Your first home is a special one. It is the place where you start to build memories of your life together. It is the chance to start becoming a real adult, and it is the first chance you will ever have to own property. All in all, it’s an exciting time.
Still, while some people remain in one home forever, this isn’t the case for everybody. As needs change, families grow finances stabilize, so there are always families considering upsizing.
But how do you know if your family needs to upsize? To help give you a better idea of whether upsizing is right for you, here are some questions you need to ask yourself.
Is the Family Growing?
A growing family is always a sign that you need to upsize the family home. There is only so long that kids can share a bedroom, especially if they are moving into their teenage years. It’s not just physical growth, of course. If you’re planning on having more kids, they will need a room to call theirs, also.
You should also think about pets, especially if you’re planning on purchasing as many as your partner will allow. Pets need space to explore and play, and a larger house, possibly with a larger backyard, will make that possible.
Is the House A Perpetual Mess?
No matter who you are, it’s likely that your home gets messy sometimes, but if your house feels like it is perpetually messy, it could be a sign that you have too much stuff for the space that’s available.
A cluttered home is never comfortable to live in, so rather than try to stack games, camping gear, shoes and everything else you can think of on top of one another or shove it into a closet, moving to a place with more space could be the solution. You will be able to organize your things better, so you’ll know where everything is, and that in itself will save you plenty of stress.
Have Your Needs Changed?
As you grow older, your needs change. When you were younger, you may have only needed a studio apartment. As long as you had a bed and a kitchen, you were happy. However, when growing a family, there are other things that you require. You might want a backyard for practicing soccer with your kids; you may want to start a garden. Likewise, inside, you may discover a love for pottery, and you’ll need a workshop to make your vases and bowls.
A smaller home cannot sufficiently make this possible, but upsizing your house could allow you to explore all of these new hobbies that you have picked up as you’ve grown older.
Are You Feeling Boxed In?
When moving into your first home, you likely revel in the amount of space you have, especially if you’ve only lived in apartments beforehand. However, the longer you live there, and the more stuff you acquire, the more you will start to feel boxed in.
This is not good for anyone, and you might even start to feel claustrophobic in your own home, which is never what you need. Feeling boxed in can cause you to resent the house you are living in. You might feel like you never get a moment’s rest. So, to overcome this, moving to a larger home can help you breathe easy again, and you’ll fall in love with your new home instantly.
Can You Afford It?
Perhaps the biggest question you need to ask yourself is whether you can afford to upsize the house? Thankfully, you can use a mortgage calculator to understand the payments, and this will give you an excellent idea of whether upsizing is the right move for you.
If you can’t afford it right now, there are alternatives. You can consider getting an extension, as this is an investment that can add value to the home while also giving you more space. Extensions can also be expensive, though, so it’s worth proceeding with caution when considering this. Often, you are never too desperate to move, and so you can always wait a while to get your finances right to ensure you are financially ready once you feel that you need to move home.
Upsizing
Upsizing the family home is a great way to explore a new chapter in your life. While it will never be your first home, and leaving this house will be bittersweet, moving is still something to look forward to. You will get to make new memories, have more space to move around and live, and have the opportunity to make a house yours all over again.
If you haven’t found the dream family home you have been searching for then there is one other option. You could think about building your own home. Yes, it may be a lot of work but it will be worth it in the end. You could have all the rooms you have ever wanted and make it your own by cusomizing the sizes and layout of the rooms. If this is something you are interested in doing, you can learn more here! This option can be a bit pricey, but if it is your only option then there are ways you can do it on a budget. You could buy a home at auction, knock it down, and then rebuild your own custom home on that exact site. Make sure you are only using valod companies with previous reviews and testimonials from other customers and clients.