4 Reasons Not to Upsize Your Home

Itching for more living space? Think twice before you buy a bigger home.

A lot of home buyers purchase starter homes with the intent to upsize down the line. If you feel that you're rapidly outgrowing your home, you may be looking at buying a new one -- one that comes with a lot more square footage. But before you go that route, consider these four reasons not to upsize just yet.

1. Your monthly mortgage payments might increase -- a lot

If you're looking to upsize in the same general area you live in now, then buying a larger home could mean taking on a much higher mortgage payment every month. And that could, in turn, make it harder to cover your remaining bills.

Plus, the more money you spend on a mortgage, the less you'll have left for other purposes, like leisure and vacations. And so you'll need to really weigh the benefit of more living space against the financial constraints that might result in.

2. You could face higher property taxes

If your goal is to upsize but stay in the same neighborhood, you may find that swapping your current home for a larger one means seeing your property tax bill skyrocket. A larger home is likely to have a higher value than a smaller one, and that could translate into property taxes you struggle to afford.

If your town has a high tax rate attached to it, you may want to think twice about upsizing. Or, you may want to look at buying a larger home in an area where property taxes are more reasonable.

3. You might spend more time and money on maintenance

The more square footage you have to maintain, the more time you might spend cleaning your home and fixing things when they go wrong. And it's not just your time to consider. There's also the cost.

If you're the type who tends to outsource home maintenance, either because your work schedule is demanding or you're not very handy, then upsizing could result in much higher costs for upkeep. That could eat into your budget and force you to cut back in other areas.

Imagine, for instance, that you use a cleaning service twice a month to keep your house tidy. If you upsize, your monthly costs might rise from $200 to $300, or even $400. That added cost might stop you from being able to pay for something else that's important to you.

4. Your utility bills could soar

Generally speaking, you'll spend more money to heat and cool a larger home than a smaller one. Now it's possible to upsize to a home with more energy efficient appliances so your heating and cooling costs don't rise so substantially, or even at all. But unless you're really getting an upgrade on the energy efficiency front, you could end up with sky-high utility bills you struggle to pay.

Upsizing a home can be tempting, especially if your family is growing. But before you make that move, consider the financial drawbacks involved. You may decide it's worth settling for less space if it means maintaining more financial stability and flexibility.