Need To Upsize Your Home? Follow These 6 Steps

Expanding your home can be a great source of both pride and stress at the same time.

If you’re ready to face a fresh start to a new life, whether it’s a new job or a new family member, upsizing your home can help you realize your dreams sooner.

But, let’s face it. Rushing your move is the last thing you should do lest you’re ready to face tonnes of oversights.

Fortunately, we have six steps to help lay out what you need to know when you upsize your house.

Evaluate The Purpose Behind The Move

At the core of it, moving homes is a costly decision. Before you start house-hunting, try to pin down the reason why you want to move in the first place. Below are a couple of questions to ask yourself before moving forward with any contracts.

Am I expecting a new addition to the family? Are my young adults coming back from college and need to borrow a room? Am I getting a better opportunity by relocating homes? Do I really need to move – or would a renovation or extension be enough to suit my fancy?

List your goals on paper to help you plan out the reason behind the move. Once you have filled out your list, and still find it compelling to move, then we can proceed to the next step.

Scout Out The Location

Once you have chosen a new home, it’s ideal to get insights into both the house structure and the surrounding neighborhood as well. 

After all, a picturesque house at a bargain may have some hidden history that you wouldn’t want to know after you move.

With applications like Google Maps around, getting a feel of the surrounding amenities and transport links is easier than ever.

So before you move, take things like neighboring schools, shops, restaurants, and other important landmarks into consideration.

Moving into a spacious house miles away from the closest community hub may be the reason why it’s so cheap. 

Prepare A Budget and Home Loans

Have you finally found a great home target? Great!

Have enough money to prepare you for the financial strain? Well, read on.

If you’ve already owned property before, the process for applying for a home loan is similar. Either way, budgeting to your own accord is crucial.

Here are some moving expenses to take into account:

• Higher property taxes
• Higher utilities
• Maintenance fees
• Extra furniture
• Mortgage broker fees
• Miscellaneous moving fees

It’s smart to set aside a pre-moving emergency fund or consult a mortgage broker for unexpected costs that may arise.

Figure Out What To Bring Along

Chances are, you have a pile of old furniture and trinkets that you have amassed over the years.

While they may hold some sentimental value, you wouldn’t want them to sit in your moving box for years. It’s always good foresight to sell or donate unwanted items to clear up space for your new home.

Instead of bringing along your battered sofa, consider leaving it and buying a new one to keep things fresh.

To make things easier, write down a list of must-haves to help you figure out what to bring along before moving into your new home.

Not only does this help you plan and structure your move, but it also saves you from bringing more than the essentials.

Consider Resale Value

If you are smart about choosing your new location, upsizing can turn into sizable profit a decade or two down the line.

Sure, the comfort and longevity of the home come first. But living there forever is not set on stone – so it’s always a good idea to plan ten steps ahead. 

By staying on top of housing trends and hot listings, you can get a glimpse of what other prospectors want when searching for an Australian home.

For instance, years down the line, houses with extra guest rooms may soar in popularity to take into account for parents visiting.

Stay on top of resale value, and it can pay off in the thousands down the road.

Get Your Things Moving

So you got everything in the back end finalized — planning, location, and countless cancellation and installation calls.

Now the last step is to execute your plan and start the move.

Moving your items in boxes is by far the most demanding aspect of the task, especially if you’re doing it alone.

So while moving stuff yourself is the most economical option, services like Muval help you find removalists to get the dirty work done for you.

Once you have everything set up, your new house will no doubt feel like a home in no time.

Just make sure that all the boxes in your checklist are thoroughly accounted for. 

And at last, you can relish in the joy of the new home, making all the challenges along the way all worth it.