Building a house or renovating an existing one: which one is better?

Everyone knows that a nice house is a great investment but people are still in a dilemma when it comes to deciding between building a new house and renovating an existing one. Which one will have more value? To help you choose, we present the advantages and disadvantages of these two options.

Building a custom house

The choice of building a new, custom house is being able to customize it to fit your taste, needs and requirements in every aspect. Another great aspect of building a new house is that you will not be bothered with renovation for years to come. Maintenance will also be at the minimum since everything is brand new.

Choosing to build a new house also means that your home will be built according to the latest standards, especially with regard to the electrical and thermal installations. As a consequence, newly built homes are undoubtedly more energy-efficient because they are optimally structured.

One could argue that you can transform your existing structures to more energy-efficient ones by renovating your house. While it is doable, you have to consider the amount of work needed to convert an old house to match the new standards. Changing the electrical and plumbing installations of any given house is very difficult considering major parts of those installations are either inside the walls or under the floor.

Let’s sum up some of the main advantages of building a house:

• Having your own land allows you to design the home however you wish
• You do not do any work and save money
• New houses often have modern and spacious bathrooms that are hard to achieve by renovating your existing bathroom
• The maintenance costs are expected to be at a bare minimum for many years
• Energy efficient with better structuring

If you are not a fan of old houses, building your home will certainly bring you more comfort than renovating. Not only will you enjoy a house that suits you, but it will also be more energy efficient and more environmentally friendly.
In the medium term as well as in the long term, it will also be more economical.

By building your home, you’ll also have real freedom to make your own plans, and you’ll get a custom home. You will, of course, have to respect certain urban planning rules, but the professional of your choice will help you to draw up plans that will always be as close as possible to your wishes. Also think of the fact that once built, your home will be completely new: every piece of equipment, installation and feature will be new and the standards will be up to the requirements of the current day.

Renovating your house

Renovating your house might be more economical if you do not mind living in an old building. The advantage of renovating is that you do not have to do everything at once. You can schedule the renovations according to your budget. By renovation, you can always update your living room, kitchen and bedrooms. Bathroom renovation generally costs a lot if you want to change all the appliances too. The drawback of renovation comes with fact that you cannot actually change the structure of your house. If your bathroom or kitchen is too small, there is not much you can do about it. Yes, you can redesign them in a way that they look more spacious but in reality, they will remain the same size.

On top of everything else, renovating your house won’t save you from the regular maintenance costs. If the main structure of the house has some considerable age, issues will come after another. You can definitely fix basic things like leaking taps or a faulty light switch but there will be more fundamental issues such as the plumbing or the insulation problems.

Whether you are building or renovating, each option has its own advantages and drawbacks. The best choice is your choice. As long as you evaluate both options thoroughly, you’ll be fine.