When deciding whether to remodel or move, can you find a new house that is exactly what you want? In most cases, when people buy a house there are tradeoffs to be made between getting exactly what you want and the best you can find and afford. In many cases, people compromise on important features when they move to a new home.
Will the new house have that huge eat-in kitchen your family loves? Where will you put your gym equipment in a house with no basement?
Do you really want to start scraping the windshield again because there is no covered parking?
The result is often buyer's remorse or real frustration because the new house doesn't really work any better in some way. Unless you can find a house that is exactly what you want, you might be better off to remodel the house you are in so that you get exactly what you want.
When making the remodel or move decision, it is very important to think about every critical activity of each member of the family, especially as that activity uses space in your home that you will no longer have after a move. Where will this activity take place in the new home?
Do you really want your aging parents in an inlaw suite on the other end of the house, or would it be better to stay where you are and convert the attic space above you for your kids and remodel their rooms into a suite for your parents that is just down the hall from you?
These and other questions need to be considered carefully. You can find more information on these questions in this book:
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