Want to Live More Spaciously? Don’t Buy a Bigger House!

Twelve per cent of people in the Netherlands are dissatisfied with their homes. One of the main reasons is that they feel their home is too small. Many people believe that moving to a bigger house is the solution. But what if that is not actually the most cost-effective option? Are you considering moving to a bigger house? Read this blog first and discover why moving may not be the best choice after all!

The cost of buying a new home

Moving may seem like a good solution when you want more living space. You gain a larger floor area and perhaps more rooms. However, moving also involves considerable costs. When you buy a house, you not only pay the purchase price but also many additional expenses.

These may include notary fees, which average around €1,000, estate agent fees, valuation costs of several hundred euros, a structural survey of approximately €350, mortgage advice and brokerage fees, the cost of applying for the National Mortgage Guarantee, a 2% property transfer tax and various other expenses. On average, these additional costs amount to around 7.5% of the purchase price.

A quick calculation shows that, with an average purchase price of €220,000, the additional costs could already amount to approximately €16,500.

Moving and furnishing costs

But the expenses do not stop there. In addition to the costs mentioned above, you also need to pay for the move itself. Hiring a professional moving company can easily cost around €1,300. If you arrange the move yourself, you may spend at least €80 per day, plus fuel and mileage costs.

Have you also considered higher monthly heating costs, increased taxes, furnishing expenses or even simple renovation costs? The walls may need new wallpaper or a fresh coat of paint, new flooring or carpet may be required, and you may want to buy some new furniture. These costs can quickly add up to several thousand euros.

When all these expenses are combined, you could face around €20,000 in initial costs on top of the purchase price. Your monthly expenses will also increase, depending on how much larger your new home is.

Do not buy more space—create it

What if you approached the problem differently? What if you could stay in your familiar home and still enjoy more living space? The solution is to create space.

You can buy a bigger house, but there is a good chance that your new home will soon become filled with new belongings as well. So how can you create more space?

Around 80% of the items in your cupboards are never used or are only used once a year. This means that you barely use four out of every five cupboards in your home and could use that space differently.

Start by sorting your belongings. Which items do you never use? Get rid of them. Which belongings do you definitely want to keep, and which ones would you like to keep even though you only use them once or twice a year?

Think of seasonal items such as a barbecue, beach equipment, suitcases or photo albums. You can store these belongings outside your home in a storage unit. This creates much more space at home and allows you to use your rooms in a different way.

You may be thinking that renting a storage unit also costs money. That is true, but a simple calculation quickly shows that renting storage space for ten years can be much cheaper than buying another house.

Buying a home involves around €20,000 in initial additional expenses, as well as higher monthly maintenance and heating costs.

With the same €20,000, you could rent a 42 m³ storage unit for ten years. A unit of this size can hold the contents of an entire family home. Since you probably do not want to store all your belongings, renting storage space will usually be the more affordable option.

Based on this calculation, it is clear that moving is not always the best solution when you want more living space. Simply decluttering your home can quickly create enough room for a hobby room, an additional child’s bedroom or even the kitchen of your dreams!