When you want to become the owner of your own house, a difficult choice often arises: is it more "interesting" to build your house or to buy an "old" one and renovate it to bring it to your liking? Not only in terms of cost but also in terms of time spent, personal investment... Maisons SIC, a specialist in the construction of individual houses in the South-West, looked into the question.
Building or renovating your house: which is more expensive?
The decision to buy an old house, to renovate one's current house or to build a new house is made according to multiple criteria. Like the appetite (or not) for the works, the desire for a certain architecture or… the price! This last criterion, economic, often weighs heavily in the balance.
Energy savings with RT 2012 when building a house
We were talking to you in this article on RT 2012 the implication of this thermal regulation on the energy consumption of houses built today. Since January 1, 2013, all new homes must comply with thermal regulations, known as RT 2012, which allows new owners to consume less energy for heating, cooling the house or preparing domestic hot water. The bioclimatic design advocated by the RT 2012 requires builders to take into account the environment of the house by taking advantage of the heat and sunlight while protecting themselves, quite naturally, during the summer season.
In 2021, new, more demanding regulations should come into force, previously called RT 2020.
By choosing to build a new home, you optimize your insulation in the long term and you ensure big savings in energy consumption over the long term.
Building your house rather than renovating one: interesting tax advantages
When you are hesitating between a purchase in the old, a renovation and the construction of a new house, it is important to know what aids are linked to these different choices. It exists significant state aid which encourage the construction of a single-family house and which can greatly reduce the price. We already told you about it in our article “build or buy a house: which is cheaper?”.
Among these fiscal and financial aids for the construction of a house, we find:
- THEproperty tax exemption, for a period of 2 years from 1 January of the following year, whether it is a main or secondary dwelling.
- Le ready at zero rate.
- The Action Logement, Social Accession loan, etc.
- La reduction of notary fees, which will only amount to about 3%, whereas the purchase of an old house involves costs of up to 8% of the purchase price.
A higher cost, in the short term only, for the construction of a new house
A popular idea is that building a new house is more expensive than renovating or buying an old house. Like all popular beliefs, it is only partly true. If building a house has a cost (which can be explained by many criteria), it is easily “amortized” over time. Indeed, thanks to warranties from the builder of your new home, you can ensure that you do not have new work to do for many years. Be careful, however, when choosing your professional! By working with a player with recognized expertise and experience, such as Maisons SIC, you ensure an answer perfectly adapted to your needs and all your expectations.
Your home is also totally optimized, in terms of insulation, energy consumption, heating, electricity and others. The possibility of projecting oneself there in the long term, without ever needing to do anything about it, is totally possible. And that's priceless peace of mind.
Energy renovation of your house: a profitable but engaging investment
When you already own your home, renovating may seem more cost-effective than building a new home. Indeed, renovating your home can be a worthwhile investment. By modifying the insulation, the heating system, the ventilation, installing solar panels and taking advantage of the multiple state aids linked to this work, as part of the energy transition, you can make energy savings which can sometimes almost make the cost of the work profitable.
These renovations to your home can also allow you to increase in value with a view to resale, more or less next. By embarking on energy renovation work, you will be able to display a more attractive energy label (the famous DPE) and therefore increase the selling price of your property.
Before embarking on major work, however, be careful to understand all the implications. Because they necessarily imply daily inconvenience, since they take place in your only place of life. Where the construction of a new house is done on a "future" place of life, renovation work (whose duration is not always guaranteed) will involve you in a new organization of your everyday life, interspersed with many noises and inconveniences. It is therefore very important to anticipate the reality of this work and the commitment that this entails every day.
Buying in the old: advantages and disadvantages of renovating your house
Easier to plan on an existing property: not so sure...
It is often thought that it is easier to project yourself on a house / apartment that has already been built than on a new house that has not yet come out of the ground. It is true that when you buy into the existing one, you know immediately where the kitchen is, what noise the stairs make and where to place your deckchairs in the garden. It is also quite “easy” (especially for those who are used to works) to immediately imagine how to renovate the property.
But the “techniques” of projection within the framework of the construction of a house have evolved a lot. And it is now possible to project yourself much more easily thanks to 3D and virtual reality. Indeed, if 360° virtual tours are increasingly used by real estate agencies to sell their properties remotely, they are also present in show houses. It is thus possible to visit a model house without moving. Or even, even better, to move within a 3D house. Thus, the projection in his future new home is much easier!
Renovate rather than build: pay attention to reality!
One of the biggest drawbacks of the works is contingency management. As we often hear “the work, we know when it starts, we don't know when it ends.” This manual and human work will inevitably come up against hazards that will extend the duration of the work. If you are in the context of a renovation of a property that you have just bought, you must therefore think “wide” enough for the “real” move-in date, so as not to find yourself having to sleep at home. hotel until the works are finished.
Another small black point: the cost. If the work is often fairly fairly estimated by professionals, it is complicated to take into account, economically speaking, the unforeseen. And faced with these additional expenses, it is important to have the necessary budget. It is therefore always necessary to provide, in addition to the “time” margin, a “budget” margin.
When you decide to build a house, it is clear that the time allotted and the budget provided are much less fluctuating than in the context of a renovation.
Shorter deadlines for the purchase of an old house (but not for the renovation)
Building a new home takes time, that's undeniable. The period is generally 1 to 2 years. The deadlines for the purchase of an old house are much shorter: 7 to 8 months maximum. Indeed, it takes 4 months between the start of the research and the signature at the notary. And once your property has been found, count 3 months between the signing of the compromise and that of the deed of sale. But if you are in the case of a house to renovate, you can add between 3 and 6 months of work. Which give a delay, for the purchase + the renovation of a house which can then prove to be more or less equivalent to that of the construction of a new house.
Building your house vs renovating an existing property: small disadvantages erased by huge advantages
Construction times justified by the guarantees of the builder of your individual house
Building a new house takes time… for good reason! When you call on a construction professional such as, for example, Maisons SIC, we make sure of a house that will meet at least 3 guarantees (which cover you for up to 10 years after delivery of the property):
- The guarantee of perfect completion (one year): covers all possible defects to be noted when handing over the keys, as well as hidden defects that appear once installed in your home.
- The guarantee of proper functioning (2 years) which cover any new intervention by the manufacturer for work to be carried out on the equipment.
- The ten-year guarantee (10 years) which covers any problem calling into question the solidity of the building or its residential function.
Build a house that looks 100% like you
Renovating an old house allows you to bring it to your liking. But based on what already exists. You will therefore necessarily have to adapt your desires to the reality of the architecture of the house. On the contrary, having a new house built allows you to master absolutely all aspects. Whether you want a single-storey, two-storey house, with a flat roof (as presented in this article), a terrace, a floor, bay windows, separate toilets… Everything is possible in the construction of a new house since you are the one who validates the plans even before construction!
A property immediately accessible to the elderly or disabled
accessibility is a criterion that arises quite quickly when age arrives. Which can be hardly compatible with an old house and which is sometimes not even possible with renovation work. When you have, for example, a town house with stairs, it can be very complicated, long and expensive to transform it into an easy-to-live-in single-storey house for elderly or disabled people.
The issue of accessibility is, on the other hand, fully conceivable from the design of your new home.
