The potential value of a home renovation

Whether you’re outgrowing your home or just feel the need for some updates, renovating can be a good alternative to moving that could also grow the value of your home.

There's a lot to consider and renovating can be a huge task that can take time and money. Before getting started take a look at the pros and cons so you can weigh up whether it will be worthwhile.

If you need something like another bedroom or an improved kitchen, renovating means you can make the change without having to move.

This is good news if you love your home and also the area where you live. It also means you won’t have to pay for things like conveyancing or stamp duty, which you would if you purchased a new home.

You may also add value to your property which you’ll get back when you sell the home. While you don’t want to count on this, it can make the cost of the renovation a little bit easier to bear.

A common complaint about renovating is underestimation. This can be about time and money, or both. You’ll want to do as much research as possible and also spend time getting to know the trades people who are doing the work. It can be great to speak to people they’ve done jobs for before, that way you can be sure they have a good track record.

Depending on the scale of the renovation you may have to move somewhere else while it takes place. This could be costly and disruptive, but again potentially not as much as moving property.

While a renovation may be cheaper than buying a new property, it can still be expensive. Ideally you’d be able to save the amount needed so you don’t pay interest, but this won’t always be possible.

If you decide to go ahead with a renovation you may be able to choose one of the following to help you pay for it:

• home improvement loan
• refinancing your mortgage
• using any equity in your mortgage

If you do choose to borrow it's still a good idea to save as much as possible so you can reduce the amount you have to pay in interest.