Stay, renovate or sell?

If you own your own home there’s a good chance at some point you’ll ask yourself – should I stay, renovate or sell? If you’re considering moving or renovating, there’s a good chance something about your house doesn’t work for you. Figuring out what doesn’t work for you is the key to understanding your next move.

There are a lot of factors that go into which option is best for you and your family, so here’s our guide to help you figure out.

Stay

If you don’t love your house, staying might not seem like an appealing option, but there are many reasons why staying could be a good short-term solution for you. Selling and renovating both come with significant costs. If you aren’t planning to downsize or move somewhere cheaper, staying could be a great financial option. If your credit or financial situation isn’t great, then staying can give you the opportunity to improve your financial situation so that when you do move, you can take advantage of better home loan rates. The first step of this process is to see if you can refinance your home and get a better rate.

Things to consider if you’re considering staying:

Do I like the area?
Do I have access to the facilities I need, like good schools for children or public transport for work?
Is it the right size for my family?
Is it close to my support network, work or hobbies?

Renovate

There are two major reasons to renovate: to create the home you want, or to maximise your profit when you sell. Renovating to sell can be a good option even if you know the house you’re in isn’t right for you.

While flipping houses often isn’t as lucrative as it once was, there are still many opportunities for sellers to make more money by renovating before selling. If you’re considering renovating for profit, then you need to think about what your priority areas are, what budget you have available, and where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. New painting and flooring are relatively cheap upgrades that can drastically improve your home’s value. A pool might seem like a great option with Brisbane’s weather, but it’s unlikely you give you a return on investment at sale time. Spend that money in the kitchen or bathrooms instead, Those areas can be expensive to change, but they’re also more valuable to buyers. Just be sure not to make any design decisions that are polarising for buyers.

If you’re renovating to create your dream home and plan on staying, you can get a little more creative with your renovations. Get the pool if you want one, or go for the pink marble kitchen backsplash.

Things to consider if you’re considering renovating:

Does this house have the space I need or can enough space be added?
Can I finance a renovation or will I need to take a loan?
Do I have the time to project manage a renovation or renovate my house myself?

Sell

There are some issues that can’t be fixed with a coat of paint or new tiles. If your house is just too big or too small, the suburb means your commute to work feels like half your day, or you’ve fallen in love with a new house you’ve seen, it’s time to consider selling.

Selling comes with significant costs. Commissions for real estate agents are typically between 2 and 3% of your sale price. For a $900,000 property (which is just under the median house price of $924,498 that Domain listed for Brisbane in April), that’s between $18,000 and $27,000. That doesn’t include any extras from your agent, like marketing fees or staging for your home. Stamp duty is even costlier. Stamp duty for a $900,000 property will set you back $29,950 in Queensland. If you’re in another state, stamp duty is even higher, with the highest being South Australia’s $52,269 for a $900,000 property. Once you add in moving costs and other fees, your $900,000 new house might look more like $970,000+. Estimating these costs up front can help save you a nasty surprise later.

Things to consider if you’re considering selling:

Are the types of houses I want in my budget right now?
Have I calculated my selling costs?
Do I have an emotional attachment to my current home that will make it hard to sell?

A mortgage broker can help get you the best home loan possible to offset some of those selling costs. Give us a call today to see what home loan rate we can get you.