The Pros and Cons of Moving to a Bigger House

There are definitely two trends going on in the housing market right now, people looking to live a minimalist lifestyle in tiny homes and the other end of the scale where people are making the move to bigger homes, mainly with gardens and garages.

Many people dream of moving to a bigger house, often because of an expanding family, a lack of space in their current home, or sometimes the dream is just driven by peer pressure.

But is moving to a bigger house worth it?

What are the benefits of moving to a bigger home?

And just as importantly what are the negatives of moving to a bigger home?

In this week’s home moving blog, we will look at all the positive and negative aspects of moving to a bigger home.

You may also like to read: Can Moving Home Make You Happier? Many people think that moving home will solve all their problems and make them happier. But is that really true? In this guide, we help you examine your life now and see whether what you seek is right under your nose or whether if you move home you truly will be happier

What Are The Advantages of Living in A Bigger House?

There are many good reasons to move to a bigger house and having more space is the obvious one, but here are a few more advantages of moving to a bigger house, some of which may not be quite so obvious but will improve your quality of life.

#1 More Room

If you just don’t have enough space for your needs then a bigger living area may be one of your primary reasons for wanting to move home.

You may need extra bedrooms as the family expands or gets older, or you may work from home and need a home office, so a larger home should satisfy that need.

#2 Can Improve Family Communication

If you currently have no dining room then having one could improve communication between the family.

Sitting down at a proper dining table not only is healthier for you but encourages those around the table to engage in conversation.

#3 Less Clutter

A few items strewn around a small room can make it seem untidy.

Having a bigger home means that you will probably take less notice of a few things left lying around.

#4 Outdoor Space

Having an outdoor space can vastly improve your quality of life.

From entertaining, to somewhere for the kids to safely play, to being able to grow your own vegetables, having outdoor space is a major factor for many home movers.

#5 A Garage

Many larger homes come with a garage which you may not currently have.

Even if you don’t own a car this can be useful storage space, can be converted into a home office, or even into extra living space in the future.

#6 Opportunity

Larger homes open up possibilities that smaller homes cannot.

If in the future you need extra income then you can rent out a bedroom, perhaps elderly relatives could come live with you, or you will have guest accommodation should you need it.

#7 Forever Home

If you select your new home wisely then perhaps this could be your forever home.

If you consider what your future needs will be then you may never need to move home ever again.

And when you take into account all the expenses of buying and selling a home then getting that forever home now will save you plenty of money and stress in the future.

You may also like to read: How to Find Your Forever Home and Never Have to Move Again. In this guide, we look at the pros and cons of making your next home your forever home and the type of things to take into consideration when choosing a dream home.

What Are The Disadvantages of Living in a Bigger House?

Moving to a bigger house comes with bigger responsibilities, more expenses, and a bigger financial risk.

Having a larger home can even have a negative impact on your quality of life.

#1 Bigger Mortgage

For the majority of people upsizing their home will inevitably mean a bigger mortgage (there is more about the affordability of a larger home in a later section)

#2 Larger Running Costs

More space means bigger heating, electricity, and council tax bills.

#3 More to Go Wrong

If you have the space then you tend to fill it with appliances and furniture.

A bigger home is likely to have things like a dishwasher, or a range oven, or maybe multiple bathrooms, all things that potentially will go wrong and need replacing over the years.

#4 More to Maintain

Larger homes take more time and money to repair, maintain, decorate, and renovate.

It should not be underestimated how much time and effort is required to maintain a garden, not to mention the expense of buying gardening tools and equipment.

#5 Wasted Space

You may find that there are rooms or spaces within rooms that you just won’t use.

When choosing a larger home take the time to really think about what you will use the extra space for and if in fact, the extra space is useable.

#6 Negative Impact on Family Life

Having your own space is a wonderful luxury, but having somewhere to go that isolates you from the rest of the family could have a negative impact.

Living in a smaller space you will tend to keep things neater, be more aware of your actions’ impact on the rest of the family, and generally promote better communication and unity within a family.

It also should not be underestimated the financial strain that owning a larger home can put on the family which may result in less money for family activities or holidays.

#7 Less Environmentally Friendly

Bigger homes have a bigger impact on the environment, from more materials being used in their construction, to the extra energy used to run all the lights and the extra appliances.

Additionally, many larger homes are built outside the city or on the outskirts of town which may mean more commuting, more car trips to the shops, and perhaps school runs that you have not previously had to make. You may even need a second car.

You may also like to read: The Pros and Cons of Buying a Home With a Garden. Many people aspire to having a garden but often they have a rose-tinted view of what that entails. In this guide, we look at the pros and cons of having an outside space.

Can I Afford to Move to a Bigger House?

We touched on the extra costs involved in running a larger home in the disadvantages section above, but when making such a large financial commitment, this topic deserves a bit more scrutiny.

If you are lucky enough to have inherited some money or have got a new job with a huge pay rise then moving to a bigger house may not have such a negative impact on your finances.

For many others, the additional costs of a bigger home may stretch their budget further than they imagined.

 www.zoopla.co.uk has a great tool to see just how much a specific property costs to run.

Once you have a good idea of how much a 4-bedroom home costs to run in comparison with a 2-bedroom home for example then you can do a test run just to see how much of an impact your new expenses could have on your life.

Take the extra money that your new home would cost you each month and put it into the bank every month for six months.

This will show just how easy, or not, it will be to survive on your remaining budget.

A bonus is that the money that you have accumulated over the last six months can then be used to pay your moving costs should you decide to move to a bigger home.

And if you really cannot survive on the money you have left each month then maybe now is not the time for you to be thinking of moving to a bigger home.

