It’s normal for a family home to feel cramped after a number of years. When you welcome more children over the years and your children grow older and bigger, your home may not have as many bedrooms and enough space as you did years ago. In this case, it may be time to move and find a bigger home to accommodate everyone comfortably.
But with millions of properties available in Australia, many families may want to narrow down their options. But before they can do that, they have to decide: is it more practical to buy an existing house in the market or build their own custom homes to suit their taste and needs? Here’s what they should consider.
Building Your Own Home
Choosing to build a new home comes with many benefits, but it’s just as important to know what drawbacks to expect. First, you have to find land for sale or any existing plot of land or development area where you can raise your family.
Advantages
The biggest advantage is that you can have built the home you want rather than making compromises based on what houses are available in the market.
Getting to build your home from scratch also means every aspect of it can be designed to your standards. Aside from its aesthetic, it can also mean getting ventilation, heating, air filtration, and cost-efficient fixtures that can lower your monthly utilities. Unlike houses in the market where you may not really know everything about its construction or have additional costs to replace certain aspects, you know exactly what’s going into your home.
Disadvantages
The disadvantage here is that you have to find a plot of land that ideally gives you access to public utilities like water, electricity, and sewage. You also have to find an architect, builder, and other contractors to bring your dream home to life. ; This may mean the cost of building your own home can be more expensive than the average cost of a house in Australia.
This will take time, so this isn’t a good option if you’re in a rush to find a new home. This can affect your children’s education, especially if your new home may require transferring schools because of its distance from your children’s original school.
Buying an Existing House
The more popular choice for those in the housing market, many families opt to buy an existing house. While some end up finding their dream home with everything that meets their criteria, some end up compromising on certain aspects on their list.
Advantages
The biggest advantages of buying an existing house are convenience and costs. Plenty of houses already exist, so you don’t have to necessarily deal with architects and contractors unless you’re making minor changes to your new home. You can simply have a real estate agent point you towards the properties that meet your needs.
Most houses in the market are move-in ready. Because most of the process of buying an existing house involves paperwork, you can move into an existing house much faster. So, for those relocating with children before school starts, it can be a big advantage to move in as soon as possible to avoid disrupting their schooling.
Disadvantages
When buying an existing house, you’re most likely going to have a list of things you need and want from your new home. It’s possible to find a house that meets everything, but more likely you may find that the available houses don’t check off all your needs and wants. Because of this, compromising is necessary when buying an existing house.
Older houses may also have outdated plumbing and fixtures, which can be an added cost to renovate before moving in. You also may not like the layout or floor plan or the way the rooms are arranged. But if you’re buying a pre-existing home, you can only take what you can find.
Before finding your new family home, it’s important to weigh in your options. Choose what is more practical in the long run, so that the house you move into can meet all of your and your family’s needs.
