What is ‘Senior Downsizing?
If you’re a senior with a big house on your hands, there’s a good chance you’re thinking about selling your home and downsizing.
This article is all about senior downsizing.
It can be challenging to let go of the memories and accumulated possessions in your home, but if you’re feeling pretty overwhelmed by what you have to care for, it may be a good time to start thinking about downsizing.
Selling your property and get rid of furniture or belongings to make room for fitting in a smaller house is a big process and a big decision to make.
How can you be sure you’re ready to downsize, know what to sell and what to keep?
Who will help you sort through everything and prepare your home for a sale?
In this article, I’ll help you determine if you’re ready to downsize.
Senior Downsizing -The Process
How To Know You’re Ready To Downsize
There are a few basic questions to ask yourself that will help you determine if now is the right time for you to downsize:
Do you have too much to do?
If you are cleaning too many empty rooms or trying to maintain a huge lawn and garden that you just don’t use, you have too much to do and should consider downsizing.
Do you still host large gatherings?
If you’re still commonly hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners or other family get-togethers, you may not want to downsize. However, if you have a family member who can host instead in a larger home, downsizing may be a great option right now.
Do you have the money to maintain your home for 5-10 more years?
Without steady income or with an older home, you may be struggling to maintain mortgage payments and afford to repair maintenance issues. If you can’t afford your home for several more years, now is the time to start looking for something else.
Do you feel lonely?
If you’re living alone now or if you and your spouse just can’t get used to all the empty space in your home, you may want to consider moving to a smaller house and/or some form of retirement community with more people to engage with.
If, based on those questions, you think you’re ready to downsize, now is the time to start planning for that process.
Let’s consider the steps you’ll want to take to start downsizing and preparing for your future in a smaller home.
How To Prepare for Downsizing
As you prepare to downsize, you’ll need to keep in mind that things will probably take longer than you expect. It’s crucial that you start as soon as you can so that inevitable delays don’t take too much toll on your family and financial situation.
Here are the main steps you’ll follow as you prepare to downsize.
1. Start Prepping
The first thing you’ll want to do if you’re thinking about downsizing is start prepping your home and belongings. If you have items, you already know you don’t want to keep around, get rid of them. If you can, start decluttering and organizing old closets or empty rooms to get a head start on the process.
2. Set Your Plan
As you consider downsizing, it’s important to realize that you have a few different options for what you want to do or where you want to go after you sell your current home.
Reverse mortgage
For example, if you want to stay in your home but can’t afford to do so, you could consider a reverse mortgage, which allows you to convert your equity (the amount you’ve paid into your mortgage) into a loan—your lender will pay you monthly out of the equity you’ve accumulated over the years and take interest out of that payment instead of any more mortgage payments.
It is best to consult with a CPA, Financial advisor and/or a loan agent who specializes in reverse mortgages.
If, however, you definitely want to move, you’ll want to consider where to go. Move to a smaller home near your grown children. Go into a retirement community with smaller houses and cheaper payments. You could choose to go to a retirement home or senior living center.
Each of these options is a great choice for some people and not so great for others. It’s up to you and your family to decide what your finances, health, and personal desires will allow.
3. Speak With Professionals
One of the best places to start on the downsizing process is talking to a real estate agent who works with downsizing clients.
With professional guidance, you can determine a fairly accurate timeline for how long the downsizing and moving process will take.
A real estate agent can also help you figure out how much to sell your house for, what items you may want to keep, what you may want to get rid of, and what repairs you need to make to your home before putting it up for sale. It’s important that you ensure your house is free of liens and major maintenance issues before you get ready to sell!
Most real estate agents can connect you with professional movers and cleaners as well. An experienced realtor can help you prepare your home for a sale. This way. you and your family will have to do all the work yourselves.
4. Set Up Your New Floorplan
Before you start packing everything, try to photograph rooms that you would prefer to set up in the same manner in your new home. Obviously, the floorplan will be a bit different, but if you know what it is going to be ahead of time you can easily decide where you want things to go before you get there. This will save you lots of time and stress.
5. Select What To Keep
Now that you know where you’re going and what your new home is going to look like, it’s time to start packing.
If you’re like most seniors, you’re probably going to need to get rid of a lot of things—furniture, mementos, and even things like duplicate kitchen items.
It can be incredibly challenging to choose what stays and what goes. Don’t be afraid to take lots of pictures of items you don’t need or use but still love! Photos will help you remember the items without you having to keep them and increase the clutter of your home.
Once you’ve decided what stays and what goes, you’ll need to figure out what to do with the things you don’t want to keep. Start with a donation pile, then plan a garage/yard sale if you’re able to. You can also always hand off some of your most special items to your family members to take care of.
6. Start Moving!
Now that you’ve finally packed, decluttered, and (with the help of your real estate agent) sold your home, it’s time to move!
Before you get going, be sure you have all the supplies you’ll need (clothing, hygiene items, medications, extra bedding, food and cooking supplies) in an easily-accessible bag so you can use them while you unpack.
You’ll also want to store important documents such as medical records, passports, birth certificates, etc. in a place that’s easy to access throughout the move. You never know when you may want them, especially as you’re dealing with the legalities of buying, selling, and moving.
As you move, don’t be afraid to reminisce about your past and what you’re leaving behind. At the same time, be sure to look forward to the new adventures you’re heading toward in your new home!
How To Find a Real Estate Agent for Senior Downsizing
Buy or sell a home
There are many steps in the process!
Not sure where to start? Getting help with a real estate agent is the best way to go!
Planning to downsize includes:
- Filling out any seller’s disclosures.
- Finding contractors to clean and move your home.
- Taking care of hazardous waste such as old paint buckets or oil.
- Making repairs to get the home in a sellable state.
- Finding a buyer for the home and completing the sale.
You’ll need to find an experienced real estate agent who can help with downsizing sales.
Those with specialized knowledge in this area can also help you manage a reverse mortgage (if that’s what you want), ensure you get the right size of home, and even show you how to use funds from your IRA, pension, or 401k to purchase real estate.
A real estate agent will help you determine if repairs are need on your home before it’s ready to sell.
They can help you find contractors and ensure that the home will pass inspections and quickly sell to any interested buyers. Are you are ready to start the downsizing process? Do you need good real estate agent to help you with the downsizing process? If so, I’d be happy to guide you through the downsizing process that’s right for you and your loved ones. Warren
If you would like to know more about the Tri-Valley area, please read: “Everything you need to know about the Tri-Valley area”
I hope you enjoyed this article. Please let me know if you have any questions. Warren
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Hello…I work with both buyers and sellers in the Northern California area.
My real estate spans from the East Bay (Tri-Valley) to the Greater Sacramento areas.
To better understand what each city has to offer, I have created a Pros and Cons videos and articles for each Tri-Valley Area:
If you are thinking about purchasing or selling a home, please reach out to me by text, phone, or email. If it is convenient, I can schedule a Zoom chat so we can discuss your home goals. Wishing you all the best on your home journey. Cheers!
eXp Realty
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