A Complete Guide to Upsizing Your Home
Selling your current home and buying a larger, nicer one is an exciting prospect. The thought of a more comfortable home, more bedrooms, larger rooms and a bigger garden can be a potent one. But if you’re seriously considering upsizing, it’s important that you are fully aware what the process involves and the questions you need to ask yourself.
Moving home is more complicated than just buying your first home. You need to consider all the pros and cons of the process and take a look at how it will affect your finances both in the short term as well as in the future.
Do you NEED to upsize or do you WANT to upsize?
Take a moment and just think about the reason why you wish to upsize.
Do you want to upsize because you honestly NEED more space, or is it because you WANT more space? There is a big difference!
Many homeowners wish to upsize because they honestly believe that their current home is for too cramped. However, that feeling isn’t always due to not having enough square footage of living space. In many cases, their home feels too small because of genuinely poor layout of furniture, appliances and being over cluttered.
If you do feel that your current home isn't big enough, take a close and honest look at your property. Is all of your living space is being used efficiently?
If one of your bedrooms has become a store room packed with boxes, sports equipment and stuff you never use, it’s pretty clear that your problem isn’t a lack of space, but rather an inefficient usage of it.
On the other hand, you may legitimately need a larger home. If you live in a one bedroom property, and you’re looking to start a family, sooner or later you will definitely need to move to a larger home.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with simply WANTING to live in a larger home. The decision doesn't have to be one of need. If upsizing is really what you and your family want, then do it! However, it is important that you’re honest with yourself and admit that the real reason why you wish to upsize is because you want to. Making the distinction is extremely important, because a larger and more comfortable home comes with a larger number of responsibilities and expenses.
You’ll need to spend more time and money maintaining a larger home. You’ll pay more council tax. Your utility bills will be more expensive. Even if you sell your old home to finance your move, you could easily end up with a larger monthly mortgage payment as well.
If you are upsizing, you will more than likely pay Stamp Duty. This is a substantial amount you will need to factor in to your budget. How much you pay will depend on the type of property it is, but getting an idea of this additional cost before you decide to upsize is important.
Upsizing Alternatives
There are many other ways to create more space in your home without the need for moving.
Renovation - Changing the shape of a room in your home can open it up and dramatically increase the size. Renovation costs could be minimal compared to buying a new, larger property. If practical, you could also convert your loft space to create another room.
Extensions - Adding extra space to your property could give you the additional rooms that you require. Typically, a two storey extension could mean a larger kitchen/diner and an additional bedroom. Ensure that you check the planning regulations and also prepare a detailed budget for the extension.
Garden Buildings - If you have a suitably sized garden, you could also build a structure or install a large shed to give yourself more space. Post lockdown has seen a massive surge in home office buildings and large garden rooms. Again, a planning permission check will be necessary.
What to look for in a larger home?
Before you start looking at new homes, talk with your spouse/partner, children and any other family members that are moving with you, about what features you require in your new home.
Make a list of those features - a bigger kitchen, a garage, a landscaped garden, and obviously include the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. It's a good idea to create two lists; non-negotiables and possible compromises as, let's be realistic, it is extremely doubtful that you will find and secure a home that meets every item on your wish list.
Next, it's location, location, location. If you are set on a particular area then that's one big decision made. If not, then make a list of areas in your target area that you would be interested in. Is there a particular suburb, village or town that you like because of its convenient location to schools, shops, parks, restaurants, workplace and other amenities?
Knowing what you need (or want) in a new home will make the home hunting process a lot more efficient, and will help your estate agent find the right property for you.
Once you know what you need in your new home, you can share that information with your agent. The more specific your list, the better, because it will narrow down the list of potential homes to see.
You should also think realistically as to how your needs may change in the future. For example, if you already have a child, and plan on having another one, you probably won’t need more than 3 or 4 bedrooms.
Find an Estate Agent
A trusted estate agent is essential for your success in upsizing to a larger home. Moving home isn’t as simple as buying a new home for the first time - which itself isn’t that simple, as I’m sure you’ve already experienced before.
Moving home typically requires that you coordinate selling your old home whilst buying a new one. This process can be very complex, especially with a number of properties in the chain, and needs to be timed just right in order to keep both costs and your stress levels manageable. It is easy to run into a huge number of costly pitfalls if you don’t know what you’re doing, and don’t have someone to guide you through the process. A great estate agent can help you navigate the process more confidently through the ups and downs you will inevitably encounter.
Your agent may even be able to help you find suitable accommodation while you transition from one home to the next, possibly through a short term rental agreement until you are ready to move into your new home.
Determine your Affordability
While part of the excitement of upsizing is hunting for your new home and seeing what is the biggest and nicest home you could technically purchase, it’s essential that you slow down and crunch the numbers before making a decision.
