Is It Time to Size Up?

You’ve probably heard the phrase “bigger isn’t always better.” While that may be true for a lot of things, that isn’t always the case in real estate.

While there are lots of options for smart storage solutions and creating usable space, sometimes a house can be too small for your needs — whether you’ve recently had a new baby, invited an older parent to live with you, or started a work-from-home job that requires dedicated office space.

Making the move to a bigger home can be intimidating, but I’m here to help you understand the benefits of upgrading your space.

Why Bigger is Better

Let’s talk all about the benefits of owning a larger home, as well as the possible objections you may have to purchase one (and why they’re actually possible selling points).

Selling Point: Bigger Homes Include Bonus Spaces

Most starter homes include just the standard rooms almost every home has: bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room.

When you upsize your home, not only do the room sizes grow, but you often get additional spaces and features you didn’t have in your smaller home.

Some of those features include:

● Finished basements
● Office spaces
● Playrooms
● Walk-in closets
● Master bathrooms
● Screened-in porches
● Mudrooms
● Extra garage space

If you’re currently doubling a living room as a playroom, you should be ecstatic at the idea of having two separate defined spaces.

Selling Point: More space Means Kids Don’t Have to Share Rooms

Expanding families need more rooms — it’s a simple fact.

If a family of 5 is living in a 3-bedroom home, that means two of the siblings have to share a room. And while this might work fine for some families, it often means more sibling disputes and a lack of space for each of those children to keep clothes and personal items.

Depending on the size of their upgrade, some families may even get enough bedrooms to have a guest space.

Selling Point: Bigger Homes Have More Storage

One of the most irritating things about owning a small home is the lack of storage space. “Stuff” can accumulate pretty quickly over time, especially in homes with children.

Small homes often lack adequate cabinet and closet storage, which means you constantly have to clean out your home, or even rent a storage space to keep everything you don’t want to part with.

Objection: I Can’t Afford A Bigger Home

Sometimes, a bigger home just isn’t on the financial cards, no matter how badly you want one. But some people are surprised to find out they actually can afford a bigger home if they take certain factors into consideration.

1. Depending on how much you get for your current home, you may be able to afford the bigger home you thought was out of reach.

If you bought your starter home 10 years ago, chances are, you don’t know exactly how much it’s worth today. Talk to a licensed real estate agent, like me, for a Comparative Market Analysis of your home, and you may just discover that an out-of-reach home is actually fairly affordable.

A good real estate agent can also sell your home at a higher price point. High-quality marketing, staging, and minor upgrades can all have a huge impact on the selling price of a home.

2. Break down the price of the new home into mortgage payments

Presuming current rates of 4.5% on a 30-year mortgage, a monthly payment per $10,000 is about $50. So a $20,000 difference in the purchase price is going to drive a difference of about $100 a month in mortgage payments. Sometimes, when buyers see a big sticker price, they automatically think they can’t afford it. But if someone selling a $250,000 house wants to purchase a $300,000 home, their mortgage payment will only increase by about $250 per month. An increase of $250 a month is a lot less daunting than $50,000 upfront.

3. Larger homes come in a variety of price points.

You may not be able to afford a move-in ready mansion with a theater room and heated pool, but you may be able to afford a larger 4-bedroom house that needs just a little TLC.

Consider a larger home’s potential as you search. You can make upgrades over time and build equity in the home.

Objection: More Space Means More Work

Many people assume that owning a larger home means more time spent cleaning and maintaining it. But this isn’t necessarily true. Smaller homes have less room to store all of the items that people accumulate over the years. So where does that stuff inevitably end up?

It ends up in junk drawers, in piles on countertops, in random storage containers, or in closets that can no longer be opened without everything falling out.

Bigger homes might come with more space overall, but they also come with more space for smart storage, keeping the clutter hidden and out of the way.

How Can I Help?

You’ve probably heard the phrase “bigger isn’t always better.” While that may be true for a lot of things, that isn’t always the case in real estate.

While there are lots of options for smart storage solutions and creating usable space, sometimes a house can be too small for your needs — whether you’ve recently had a new baby, invited an older parent to live with you, or started a work-from-home job that requires dedicated office space.

Making the move to a bigger home can be intimidating, but I’m here to help you understand the benefits of upgrading your space.

Email: natalia@firststaybc.com
Contact: +1 778 317-6393
Natalia Garbuzova – Lease-Up Rental Agent

Smart Solutions to Make the Most of the Space You Have

One of the biggest complaints people have about their houses is that there’s not enough storage space. In fact, a lack of space is the number one reason people decide to purchase bigger homes.

