Life is always evolving and now your once perfect home does not meet your lifestyle or family needs anymore thus leaving you with the difficult decision of "To Remodel or To Move". In today's Canadian Seller's Real Estate Market moving can be a daunting and emotional challenge to find the right replacement home and more expensive than one thinks! The real cost of selling includes the real estate commission on the sale, possibly some repairs on your home before you can sell it, closing & legal costs, land transfer tax on your new property, moving costs and perhaps new furniture and/or assessories.
On the other hand, remodeling and renovation can be emotionally draining and expensive which needs to be funded though your cash flow, savings and/or a home equity loan or line of credit. A repayment plan will need to be taken into consideration as well.
Unfortunately, there is no simple solution or formula that can help you make the right decision where to Remodel or Move. As a Realtor I suggest that you consider these important factors and follow these tips to help with the decision process.
* First you need to establish your homes current market value. This will require a CMA (comparative market analysis) of your home. A CMA looks at such variables as the asking price, the selling price, and length of time on the market of several homes that are comparable to yours in your neighborhood. To establish it current market value.
* Next you need to establish the scope of renovation to achieve your personal needs. Consideration of site specific requirements with respect to allowable zoning setbacks and allowable building foot print expansions determine its legal scope. Then a comprehensive cost estimate will be required.
*At this point add the estimated renovation costs to your market value and compare your new value with comparable home prices in your neighbourhood. If the decision to Revoate or Move is purely a financial one, than now the numbers will help you make the right decision. However, the emotional factors will now need to be considered as they have VALUE too!
Consideration of home layout, location, neighbourhood, schools accessability to desired amendites. These are all important factors in making a House a Home!
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