How much home you can afford should not be determined by the maximum amount of financing you can get. You should NEVER live “house poor.” In other words, living in a situation in which you’re just barely able to pay off your monthly mortgage payments with no money left over for paying essential bill s and having a life.
Life is unpredictable, and if you live "house poor", even a small economic difficulty or sickness could threaten your ability to pay off your mortgage and would inevitably lead you to sacrifice many life comforts. It would be difficult to plan for retirement, plan holidays etc. Getting those comforts back would require you to find a way to significantly increase your household income.
Many mortgage lenders ask you to complete a SALIE form (Statement of Assets, Liabilities, Income and Expenditure) which is an excellent way of estimating your disposable income when all your debt repayments, household bills and regular monthly outgoings have been paid.
Speak with a Mortgage Adviser
Once you have an idea as to how much you can afford to pay for your new home and how much of your income you can dedicate towards your mortgage payment, it’s time to speak with a good mortgage adviser. A good adviser can shop around for rates across the whole of the mortgage lenders to see what deals and rates suit your individual requirements and circumstances. They can also get an Agreement in Principle to enable you to see what range of home prices you can aim for.
Based on the realistic market valuation of your current home, your lender will be able to give you valuable advice as to what type of mortgage you can afford to take and which ones you should avoid.
Should you Sell before you Buy?
You may have already got your eye on your dream home and fell in love with it. You may be inclined to try and buy that home before you sell yours.
A major factor within the property market now, and one which a seller is increasingly focused on is 'proceedability' - how proceedable a potential buyer is. Have they sold their own home? Is it even on the market yet? Have they got a mortgage Agreement in Principle? Estate agents typically concentrated their efforts on the buyer who put in the biggest offer, however, the buyer's individual 'proceedability' is now a large factor in deciding which buyer to proceed with.
In an ideal world, it is better to sell your old home before you buy a new one. By doing so, you’ll have the funds from your sale already, you’ll be able to make a potentially larger deposit on your mortgage, and you’ll put yourself to the front of the queue of potential buyers.
Work with your estate agent to get a market analysis of what you can expect your old home to sell for. Study the current market, and see how long it takes on average to sell homes comparable to yours.
A growing trend is to sell, rent, then buy.
A seller puts their home on the market with no upward chain - this means that the sale of their property is not dependent upon them purchasing a new one. This is often attractive to potential buyers. Then, the seller rents a 'stop gap' property on a 6 month tenancy whilst searching for their ideal home. At this point, they are effectively a first time buyer with no property to sell and are extremely 'proceedable' and very attractive to a potential seller.
After the 6 month initial fixed term tenancy has expired, the tenancy will go 'periodic', which means that only a month's notice is required to leave the property - an ideal timeframe to coincide with the purchase of the new, upsized home.
You may feel that the rent you will have paid is 'dead money'. However, you have to take into account that you have put yourself in prime position to buy your desired new home as well as potentially getting it for a lower price because of how quickly you can complete the deal. It is up to the individual to weigh up whether the sell/rent/buy option is an advantageous one.
Prepare your Home to Sell
Declutter your home, and have all the interiors professionally cleaned. Do all the DIY jobs you’ve been putting off. If there are any issues, get them fixed as quickly as possible. We have written a number of other blogs on preparing your home for sale and every tip does make a difference!
Take Action
You should now be ready to list your old home, and you also have a good idea of the type of home you WANT to purchase and CAN purchase.
As mentioned earlier, the best case scenario is that you’re able to get your home purchase to coincide with your home sale. This is especially important when you want to use the sale proceeds of your current home to purchase your new home together with a new mortgage.
Inevitably, getting the timing exactly right can be tricky.
If you’re in a seller’s market, there will be more buyers than homes for sale, and selling your home would be fairly easy and quick. At the same time, that would mean a lot more competition when buying a home. You could easily lose to another buyer, or you would need to offer more money and fewer contingencies to get your next home. So, if you are trying to buy a home in a strong seller’s market, your best bet is be as 'proceedable' as possible in order to have a greater chance of having your offer accepted.
In a buyer's market, there are more homes for sale than there are buyers. This is where your estate agents earns their fee. Choose an agent with a history of successful sales in your area, but more importantly, ensure that they have a marketing plan to sell your home for the highest price possible. A marketing plan does not mean putting your property on the online portals (Rightmove, Zoopla, On The Market etc.) and hoping for the best. The agent should have a structured strategy to create as much demand as possible for your home in order to obtain the best offer.
Upsizing can be a very exciting process. It also needs to be approached with caution, and with plenty of knowledge about what to expect. Be sure to consult a trusted estate agent that can guide you through the entire process as smoothly as possible.