But if buying a house isn’t in the cards for you right now, there are plenty of steps you can take to better utilize the space you do have.

Clean it out!

This may seem like a no-brainer, but the best way to create storage space is to get rid of things you don’t need. This is easier said than done for a lot of people. If you’re someone who likes to hold onto everything and has trouble deciding what to throw out, here are some helpful tips to clear out common household items.

• Clothes: A helpful trick for getting rid of unworn clothes is to hang everything in your closet backward, with the hanger hook facing toward, instead of away, from you. As you wear items throughout the year, hang them back up the correct way. At the end of a year, whatever is still facing backward should be given away. Additionally, you should clean out your drawers between seasons. If you haven’t worn an item for an entire season, chances are, you won’t wear it next year. Anything with unintentional holes or stains should be thrown out, and anything that Doesn’t fit should be donated or sold. A lot of people like to hold onto clothes that used to fit them with the hopes of losing weight in the future. If you truly don’t want to part with these items, consider boxing and putting them in the attic to make room in your drawers.

• Toys: If you have kids, you know how quickly toys can accumulate and take over your house. Plus, even if it isn’t consistently played with, it’s hard to convince a child they no longer need a particular toy. If something hasn’t been touched in a while, move it out of the room and into a temporary storage space. If it goes unmissed for a period of time, you can safely take it out of the house for good. You can also tell older children that you’re planning to give their toys to other children who need them — they should be old enough to understand this concept and may enthusiastically clear out other toys they no longer play with.
• Papers/Perishables: If you have piles of junk mail, letters home from school, old art projects, and grocery lists eating up room on your countertops, don’t worry — you’re not alone! In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s easy to let things pile up. Take time to go through those piles and get rid of what you don’t need. If you can’t part with some of these paper items, consider clearing out a drawer or investing in a filing cabinet to store them. You can also put especially keep-worthy school art projects inside a bin in your attic.
• Miscellaneous Junk: We all have infamous junk drawers in our houses. These drawers hold everything from old birthday candles, safety pins, and broken pens to ripped gloves and old pot-holders. Chances are, you could throw out everything in these drawers and never miss them.
  
  
  But they’re still worth going through a few times a year to make sure you aren’t missing anything important. Everything else can be thrown out or put into small containers/plastic bags and stacked back in the drawer to make room for other items you actually need.

Pack it away

The key here is to put away everything you’re not using during a particular time of year. For instance, winter jackets, snow boots, sleds, and snow blowers have no use taking up room in your closet or garage during the summer months.

Move these items to more permanent storage when they’re not being actively used. These are the best places to store items you’re not currently using:

• Attic: If you have attic space in your home, make sure you utilize it. Everything from winter jackets to holiday lights can be stored in the attic when they’re not being used.
• Under the bed: Putting clothes under your bed when they’re not being worn keeps them out of your way but close by in case you want to wear them.
• Shed: If you have a shed in your yard, you should store all outdoor/landscaping items in it, rather than in your garage. Garages can quickly become overcrowded if they accumulate too much.
• Storage unit: According to Cost Helper, the average storage unit costs $40-$50 per month for a 5-by-5-foot unit and $75-$140 per month for a 10-by-15-foot unit. If you can afford it, storage units are a great asset that can allow you to save space in your home.

Invest in Smart Storage

If you’re struggling to find space in your house, luckily, many options exist to organize and save room in the storage spaces you do have.

• Vacuum-sealed bags: These bags compress clothes, pillows, blankets, and other soft items to help them fit into tighter spaces. You can stack and store them away in closets or under beds and you have the added bonus of knowing your items will be protected from outside damage.
• Stackable storage bins: If you find you’re running out of space in drawers or closets, consider organizing your items into plastic bins. Unorganized messes can take up more space than clutter organized into containers.
• Shelving and cabinets: Adding closed or open shelving units throughout your home can take care of storage and also provide an attractive feature if used in the right way. But if you don’t want to add shelves into high-traffic areas, consider putting them in laundry rooms, garages, or other less-seen areas of your home.
• Hidden storage: You can add hidden storage spaces in numerous places in your home, including on staircases and inside furniture like coffee tables and ottomans.

Well Maintained Bright House with 6 Beds 3.5 Baths For Sale!

 

Welcome to the beautiful house with 6 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms with 2252 sq. ft. in sought after Renfrew is located on a quiet street, close to transit, shops, grocery stores, and schools Open and bright 3 bedrooms upstairs and 3 bedrooms downstairs. Single car detached garage.

Super features a wood-burning fireplace on the main floor. Possible Laneway house for this lot. Showing by appointments only.

Call/text Natalia Garbuzova at 778.317.6393, First Stay Realty Inc.