If you’re looking for a Nashville home, the dearth of modern homes might have had you considering a renovation or a tear down! But which option is REALLY more cost-effective?
Renovating your home could be just the thing you need to make it truly yours. But be careful: This decision could lead you down a never-ending (and stealthily expensive) home improvement rabbit hole. Once you’ve turned your kitchen from drab to fab, for example, your family room now seems out of place, the living room looks dated, and so on. In many cases, tearing down an old home is more affordable than a top-to-bottom remodel, with or without an addition.
But not always. It really depends on the home, your location, and your situation. Here are five factors to consider when weighing your options, plus advice on how to make this costly financial decision.
Does your older home have a lot of character?
Solid-core doors, marble windowsills, crown molding, pocket doors, arched doorways — who could get rid of these features? Some older houses are made with higher-quality wood and have finishing touches that you can’t replicate today. If you want to keep your home’s original details, you’ll probably want to renovate.
But don’t feel bad if a historical charmer isn’t your thing. Besides, not all old homes are worth saving. While there are many homes and historical buildings that are 100, 200, or more years old and still in sound condition, typically homes more than 75 years old or so need a critical eye. They need to have been very well-taken care of. A teardown will allow you to build with modern materials, and your home will likely be much more energy-efficient. Just make sure that you can tear down your old home. If it’s in a historic district, you’ll need to get permission from your state or local regulator, or from your local historic preservation commission.
Is your home up to code?
A home on a crumbling foundation is a serious matter. If your home has structural issues, most people would recommend a teardown. But how can you tell? Your walls, when looked at from the outside, should be straight. There should be no water in your basement or crawl space, no cracks on your interior walls, and your windows should easily open and close. A structural engineer can be a big asset in helping you decide.
What are the neighborhood regulations?
The decision on whether to renovate or rebuild might not be completely yours to make. If your neighborhood’s jurisdiction has tough regulations, it might be easier to play by its rules. In places where you’ve got a lot of rules, its almost never better to tear down. In some historic Nashville neighorhoods, it’s so much faster to get city approval for a project that involves leaving the existing house and renovating. That’ll get you approval in one month versus one year for a complete teardown.
