renovate vs Buy New Argument is Hard
You need to bring in your whole family and maybe even some friends when contemplating the renovate vs buy new argument. There are a lot of angles to consider and the people around you might offer some valuable perspectives or even show you their own exciting renovations. If you buy new, consider a home builder who can ensure that the next home you buy is the perfect one for you and your family.

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Clark Wilson Builder builds Single-Family Homes in Central Texas and is a General Contractor for Multi-Family Projects throughout Central Texas and other national markets.

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