Have you been in your house for a year or two and just figured out that it doesn't quite meet your needs? Or have you been in your home for 20 years and need to figure out how to make it continue to work for you with a changing lifestyle?

I have had clients with both scenarios getting stressed out because they cannot work out what the best thing is to do. Do you move home and hope that the increase in price you end up spending gets you everything on your checklist, or is it going to cost less to renovate to get what you need out of your current home?

There is only one thing that you cannot change about your current home, and that is location, so if you need to move for work, or get your kids into a different school district, you don't have much choice. For everything else, there is usually a way to build up, down or out to achieve more space or reconfigure a layout to get a better flow in your home. Unless you are downsizing - no-one would make their home smaller!

So, what costs are involved in moving home? By the time you have taken into account agent fees, transfer taxes, property tax, attorney fees, real estate fees and improvements for selling, you are likely to spend around 10% of your home's value. According to Zillow, the median home value in Montclair is $660,799, so this means spending $66,000 in fees right away. Plus, you need to factor in another $2k - $5k for moving a 4-bedroom house within the same town. For $70k, you could gut a couple of bathrooms or invest in a new kitchen.

Then you have to consider the increase in house price for the extra space you need. The average price of a 3-bedroom 1 bath home on the market right now in Montclair is $507,125. The average of a 4 bedroom with 2 baths is $711,000. This is a difference of $203,875. This amount, along with the $70k for moving costs would cover the cost of an addition to include a new bedroom and bathroom on your current house.

So, this appears to be an equal balance in the math department. What you have to consider is the following: How much do you love where you live? How do you feel about living through a construction project? How much down time would you lose if you had to pack up your house? How likely is it that a new home would be 100% to your liking and not need any work done? How easy will it be to achieve what you need from your current home?

There are many other home renovations to consider beyond the addition of a bedroom and a bathroom to get what you need, and the costs involved. Maybe you need to reconfigure the first-floor layout so that you are not having to open 12 doors to get from the front to the back of the house. Maybe you need to take a wall out for more open plan living or maybe you need to add a powder room under the stairs so that you don't have to trek upstairs every time.

As an expert in home renovations and with over 20 years' experience in the architectural and interiors industry, I can help you work out if you can love it, or if you really do need to list it.