Going from a family of four to a family of five has made quite the unexpected difference in our lives.

Don’t get me wrong, we were prepared for a bit of a shift, but now that my children are older and need more space and independence, I’m finding our quaint three bedroom home not so “adorable” anymore. Plus, with children now staying and living at home for even longer, we can’t just plan and cater for the present, we need to start thinking about the future as well.

But now we have the conundrum – do we renovate or relocate?

Maybe I should go back to when we first purchased the house. As I said, it was adorable and admittedly, we only had (and planned on having) two children at the time.

Fast forward 10 years and we have another child (whoops) and the sweet little cottage I always imagined our family growing up together in, now feels cramped and quite frankly, bloated.

“Fast forward 10 years and we have another child (whoops) and the sweet little cottage I always imagined our family growing together in, now feels cramped and quite frankly, bloated.” Image via iStock.

Back then, the fact that we were scared to even enquire about a home loan, now makes me laugh. We both had good, stable jobs and knew we could easily cover the mortgage payments, but still, a fear lingered. At the time, the words ‘principal interest’ and ‘redraw facility’ baffled us and we were too scared of looking stupid to even ask the questions. Luckily however, we plucked up the courage and our bank helped us to understand all the terms in a straightforward and simple manner.

So then, back to our problem – should we renovate or move on to a larger home than the one we already have?

The decision isn’t easy – our little spot on the map has defined us as a family for so long now, we can’t imagine living anywhere else. We’ve made friends in this street, and our children have grown up playing in the backyard, have fallen out of the mango tree and broken arms and cuts toes and done countless cartwheels across the grass. I can’t even bear to think of leaving it.

“The decision isn’t easy – our little spot on the map has defined us as a family for so long now, we can’t imagine living anywhere else.” Image via iStock.

On one hand, if we renovate and extend, we’ll get to keep our home and give not just the children, but ourselves, more space. I would adore a study, a nook even, that is just mine. To read, to write and to lose myself in.

On the other hand, as soon as you say ‘renovate’ suddenly everyone (and I mean everyone), has an opinion. They want more bathrooms, heated towel racks, a pool (that’s not happening). Like I said – it’s not an easy decision. We’ll have to weigh up the cost of renos with the emotional and financial cost of moving. I know a few families are in the same position as me, so I had a chat with Amy Moore, a mobile lender from Suncorp Bank who travels to people’s homes and offices to help out with home loans.

5 tips if you’re considering renovating vs relocating.

The big decision of whether to renovate or move can really be quite simple as long as you are prepared and have done a little research. My personal tip? That study could make for a great nursery, just in case any new additions come along (just sayin’).

Have you had to make this decision? What did you choose?