Should I renovate or move?
If you’ve been unable to buy your dream home in Auckland’s turbulent housing market, why not stay put and add value to your home with renovations?
Don’t move, improve
If you live in Auckland, the reality is that moving to bigger and better isn’t that easy. The crazy property market and a lack of affordable ‘right type’ of homes means many Auckland homeowners find that after doing their research, they don’t like what’s out there for the money, so they decide to renovate rather than move.
If you love your location, why not renovate or extend your house?
Good renovations by a proven design and build team can give you functionality, space, 21st-century design, comfort and efficiency. They are a good solution for a growing family or changing needs, especially if you love living right where you are and we’re experts at them.
Or Call 021 550 142
“Ohh, should I renovate my house? Renovations are such a headache and they’re so expensive. It would just be easier to move”, I hear you say.
Not so. Let’s look at some stories we’ve been told.
A fairly typical example is the story of this family in the market for a larger house. They realised they needed more space after the mother-in-law moved in, and the son got bigger and older, as they do.
House-hunting, however, was soul-destroying thanks to the low number of appropriate properties on the market and the huge competition. Nor did they want to move from the area they were in.
After speaking to some building experts, they realised it made more financial sense to add another wing to their Auckland home.
The renovation cost around $350,000 and they could not be happier with the outcome. They get a five-bedroom, three-bathroom home, and an attached unit with its own living room and kitchenette. Building the self-contained living space was cheaper than buying an apartment for the extended or growing family and could also become a ‘home and income’ or it could be rented out separately.
In the end, the decision to renovate their existing home was a no-brainer.
In another case we know of, the owners wanted to upsize to a bigger house but again were unable to find a property to suit. So, they renovated and extended. Why? Because they liked the community where they live, they liked the location, the views and the neighbours and renovating allowed them to stay while retaining some of their equity and essentially getting a new home.
Or Call 021 550 142
What do you get in a renovation?
The people we talk to in our business tell us they want their living space to be more of a reflection of themselves. They want greater open-plan living, double-glazed windows, storage and decking, bringing their older homes into the 21st century.
Doing the renovation maths
Talk to us. We can help figure out how much an extension is going to cost to see if it’s worthwhile. We’ll ask questions about the cost of your home when you bought it, the cost to renovate it, how that compares to what you’d be able to sell it for tomorrow and, most importantly, the type of house you could then afford.
For example, let’s imagine you bought a home some years ago in Auckland for 1.2 million. You want to spend $300,000 to renovate. That’s $1.5 million. If you sold the house today without the renovations and makeover, you might get $1.6 million. But to buy a home that would be comparable to what your home would be after the extension, you’d probably have to fork out more than $2 million. The finances add up in favour of renovating
Renovating vs. relocating: what to think about
“Should I renovate my house?” Well, you need to consider what’s going to offer you more certainty and an end goal you’re happy with: moving or improving.
For many, there’s a strong argument for renovating – you get to stay in your community and the chances are your house has appreciated since you bought it. But will a renovation mean you’re over-capitalising on your home? And how do you find a good builder? (That bit’s already done: you’ve found us.)
Getting a realistic estimate of what the renovation will cost is crucial. Rebuilds have the potential for unknowns to pop up. Often you have to unbuild things before you build them and remedial work often needs to be done, so your budget has to factor these costs in.
As proven a project management and building company, we can give you a very clear idea of the scope of your project.
Or Call 021 550 142
Asking for renovation help early on
We talk to people angsting over the renovating or moving on dilemma often.
People are often anxious that they might be over-capitalising or over-spending with a renovation. We’ll talk with you about the purchase price and the project cost – the total investment – so you can investigate what it would cost to buy something comparable to achieve your end result. If it’s not your forever home and you’re just going to be there another two years, spending $400,000 may not be the wisest investment, but If you’re planning on being there 10 years and loving where you live, it can be well worth it,
Being design and build experts we have our team of builders and crew of trade people so we can provide a complete end-to-end service. With our years of building experience and renovation expertise, we can help you explore some of the many creative and possibly unexpected options in front of you and then take you through the consent process, while managing and carrying out the daily building work, right through to sign-off.
We like to get involved in the project right when our clients are just starting to think about doing something to their homes.
We’ll ask: “Do you love your location, your neighbourhood, the schools?” Great, so let us help you love your house.”
Let the renovation magic begin
We can transform your property into the home you’ve always dreamed of living in. From knocking down a wall, re-configuring the layout, building an extension, adding storage, and doing up the bathroom or kitchen, we can help you with the home improvements that will get you the best bang for your buck.
The DBS Residential building team has the experience to ensure your Auckland home improvement really does make your place a better place to be. Whether it’s a kitchen makeover or a full home renovation and extensions, a studio apartment or a 1920s bungalow, we can build you the perfect home improvement, and no job is too big or too small for our builders.
If you been thinking “should I renovate my house?”, call 021 550 142. Dan Hendy can meet with you for an obligation-free consult at your place.