charles gueli

Move, or Stay & Remodel?

When Ben Franklin had a decision to make, he would draw a line down the center of a piece of paper and make lists of pros and cons regarding the subject at hand.  That came to be called ‘The Franklin List”.

A slight variation to that is what this article is all about.  The question is:  “Should you move, or stay where you are and remodel?”  Of course, you could stay and do nothing, but then, why read this article?

There are 10 reasons why you might decide to move.

1.  The size of your family has outgrown the house.  This happened to me.  When        we had our 4th kid, our “starter” house just couldn’t handle it.

2.  You want better schools for your kids.

3.  Your commute to work is too long, or your job just relocated you.

4.  You HATE remodeling.

5.  You don’t like your neighborhood.  Your street might not have sidewalks or streetlights.  Your neighbor might be a rental that makes noise late at night.  Your neighbors might be friendly, or maybe not.

6.  The interior layout of your home might be awkward.  Built-in inconveniences can eat at you over the months and leave you unhappy.  Remodeling may not help, or might be too expensive.

7.   The yard – too big, or too small, too open, or too noisy.

8.  The local authority won’t let you do the renovation you want.  You might want a 4000 square foot house, but the town board won’t let you expand because all the other houses in the neighborhood are only 2000 square feet.

9.  You’ve already got the nicest house on the block, but you want to expand it.  You realize that you’ll never recover your investment if you improve your house even more.

10.  Timing isn’t good.   But, if there’s a house you love available now, or if you can buy a house below market value, you might decide it’s better to move now after all.

There are 8 reasons why people remodel their homes.

1.  You enjoy remodeling.  Some people think it’s fun – they get lots of satisfaction from making improvements.  It’s a form of self-expression.

2.  You’ll get exactly the home you want (or at least it comes close).

3.  You like the neighborhood and your neighbors.  You’ve made a few good friends while living there.

4.  To avoid the remorse caused by moving.  When you remodel, you change your house.  When you move, you change your neighborhood, your property, the schools, where you shop, etc.  Psychologically much more to deal with.

5.  Remodeling can be a good investment.  It normally increases the value of your home.

6.  You enjoy spending time in your backyard.  It’s quiet and comfortable.  You have a dream garden that took years to get right.  You’ve named a few of your favorite birds.  That big shade tree is a pleasure to look at.

7.  You like your location.  Close to shopping, work, schools, trains, etc.  It’s a nice street with helpful, quiet neighbors.

8.  The layout of your house is very open and sensible.  There are plenty of closets and other storage spaces.  You love the décor.  There are lots of memories here.

Some of these issues should be graded for importance, more or less than others.  How important they are is up to you.  So now make your lists.  Give it lots of thought.  Make your decision.  I wish you good luck.  It’s usually not an easy decision to make.

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