To see how much the removal costs are you can fill out this quick and easy quote estimate form.

When you are creating your budget for your new home don’t forget to take things like increased home and contents insurance and perhaps higher car insurance into consideration.

You can use this house insurance calculator from www.moneysupermarket.com to estimate your new insurance premium.

You can use the commute time and cost calculator at www.rac.co.uk to see how much extra your commute will cost you.

Use the budget planner at www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk to determine if you can afford to rent a bigger home.

You may also like to read How to Estimate Home Moving Costs in which we compare the costs of moving home yourself versus hiring the services of a full-service removal company.

Is it Better to Have a Bigger House or Better Lifestyle?

Most people would like a bit more extra room at home, but if it is a ‘nice to have’ rather than a ‘must have’, then the impact of the financial burden of a larger home should not be underestimated.

Before making this life-changing decision it is worth sitting down and considering the impact it will have not only on your social life but on every aspect of your life, maybe for many years to come.

• You may just about be able to afford the larger mortgage or rent but what about when an emergency repair needs doing, or an urgent expense crops up, or inflation rises?
• Do you currently use all the rooms efficiently in your home?
• Can you make better use of the space you have now?
• Is it possible to extend your current home?
• How will your life improve by having a bigger home?
• What impact is there on your life if you don’t move?
• Will you have to live in a less desirable area to be able to afford a larger home?
• Will your kids remember that they had 3 bathrooms in the home they grew up in, or will they remember the holidays and the quality time you spent together?
• Are you the kind of person who worries about debt? Having no savings or emergency funds can put a huge emotional strain on you.
• Would you rather have a big home with no money or a home suitable for your needs and the opportunity to go new places, do new things, perhaps fund your kids’ education, or retire earlier than you thought possible?
• Would you rather work in a stressful job with long hours for perhaps the rest of your life whilst you pay off a huge mortgage or would you rather work fewer hours, in a less demanding role, spending more time with family and friends?

Buying any home is a financial risk, and it is impossible to forecast what the property market will be like when the time comes to sell your home.

Then there are all the interest payments, the maintenance costs, moving costs, the sacrificed holidays, and social events that you could not afford to attend.

In many cases just reorganising your current home and optimising the available space makes sense rather than moving home.

Often we fill our homes with stuff that we just don’t need, so we move to a larger home, which gets filled with even more possessions, so we move again.

By decluttering your home you will free up space and make your current home seem larger.

You may also like to read: The Epic Guide to Decluttering Your Home which takes you step by step through the process of making more space in your home, getting rid of those things you no longer use or need, and maybe making you some money in the process.

Should I buy a bigger house or pay off the mortgage is a question that many struggle with and only you know your current situation, if your family will get bigger, how secure your job is, and what your priorities are.

Investigate the return you would get on putting your mortgage payments into a long-term savings plan versus having to take out another mortgage to pay for a larger home.

After all the other expenses of living in a bigger home are taken into consideration, the return may be just as good and you will not have had the worry and expenses over the years of a larger home.

You can find out lots of useful information about finding a good financial advisor to help you make this decision at www.citizensadvice.org.uk     

You may also like to read: Everything You Need to Know About Making a Small Home Work for You. In this guide, you will find some useful space-saving tips and ways to optimise the space within a home. It may be that you do not need to move at all but just need to organise your home better.

How to Get a Bigger Council House

Councils apply an overcrowding measurement called the ‘Bedroom Standard’ to determine if you need a larger home.

The bedroom standard states that you are overcrowded if your home does not have a bedroom for each:

• Couple
• Any single person aged 21 and over
• Pair of children under ten regardless of sex
• A pair of adolescents aged 10-20 of the same sex

Find out more about the overcrowding measurements that councils use at www.england.shelter.org.uk

Find out more about social housing in Scotland at www.gov.scot    

Find out more about applying for a larger council home in Wales at www.gov.wales    

Find out more about applying to move to a larger council home in Northern Ireland at www.nihe.gov.uk   

You must apply to your council if you want to move to a bigger place.

Each council has its own rules and criteria that you must meet before they will add you to the waiting list.

By some councils, you will be given points based on your current situation and that will determine how high on the waiting list you will be placed.

When a property that meets your needs becomes available the council will then offer it to you.

Other councils operate a choice-based letting scheme where you find an available property and you apply for the home.

The council then decides if you qualify for that home and will allocate it accordingly.

You can find out lots more about getting a larger council property at www.gov.uk  

Should You Move to a Bigger House or Not?

There are so many factors to take into consideration when deciding if now is the right time to move to a bigger home.

• Your current financial position
• Your future financial position
• The size of your family or planned family
• The current prices of homes
• The available mortgages and schemes to help you buy a home
• The space you need to live comfortably

Each factor when considered will help you make an informed decision as to what is the best decision for you.

Unfortunately, many people will choose to move to a larger home because that is what society thinks everyone should strive for.

But for many the move to a bigger home can be a step too far and their quality of life plunges.

That said there are many who struggled to upsize their home and are now reaping the benefits of the years that they struggled with a home that is now worth many times what they paid for it.

And during those years they have benefited from having more space and enjoyed the flexibility that living in a larger home has given them.

Having more space both indoors and outdoors can often outweigh any disadvantages of moving to a bigger home for many people.

If you have the financial ability and you really do need a bigger home then moving can vastly improve your quality of life.

Consider the pros and cons of moving to a bigger home carefully, take your time to make the right decision, and to find the right property in the right area.

There is a whole library of tips and guides in our home moving blog created to make your home move easier and cheaper, as well as a whole section on deciding where to move next that you may find particularly useful.