What makes people decide to move home?

It's such a huge life decision to uproot the family, pack up all of your belongings and move to a different property. There needs to be a compelling reason to go through all of that upheaval, right?

It's certainly not a decision to be taken lightly.

In fact, many studies have shown that the average household spends up to 2 years toying with the idea of moving house before they actually make any firm plans. 

This usually means that for 2 years, the property no longer fits the purpose of the household. 

They will spend that 2 years getting gradually more irritated by whatever is not quite right.

It's either too big, small, or in the wrong location.

And it's only when those reasons become more than a niggle and start to negatively impact the family's life that the reason becomes compelling enough to finally take the plunge.

Selling and indeed buying a home is an emotional decision. It's not something that people arrive at because of logic. 

The financial reasons for selling a property are logical. Still, unless you're really starting to struggle to pay for the property, you won't want to sell it because the reason is 'logical', and you will have an emotional attachment to your home.

So, the main reasons that push someone into taking the leap and going ahead and putting their home up for sale are:

• Upsizing. Your current property is simply not big enough! You're all living on top of each other. You've had more children since buying the property. Perhaps your children share a room, but they really need their own space as they get older.

• Downsizing. You're rattling around in a huge property that you barely even use. You're wasting money heating and maintaining a big family home when your children have grown up and moved out. The property is simply too big and costly to run.   

• Equity release. Somewhat going hand in hand with the downsizers, releasing equity from your property can be a compelling reason to sell. If the value of your home has gone up and you have been paying off, or perhaps paid off your mortgage, you could sell the property and release all of that lovely equity that you've built up. But, you will need to live somewhere, so this will only work if you buy something cheaper than what you've sold. This may mean looking for a smaller home or buying in a more affordable location. Equity release is not so much an emotional decision as a logical one. It takes a lot of logical thinking to sell your home purely for financial gain when the repercussions are that you will have to buy a less valuable property than you've sold. But this often works very well for those who love to renovate properties as a hobby. Buying beaten up, old, run-down homes and restoring them to their former glory. Then selling up and buying the next project, releasing the equity they've built up and pocketing any profits before starting the next restoration. 

• Relocation. Whether for a job or to be closer to family members, your property's location is no longer right for you and your family. A slight location change can often allow access to better schools or an easier commute to work. It doesn't always have to be the length and breadth of the country; it could just as simply be a move to the next town. 

• Lifestyle change. The most common 'lifestyle change' is exchanging a busy city life for a move to the countryside. Often coming towards the end of a career, after years of dealing with traffic, pollution and crowds, this seller yearns for a quieter, slower pace of life and looks to move away from the city and to a quiet village in the countryside.

• Purchasing investment property. There can be many benefits to owning investment properties, but most of your personal wealth is often tied up in your home. Either remortgaging your home to release some of the money or selling your home and moving into a cheaper/smaller property can release the funds needed to buy an investment property. This longer-term plan can cause much upheaval for the family and a fundamental lifestyle change. So the homeowner will usually use leverage and other schemes to release this money whilst still being able to live in their home. 

As you can see, it's usually a significant life change that prompts a homeowner to decide to sell their home.

And that big issue has probably been brewing for a few years before they've bitten the bullet and put it on the market. 

It takes a few more months to decide on the agent to sell it, and then a few further months of marketing and viewings before an offer is accepted. Then with up to 4 more months for the legal process, a property move can take up to 4 years. No wonder it's considered one of the most significant occasions in a person's life.

If you're contemplating moving and want to discuss the options available to you, even if you are in the very early stages of thinking about moving, get in touch with our team of experts today.

They are happy to help, and perhaps they can suggest a way to make your life easier without selling just yet if you're not quite ready!?