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Building a Home Addition versus Buying a Larger
Home
The Advantages of Building a Home Addition
By: Mark J. Donovan
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Choosing to extend the size of your current home via building a home addition is
frequently a better decision than selling your home and buying a larger one. In
addition to making financial sense, in many cases it also offers other
advantages. For example, if you like where you live and/or have children in a
school system that they enjoy, building a home addition can preserve these ties.
In addition to providing your house with more living space and saving money,
building an addition can also be a terrific investment.
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However, before starting a large
project such as building an addition, it’s important that you first consider
several factors. These factors include: the size and scale of the home addition,
the property market values in the neighborhood, required financing,
architecture, timeline for completing the project, and the personal disruption
that you and your family are willing to stand.
| Before breaking ground on a home
addition, you should first determine your specific extra living space needs. For
example, what types of room(s) are you looking to add, and how many square feet
of space is desired? Once you know what you need for space, it is then critical
to find out the market value of houses in your local area with similar features
and sizes to your new home plans. With this market analysis you can then
determine the market value difference between your current home footprint and
your enlarged home footprint. This market value difference should represent the
maximum budget for the new home addition if you want to make a positive
investment. |
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The next major issue that needs to be
addressed is how to finance the building of a home addition. Unless the project
is being funded via your personal savings then financing will be necessary. If
current mortgage rates are higher than the existing house loan, then a home
equity loan may make more sense. If current mortgage rates are lower than the
existing home mortgage, then refinancing the entire home, including the cost of
the home addition project, may make better sense.
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After addressing the financing of the home addition, the next major item to
focus on are the plans. It is important to consider both the size and scale of
the addition, as well as the aesthetics and architecture of the new addition.
The home addition should be designed such that it melds into the existing home
and is aesthetically appealing from the road. It should not be too large or
small relative to the original home. Frequently, homeowners build large
additions that either dwarf the existing home or look like aberrations cobbled
onto the existing home. Home market values are based on more than just living
space. Exterior aesthetics play a major role in calculating the home’s market
value.
| It is also important to consider other items such as rooflines, doors,
siding, windows, shingles, and height elevations. All should meld into the
existing home exterior seamlessly. If you are not planning to use an architect for designing the new home
addition then consider purchasing a home design software package. There are a
number of good ones on the market and they can help you in multiple ways.
Besides providing you with overall sketches of the existing home and addition,
they can provide necessary structural drawings to provide to the building
inspector when pulling permits for the project. |
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The next two important aspects to consider are the timeline for completing
the project, and the level of homeowner sweaty equity you are willing to
provide. When developing a timeline, plan for delays and contingency plans.
Regarding homeowner sweat equity, many homeowners over estimate their skill sets
and time commitment. Do not over commit yourself both in time and skill sets.
Hire contractors where you lack skills, tools, equipment, and time. Also where
you legally can not perform the work, e.g. plumbing and electric, plan on
finding licensed contractors. For smaller projects, such as installing interior
doors, finish trim, painting, cabinet installation, tiling and hardwood
flooring, by all means sign up for these tasks if you have the tools and skills.
Finally, remember that building a home addition is a major undertaking. It is
also very disruptive to your home for many months. So before choosing to build a
home addition, be prepared for the inconveniences of possibly not having a
functional kitchen, contractors walking through your home, and loud noises
throughout the day. Building a home addition is also a dusty and dirty
endeavor. Finally, dealing with contractors can also be challenging at times.
If after considering all these factors you still want to move forward on
building an addition, create your plans, hire your contractors, pull your
permits and expect a few bumps along the way. When the project is complete you
will have more living space, save money and maintain your home base.
For more help on building a
home addition, see HomeAdditionPlus.com's
Room
Addition Bid Sheet.
The
Room
Addition Bid Sheet
provides you with the knowledge on how to plan a home addition project,
and what to look for when hiring contractors for your new home construction. It
also includes a detailed cost breakdown table and spreadsheet for estimating
your own new home addition building costs.
How to Finance your Home Remodeling Project -
can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is
required.
Related Building Home Addition Articles
Additional Home Building and
Construction Resources
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