Deciding it’s time to move home is a big decision – emotionally and financially. From the size of your home to the cost of running it, there’s a lot to consider. If you’re thinking it’s time for change, we’ve put together a moving house checklist detailing the 10 signs it’s time to move on…
1. You need more space
For your growing family and all of their belongings. This can become apparent over the festive period when you’re all together at home more. Finding space to store Christmas gifts, along with your much-loved existing items can be tricky.
- You can create more storage with high sleeper beds with desks, storage and shelving units below or buy a bed with inbuilt under mattress storage. Find more more children’s bedroom ideas that will grow with them.
- You could even pack clothes away when seasons have finished, utilising vacuum sealed bags to maximise space further. For more storage ideas, read our stylish and simple storage solutions.
If you’re ready to move up the property ladder to a bigger, better property, the good news is we have tailored moving support available. With five bedrooms, three en-suites, plus the family bathroom, you won’t be short on space or have to queue for the bathroom in our generously proportioned Highgrove.
2. You need fewer rooms
If you’re considering downsizing, because your children have grown up and moved out, you may be put off by the thought of having less space. However, it may simply be fewer rooms that you need and therefore ‘rightsizing’ to a home that better meets your needs now and in the future could be the answer. This is a common factor for many of our customers deciding to make a house move and is why we introduced our Lifestyle homes. They are three-bedroom homes on the footprint of what would otherwise be a four-bedroom house, with the same downstairs layout, and a reconfigured upstairs with fewer but larger bedrooms, each with its own en-suite. For example, the Oxford Lifestyle looks just like its four-bedroom standard equivalent from the outside and on the ground floor. Upstairs it has three en-suite bedrooms.
We can offer Help to Sell on your existing property, whether you’re moving to a higher, lower or similar value property, so you can enjoy your new home sooner rather than later.
3. You want a home with a layout that works for you
How we use the space in our homes has changed in recent years. Buy a new home and you can choose the layout that meets your needs. Our open plan kitchen, dining and family rooms, mixed with more private areas like a separate lounge mean Redrow homes offer a better way to live. For example, the four-bedroom Richmond features an open plan kitchen, dining and family room, destined to be the heart of the home. Or perhaps you want extra space to workout at home or room for the children to play. You can choose the layout that meets your needs. If your home isn’t working for you, it might be time to change it.
4. Your circumstances have changed
A new relationship status or a job could mean you’re considering moving house. Perhaps you’re ready to make the next step in your relationship by buying a home together after living separately or into a property one of you previously lived in alone or with someone else. Or, if you’ve started a new job, perhaps you want to move to reduce the time you spend commuting. Alternatively, a new job may offer the option to work remotely, therefore allowing you to live further away. Many of our larger homes, including the four-bedroom Canterbury and the five-bedroom Sandringham, include a study.
5. You want to redress the work/life balance
Better connectivity and the ability to work remotely for at least part of the week means many people no longer the need to live near the office. Buy a new Redrow home and you’ll benefit from ultrafast broadband, perfect for sharing files or video meetings. For those who have to physically attend the workplace, moving closer can help cut commuting time. Both of these options provide the ability to spend more time doing what you really love with the people who matter most.
6. You find yourself browsing properties for sale
Finding a new home is easier than ever before thanks to the range of apps and websites showing homes for sale. The Redrow app is the perfect tool to get your home search started and makes it easier than ever to find your Redrow home in your ideal location. If you’re asking yourself ‘is now a good time to move house?’, you’re not alone. Boxing Day is one of the most popular days of the year for people searching for a new home. You can manage your new home search and journey from reservation to completion via My Redrow, saving your favourite developments and properties, making appointments, paying your reservation fee, completing all your legal documents, choosing your options to personalise your home, finding support after you’ve moved in and much more.
7. You’re tired of repairs and renovations
It might not be a money pit, but older houses inevitably cost more to maintain than newer properties, as age and wear-and-tear take their toll. You might be tired of calling a roofer to replace or repair another tile, or the handy man to fix a broken pipe or re-seal the shower – or those DIY jobs you used to love doing have become too much trouble. Research by the HBF suggests homebuyers could expect to fork out more than £70,000** upgrading an average property to new build standards.
8. You want to know how to lower your energy bills
Research by the HBF suggests the average buyer of a new house could save £2,422 a year on their energy bill compared with those living in older houses. Our homes are already among the most efficient available. Our Eco Electric homes use of air source heat pumps instead of gas boilers and feature underfloor heating as standard, while all our homes have extremely high standards of insulation and air tightness and top specification windows and doors to keep them cool in summer and warm in winter.
9. You want to be part of a thriving community
Creating a better way to live means we go beyond simply building homes, we create communities where people love living and invest in existing neighbourhoods. This includes ensuring there’s space for the younger residents to enjoy good old fashioned outdoor fun by playmaking as part of our placemaking policy. From play parks to fitness trails and even sports pitches we provide a range of facilities for residents to enjoy. Discover more about where better begins with our homes.
10. You want a fresh start
A new home offers a blank canvas to personalise to your own requirements. There are no one else’s decorating disasters to contend with, it’s all yours to put your own design stamp on. Subject to build stage you can choose from a range of options and upgrades, from choosing your kitchen cabinets, flooring and worktops, to your fireplace, wardrobes, bedroom and office furniture, light fittings and bathroom fixtures. You can then sit back while we do the hard work to fit your specification ready for you to move in. Discover more about what’s included in a new Redrow home.
Start your search for a new home today.
**Research by the HBF details the cost of bringing an average three-bedroom semi up to the same standards as a new build house.
*Research by the HBF, based on EPC ratings, suggests that buyers of new build houses could have saved an average of £2,422 on their annual energy bills last year.
