What are the financial benefits of renovating versus selling my home?

Renovating can increase your property’s value while allowing you to stay in a familiar space. Selling might offer a larger financial return if property prices are high, but costs such as real estate commissions and moving expenses should be factored in.

How do I decide if my home is worth renovating?

Consider the extent of the renovations, the current condition of the home, and potential resale value after improvements. Also, assess the renovation costs versus the increased value of the property.

What are the signs that it’s better to sell rather than renovate?

If the home’s location is no longer ideal, the renovation costs exceed your budget, or you need a larger or more modern space that renovations won’t provide, selling may be a better option.

How do market conditions influence the decision to sell or renovate?

In a seller’s market, you may get a higher return by selling, while in a buyer’s market, renovations might be more beneficial to avoid selling at a low price.

What are the hidden costs of both selling and renovating?

For selling, factor in realtor fees, taxes, and moving costs. For renovations, unexpected structural issues, permit fees, and time delays can significantly increase expenses.

Should You Sell or Renovate Your Home? Things to Consider

by dirt-2-tidy · January 27, 2023

Deciding whether to sell your home or renovate it is a difficult decision that takes a lot of thinking and consideration. Both options have their own sets of advantages and disadvantages which means that the final decision is entirely up to you.Renovate Your Home

Let’s see all the pros and cons of both selling and renovating your home.

Advantages of selling your home – Renovate Your Home

Some of the greatest advantages of selling your current home include avoiding all the stress and mess that comes with home renovations and updates and saving time and money. In addition to all that, if you decide to sell your home you can take advantage of the equity of the property and buy yourself a better and larger home.

The last benefit has to do with your needs and the best way to accommodate them. There are cases when renovating your home is simply not possible – not in a way that satisfies your needs. That’s why selling your current house is your best option and then looking for a new house that has all you need.

Disadvantages of selling your home

However, selling your current home, even though it may seem so, is not a walk in the park. To sell a house as-is without any additional renovations can be tricky. First, you won’t be able to sell it for its real value, you will need to reduce the price to compensate for repairs. This means that your home will sell for less but you’ll be able to get out of it sooner.

The other disadvantage is fewer buyers. Many buyers would prefer move-in ready houses compared to fixer-uppers. And if you were to ask for a cash offer, this would further reduce your buyer pool. Since competition is so low, cash buyers have all the leverage.

Finally, what no one talks about is all the stress that comes with selling the old and buying a new house, and then moving. For some people, the stress is just not worth selling the house they are currently living in.

Advantages of renovating your home

This leads us to home renovation and all its benefits. The first obvious reason has to do with the improvement of your home’s functionality. Renovation allows you to customize your home according to your needs and wants. You can easily make your home more enjoyable by remodelling your bathroom, finishing your attic or basement spaces, building an addition, or something similar.

Home renovation allows you to reduce energy costs. You can have an energy-efficient home if you decide to re-do your kitchen and update or improve your appliances. Today, you can find all kinds of appliance parts necessary to fix your existing appliances and make them more energy efficient. The other option is insulating your walls which can help you control the temperature in your house.

Probably the greatest benefit of home remodelling is the increase in the value of your home. Almost any renovation you do on your house can boost the home’s value. The best way to increase home value is by remodelling the kitchen and bathrooms.

Disadvantages of renovating your home

Unfortunately, there are disadvantages to home renovation as well. Renovations seem like a good option but only if you don’t exceed your budget which can be very difficult with home remodels.

There are bound to be some unpredictable costs especially if you’re renovating an old house. Some of the most expensive remodels include kitchen and bathroom remodelling, roof and floor remodelling as well as the update of electrical and plumbing systems.

There’s also the question of overcapitalizing. This means that the money you’ve put into remodelling your home won’t increase its value much and you won’t get back that money once you decide to sell it.

Of course, there’s also one last disadvantage of home renovations which includes time. Home renovations can take a long time. Remodelling a house, especially an old house often takes longer than planned. Unpredictable problems, hiring professionals, waiting time for materials, bad weather, all these can seriously delay your home remodel causing you to lose not only time but money as well.

To sell or renovate, then?

There is no right answer when it comes to this question. As you can see both selling and renovating have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, it all depends on you and your circumstances. For example, why would you like to renovate your house? Are you renovating so that you can sell or rent it? Or do you want to renovate it so that you can make it more comfortable for you and your family?

Answering these questions first can give you a final answer to your first question. You also need to take into account all the risks of both selling and renovating your house. Once you put everything on paper, you’ll know exactly what to do.

Bottom Line

Deciding to sell a house can make your life much easier. On the other hand, if you decide to renovate it, you need to do a lot of planning and strategizing to make sure that everything turns out right. Keep in mind that one of the greatest downsides of renovation is overcapitalizing.

So, before you allocate a budget for your home renovation, talk to an expert about how you could add value to your home without overspending.