Moving home is incredibly stressful, but there will probably come a time when no matter how much you love your home, you need to upgrade or downsize. If you look online, you will find a hundred and one house selling tips, but before you reach that stage in the process, it is a good idea to think about whether you actually need to sell. After all, there are plenty of ways to enlarge or improve an existing property, which could save you money!

If you are still undecided, here are five reasons why it is time to sell up and move on.

A Growing Family

A one-bed studio apartment is fine when there is just the two of you, but once kids come along, it will soon begin to feel a bit cramped. Kids take up a lot of room. They come with extra furniture, toys and hundreds of miscellaneous bits and pieces. Even if the bedrooms are large enough to accommodate siblings, as your children grow into teenagers they will want their own space. For this reason, most families take the decision to move to a larger property once their home begins to feel cramped.

Financial Reasons

A home is a huge investment. Unless you are lucky enough to be able to buy your home outright, you probably have mortgage payments to make every month. When times are good, this will not be a problem, but if the worst happens and you lose your job for any reason, it will be hard to pay the mortgage. One way to deal with this change in circumstances is to sell up and buy a cheaper property. Ideally, you can pay off your mortgage and be debt free, but at the very least, your repayments will be lower.

A Career Change

Ticking along in the same old job for years suits some people, but if you fancy a change in career, selling your home and buying something cheaper could release enough equity to fund a new business venture. However, this is not a decision to be taken lightly, as you could lose your home if it all goes wrong.

An Unexpected Windfall

Have you inherited a large sum of money or struck it lucky on the Lotto? If so, now would be a good time to trade in your one-bed apartment and upgrade to a beachfront condominium somewhere hot and sunny.

Bad Neighbours

Bad neighbours are a nightmare to deal with. Sometimes the situation can be resolved with some careful negotiation or legal action, but if you have tried everything to make the best of a bad situation, selling up and moving to a new home with nicer neighbours could be answer you are looking for. It is not ideal, but sometimes you just have to admit defeat and take the path of least resistance.

Selling a property is always stressful, no matter how well organised you are, so do not make the decision to move unless you absolutely have to.