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How to Know When it’s Time to Move to a Larger Home

Few of us are lucky enough to have the funds to move into our first home and have that be big enough or in the right location to serve as our “forever home.” Still, as your circumstances change or you seek to make the most of market opportunities, you may feel an increasing desire to move to a larger home. As you’ll know, though, bigger homes come with larger expenses, so it can be difficult to know when it’s the right time to move.

Much of this will come down to your situation and your gut instinct, but here are a few tips to help you better understand what you should be considering when making this decision.

 

Signs that a move is on the horizon

Perhaps the first and most irrefutable feeling that you’ll get when it’s time to move is that of being cramped. Whether it’s due to the number of people, the need for more of a workspace, or accessibility needs, you know when there’s not enough space for everyone to be comfortable. Sometimes, this will be as obvious as bumping into things or needing to step over stuff, or more subtle, like hearing activity from all over the house.

Aspects like this can help you to know if you need to move to a bigger house, which USA Today Money expands on by saying that the need for additional storage or bedrooms can also factor in as key reasons. Your work situation can also play into this sense of needing to move. Perhaps you’re now able to work at home, or in a hybrid role, or live too far away from work, or live too close to work where the cost of living is very high. In all of these situations, a house move may very well help to alleviate some of your problems.

 

How to know if a move is right for you

The first aspects to address once you know that you’re ready to move mainly pertain to your finances. A good sign that you can move to a bigger home is if your debt-to-income ratio is low, according to Business Insider. It’s said that to get a mortgage, you need a debt-to-income ratio at or below 43 percent. To find your ratio, divide your monthly debts by your gross monthly income and then multiply by 100 to see the percentage.

 

You can also get a good idea of the affordability of upscaling by using the fee-free mortgage in principle from Trussle to soft check against many mortgage lenders. This service will allow you to accurately see how much you could borrow. Being a soft check, it won’t impact your credit score, but it does check your credit history and eligibility. This way, you get a reliable figure that you can then work from to find a larger house within your budget.

 

However, knowing your prospects as a potential mortgage lender is one thing: another is knowing your affordability on the other side. You’ll need to work out the costs of moving and the admin that goes along with getting a new home, as well as a likely increase in monthly costs. When you move to a bigger house, you’re likely to end up spending more on local taxes and utility bills. So, you’ll want to research those elements too.

 

You’ll likely know when you’re approaching the time when you need to find somewhere more spacious to live, but just before you hit the point when you absolutely need to move, check if it’s financially viable.