Don't Move, Improve

Design your own house

The Great Property Crash of 2019?

To move or improve? It's a question so old that it could almost be Shakespearian. Today, the question is made more difficult to answer by a couple of little issues; the sluggish housing market and dire predictions about crashing property prices after the UK leaves the EU.

In reality, Brexit is likely to be the biggest housing crash that never happened or about as damaging to house prices as the millennium bug was to computing systems. Whichever continent we decide to be part of (or not) Britain is still a small island and its residents still need housing.

That said, selling up at the moment is a slow and tortuous process and not a guaranteed one at that.  Home improvement offers some great benefits as an alternative and there are several advantages that it can offer which moving may not. Here are a couple of interesting ways in which improving could offer some additional benefits. Contact Architecture Company for more!

Extended Home Design for Extended Families

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For the average working couple with a young family; time, space and finances may all be under pressure. Childcare costs can eat up half that hard earned money and, if you don't take regular photos of the kids, it can be hard to remember which ones are actually yours when you get a rare chance to pick them up from school.

Creating a larger home or Build a house can open up an interesting option; recently retired parents (or in-laws) may be keen to downsize, free up some cash and spend more time with the family. Doubling up with them can reduce financial pressure for all parties and the 'free' childcare will be something that few working parents will turn down.

Extended families often lived together in the not-so-distant-past and the trend is one that seems to be returning. Today, the recently retired are usually in good health and many would appreciate the chance to build bonds with the next-but-one generation down. As they, in turn, find their care needs increasing, having you (and/or your kids) around can reduce both worries about the future and potentially crippling care costs. It's not a home design or home improvement option that works for everyone but can work extremely well for many families. 

Cash in the Attic?

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Forget the attic, there's probably a significant chunk of cash in the whole house, if you choose to re-mortgage or take a second loan on your home. OK, so there's a danger that interest rates will rise over the next few years but that's what makes now the perfect time to take out extra finance. Low fixed rate loans are fairly plentiful and by taking a fixed rate five-year loan now, you can offset the chance of interest rate rises and, depending on the amount, quite probably clear the additional debt before the fixed rate period ends.

The resulting home improvement should, of course, by that time also have increased the value of your home. Whilst home improvement may not be completely stress free, it's certainly an attractive option compared to the uncertainty and cost of moving home.