You bought a home fitting all your needs but now, it's just not large enough to accommodate your growing family. Space is tight and building an addition will price your property out of the neighborhood. Your family members are jostling for space and you're tired of feeling cramped. It seems time to upsize your home but you're unsure about making such a big move. The prospect of a larger monthly mortgage payment, changing your commute, and settling into a new community are all concerns. What you need is how to know when you're ready to upsize your home without unwittingly purchasing a sizeable amount of buyer's remorse.

How to Know when You're Ready to Upsize Your Home

The truth is, there's many ways to rationalize upsizing your home. Much like talking yourself into a new car or truck, you can find plenty of "valid" reasons to buy a bigger home. What stops you from doing so is the price tag and long-term commitment. When you consider everything involved, including upkeep and expenses, the prospect becomes quite a bit more complicated and complex. This is the point when you start wrestling with the nuance and become frustrated.

Most financial planners agree that if you can afford it, and if you don't mind carrying some extra debt, owning a bigger house is a good financial move. But those are big ifs, and it's important to put a lot of thought into your decision before moving forward. --Wall Street Journal

Before you start house hunting, you want to know if it's the right decision. There are some considerations to take into account, including your present situation and what's likely in-store in the future. While there's no magic crystal ball to tell you what will ultimately unfold, there are certainly some things you can predict. Here are some suggestions for how to know when you're ready to upsize your home:

  • Delve into your current mortgage. The majority of financial experts recommend a mortgage equal to about 25 percent of your net monthly income. This includes principal, interest, and insurance but doesn't necessary include maintenance because of the variables. If you are comfortably making your current mortgage payment and can handle an increase without straining your budget, it's a step toward upsizing.
  • Estimate your new expenses. Of course, owning a larger home means paying a bigger mortgage installment, insurance, and maintenance. It also means increasing your monthly utility bills. In addition, moving could add a longer work commute distance, which also ups your fuel costs. A helpful rule of thumb is to estimate 2 percent to 3 percent of your new home's value as an increase.
  • Ballpark your selling profit. If the previous two don't put upsizing out of reach, you're ready to move on to what you'll be able to bring to the closing table with a new mortgage loan. Take the current balance of your home loan, factor-in the equity, and estimate the selling price. This will give you a good idea of what you'll walk away with to put toward a new home purchase.
  • Establish your budget. Because there is no guarantee the figures are completely accurate, you need to be a bit skeptical about what profit you'll make from selling your current property. If you aren't expecting an increase of income any time soon or even if you are, you need to establish a realistic budget.
  • Know and accept your limits. You need to have the wherewithal to know and accept your limits. These are not only financial but also your ability to maintain the property.

If you are ready to purchase a bigger home along West Riviera Drive, North 142nd Drive, North 140th Lane, or Jenan Drive North, or anywhere else in Kenly Farms, Surprise, Arizona, give us a call to help negotiate the best possible deal. We serve the entire area and will work hard to find you a home with most of your wish list.