Should you add an addition onto your current home?
As your needs change and your family grows, your current home may no longer meet your needs. While moving to a bigger house is the most common solution, it’s not always the best option. Building an addition to your existing home can be a more cost-effective and easier choice in many cases – but it does come with some potential downsides.
Why you should build an addition:
Staying Where You Are
Moving to a new house can be an overwhelming experience: packing up everything you own, dealing with logistics, and adjusting to a new neighborhood. By building an addition, you get to stay where you’ve already made memories. As ProMatcher writers put it, “Nobody likes moving! Your kids won’t have to change schools, and you won’t have to leave behind the memories you've created in your home.”
Better Costs
Renovating your current home is often more affordable than buying a new one – especially when interest rates on home equity loans are low. As Andrea Davis of Realty Times points out, there are costs associated with moving that you won’t have to worry about if you build an addition, like selling, closing, or new property taxes.
Fits Your Needs
When you build an addition, you can design it around your specific needs. In contrast, moving means you have to find a home that checks all the boxes – and often that involves compromise. With an addition, you have full control over the design and can make sure it perfectly matches your lifestyle and budget.
Why you should not build an addition:
Less Yard Space
Adding more house means giving up some of your yard. Lee Wallender of The Spruce cautions that once you build a ground-level addition, that green space is gone. While building up instead of out is an option, it’s often more complex and expensive, requiring structural reinforcements.
Restrictive Regulations
Even if you own your home, zoning laws may limit what you can do with your property. Your city’s regulations can impact the scope of your expansion, and the process can be more complicated than moving into a home that already meets those guidelines.
Disruptive
Living through a home renovation can be disruptive, and while moving is an inconvenience, it’s not usually as much of a headache as living with construction happening in your home. Jack and Patty Haynsworth, realtors, point out that living through weeks or months of noise, dust, and construction can be challenging. You may also need to make do without essential features in your home during the renovation.
More Possible Complications
Not all home additions go as planned. Renovations can reveal unexpected issues, and a poorly designed addition can lower the overall appeal of your home. As Davis advises, “a poorly designed addition can detract from the appearance of your home and negatively impact its appeal.”
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Choosing whether to build an addition or move is a big decision. Weighing the pros and cons and considering your long-term goals is key. Whether you choose to build or move, Five Star Bank is here to help you manage the financial side of your home project with smart solutions for your mortgage and home equity needs.
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