Moving Your Family into a Bigger Home

As your family grows, you might find yourself feeling cramped in your current home. Is it getting too small for your family? If it is, you might be considering moving to a bigger home. While this can be a great idea, it is something you need to plan carefully. Buying a house is a big investment and you’ll be taking care of most of the work on top of handling your other responsibilities. On average, 38% of corporations use professional moving companies to relocate. You likely won’t have this opportunity. So consider these things as you plan your move.

Know When to Move

When should you move into a new house? You might be tempted to do it as soon as possible. But there might be benefits to waiting a little while. Consider whether anybody in your family is pregnant or what your children’s school schedule is. You’ll want to move at a time that is most convenient for your whole family. Otherwise, you’ll have to handle the stress of interrupting routines as well as the stress of moving.

Know Your Budget

A bigger house will likely be more expensive than the house you have now. What can you afford to purchase? You need to know this before you start looking at houses. If you’re selling your current home, you’ll also need to be sure that you can afford a new house. Know your budget before you do anything else. Then, make sure that the houses you can afford are actually bigger than the one you have now.

As you budget, you’ll also want to consider repairs. Most homeowners spend one to four percent of their house’s value on repairs each year. For example, if your house is $200,000, you can expect to spend at least $2,000 in repairs annually. Make sure you know how you plan to pay for them.

Consider the Future

Your children won’t stay babies forever. If you’re moving to support your growing family, you’ll want to make sure that your new location remains good for them as they grow. What are the schools like in that area? Moving somewhere with good private schools might be a worthwhile investment. Small classes with a 12:1 student to teacher ratio are common in private schools, which would give your child an advantage in their education. Look at schools and make sure that the potential house would still be big enough in a few years. This will help you determine whether it is worth moving there.

Know Your Priorities

As you look for a bigger house for your family, make sure you know your priorities. What are the deal-breakers when you’re moving? And what absolutely needs to be part of your home. If you know these things in advance, you’ll be able to apply them to each house you look at. Having these standards will help you eliminate houses quickly.

Make sure you know your partner’s standards as well. They might have their own needs that you don’t know about. By communicating and being honest with each other about moving, you can find something that works for everybody. Then the stress of moving will be worth it.

Moving your family into a bigger home is not an easy process. You’ll need to find a new home that you can afford and that suits your family. If you decide to do it, make sure that you plan your move carefully. Look at the considerations mentioned above and make sure you apply them to your search. This will make the process significantly less stressful and help you find your ideal house. Then you can focus less on moving and more on taking care of your family.