Many Greenville, SC homeowners face a debate this spring selling season. Should I renovate my current house and keep my low interest rate or should I sell my home and get the features I want?
If your home has significant equity this can be both a personal and a financial decision, which is not easy!
That’s why at Bird Dog Group we are always thinking of ways to help homeowners manage their asset and make the right decision for themselves. If you’re looking for a way to analyze the financial choice of keeping your current home/rate vs selling here’s a method you can use with a simple spreadsheet or even a pen and paper. (we promise the math is not hard)
Step 1: Know the value of your home:
before and after renovations. It’s important to consider what the final value of the home will be after having work done. To get started with an online valuation and to get a custom report from one of our experts submit your address at the link below.
What’s My Greenville SC Home Worth?
Step 2 calculate the monthly cost of your renovations and their lifespan.
Here’s where our simple spreadsheet comes into play. We’ve given an example below (costs are for example use and may not reflect an accurate renovation cost) but you can make this spreadsheet on your own using the following formula.
To recreate the example above follow these simple steps…
1. Create a column and list out your planned renovation projects.
2. Research the estimated costs or even better get some real contractor quotes (we recommend at least 2 if not 3 to get the best price) List these in column B. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of financing if you’re using a HELOC or Credit Card!
3. Estimate the time you’re buying to stay in your current home. In other words how long will these improvements keep YOU living in your current home? Don’t forget to factor in that renovations don’t last forever and some trends last longer than others.
4. Now to achieve the results in columns D & E, Simply divide The TOTAL cost of all items in column B by the AVERAGE time in column C. Divide this result (column D) by 12 and voila! You now have an estimated monthly cost.
5. Finally add this monthly cost to your current mortgage payment. Now compare this with other homes you may be interested in purchasing at the current interest rate.
This is simply an example that you can use to think through both the cost of a renovation and also the time of enjoyment you will actually get for the price. Remember choosing to renovate or move always comes down to personal preference. Use this exercise to help you with your decision and call an agent from Bird Dog Group, Brokered By Real Broker, LLC if you need help with the process, and of course if you’re ready to sell for top dollar!
Have a great spring selling season.
-Brian Ostrowiak: Owner.