Hellobee Boards

I would for sure move. We completely gutted and renovated our house inside/out; it was way more affordable that way than to buy something move-in ready (and I might not even like it as much).

Can you afford to do a Reno upfront? Maybe spending a few months finishing the basement, and the like? Honestly the shorter commute is so worth it. You'll get an extra hour and a half with him a day

Being in the neighbourhood you want and the lessened commute time makes it worth it even if you can’t do all the renos right away.

I think it's inevitable to feel hesitation because it's a huge change, a lot of work, and can have major implications for your financial situation even if well within budget.

We moved about four months ago, we were definitely hesitant at the time but it's a hot market and we had to make a very quick decision, and I'm so glad we did.

That said, renovations often add up in unanticipated ways, especially if it's an old house and you want to do it well to save you even more expense down the road. We are in the middle of doing renovations. The house is nearly 200 years old, and of course we discovered significant issues with the framing, etc, that weren't apparent until we tore down to the studs. All this takes money and more time (not great since we're expecting in Dec and really wanted it done before the baby gets here since we're living in the house while renovating). I'm sure we got the house cheaper than if the renovations had already been done, but part of it is also fixing non-visible stuff that doesn't add value. We have a large yard, and that can has maintenance costs as well; i.e. we have some amazing trees but they need periodic fertilizations and treatments to prevent disease. It's totally worth it for me because I LOVE the yard and house, and we budgeted enough too account for these costs, but if I didn't I could imagine being pretty annoyed....

Absolutely move. The commute savings alone will save your sanity. We moved when DS1 was 18 months to a house that we initially passed over because of the renovation factor but in a good neighbourhood and cut our commutes in half. Our realtor encouraged us to take another look and we decided to go for it and I’m forever grateful. We’ve been here 3 years and have gutted the main bathroom, fenced the yard, redid the driveway from pavers to asphalt, painted the whole house, etc. We are probably looking at new AC next summer and had to get a new fridge a month ago, redoing carpet in the basement in a couple weeks and new doors as well. It definitely adds up and sometimes it drives me nuts because the house isn’t exactly the way I want it. We got the house for a steal and the market has exploded around here...like we bought just under 400k and houses are going for 550-575k and up now.

Advice would be to do the major things like flooring and painting before you move if possible. Make sure your bathrooms are bearable. Our kitchen is old but we are saving that for a major gut job in like 5-10 years. Simple stuff like changing the cupboard knobs and paint make it bearable. We had 5 weeks to closing so we had to wait to do it all which was a PITA but not impossible. With one kid it’s so much easier...now we have a second son and I am so happy we are staying put.

Like others have said, do it. If the house is livable, even if it's not perfect, use the profit you'll likely make on your sale to tackle things you really care about first, and then do the rest as time allows. The unknown is scary and sometimes you just have to do it and the upsides really seem to outweigh the downsides here. FWIW, we bought a house 2 months ago and I resisted the process so much because all the things you'll be gaining (shorter commute, closer to friends, etc.) we lost as a result of the move and I really didn't want to, but more space and the community we're now in is worth it and will be worth it over time so I just had to go with it and it was the right call. Good luck!