Whether you’ve lived in your home for twenty years or just two, your home is your sanctuary – the one place you feel completely at ease. It’s where you can kick your feet up at the end of a long day and relax.
The truth is, you get home, and you realize you can’t really sit down because the dog got a bit too pudgy and dislodged the doggy door frame and now you have a big hole that needs fixing. You decide that you will tackle that task after you attempt to paint over the dirty fingerprints along the walls that mysteriously reach the same height as your youngest child. And you haven’t seen your cat in quite some time, but you suspect he’s escaped the chaos long ago.
When do you know it’s time for a new home? Here are five indicators.
1. Your home is no longer the right size.
When you purchased your home, it may have been ideal for your situation at the time. Perhaps you have had a baby or two, or became a blended family, and now everyone is tripping over one another just to grab a snack in the kitchen. Perhaps your kids are grown and have FINALLY left home and you no longer want to Swiffer all those floors. Whatever your situation, your existing home is no longer the right size for what you need.
2. Repairs needed are too much to take on.
Your home may be past its warranty period, and now all those repairs you need to complete are entirely out of pocket. Not only are you frustrated with that broken doggy door, but you are now longing for a sunny, ocean-bound vacation rather than another weekend with a drill and a pack of bandages. It’s time to make a choice between repairing your existing home or finding something newer and better suited to your needs.
3. The location is no longer ideal.
You are tired of driving your kids across town to school because zones changed, or they were relocated due to overcrowding. Just once you’d like to stay in bed ten more minutes, but instead you are trying to get one kid to put on his shoes while the other hasn’t found her homework yet from last night. And you still need to deliver them and get to work on time yourself. Did I mention rush hour?
4. You are no longer smitten with your home.
Let’s face it. You once were totally and completely in love with your home, and you couldn’t imagine ever leaving. It may have taken quite a few years, but the honeymoon has ended. It’s not that you don’t love it anymore at ALL, it’s just time to find a new home that takes your breath away again.
5. You feel stagnant.
You’ve been in your home a long time. It’s served you well. But cobwebs have started forming between you and your couch, and you feel it’s time for a refresh. Hearing the obnoxious red sports car pass your house at the same time every day for ten years has become too much to bear. You want to find a new neighbourhood with walking trails and water features, and it’s time to wake up to something new.
Whatever your situation, your home may be giving you signs it’s time to move on. Listen closely, it may be right!