Are you currently considering the possibility of upsizing, but are not sure if it makes sense for you at this time. Perhaps your situation has changed since you purchased your current house, and you are not sure if it still suits your needs. Here are some things to think about when making your decision.
Current Situation
The first thing that is worth considering is if you can make your current situation work for you. Perhaps there are solutions besides moving that could make your current house suit your new needs. Perhaps your family situation has changed and you need an extra bedroom, or you are working from home more than you did when you first bought the house, and would like to have a separate office space. Is there a way to modify your current house to create the space you need? I have had clients that have come up with great ways to create spaces, whether putting in a small office under the stairs, or renovating their entire basement to create an extra bedroom/office.
Searching
Do you feel like you would like to move but only if you found the perfect house and you can’t find exactly what you are looking for? This is something that happens quite often, as buyers who are only partially-motivated are looking for something perfect to justify moving from a house they have been in for a while. This could mean that you are perfectly happy with your current house, and there is no real need to move. However, if you find that you are consistently looking at listings, it could mean that there is something with your current house that you are dissatisfied with, and it might be worth exploring your upsizing options which may include building or buying a house that meets most of your criteria with a budget and plan to turn it into exactly what you need.
Rising Prices
A further factor that impacts the decision to upsize is the fact that the house prices have gone up in the last couple of years and anyone looking over that period of time will now feel like they need to pay a lot more for a house than they would have when they might have started looking. Although this is true, the one thing to keep in mind is that this means that the value of your current home has also likely increased and you may be able to walk away with more than you would have previously, which could allow you to put down a higher down payment resulting in a lower monthly cost.
Cost
When deciding whether you can afford a more expensive house, the best thing to do is to look at the financials. Talk to your realtor to get a market value of your current house, and figure out how much you may walk away with after expenses. Then talk to your mortgage broker to figure out what your monthly payments will be on the new house, and make an estimate on other expenses including utilities, insurance and property taxes. Remember that if you have equity built up in your current house, you could use this on the purchase of the new house to lower your mortgage payments, if this makes financial sense to you.
If you have any questions on upsizing, get in touch and we can set up a no-obligation meeting to discuss the best way forward. I will guide you through the details of these steps and more based on your current needs.
Kyla Miranda Realtor ®
Keller Williams Platinum Realty
709-325-5152