Triangle Area Real Estate News & Information

Does your home seem too big for your current circumstances? If so, you are not alone. Baby Boomers especially are finding that they don’t need such a large home anymore. Many people who are thinking about retirement are also looking for ways to economize a bit, and a lower mortgage payment from a smaller home looks inviting. If you are thinking about downsizing your home, here are some tips to make the job easy.

Decide what you want your future to be like.

Do you want your life to stay pretty much the same but just live in a smaller house in the same neighborhood? Or, do you want to live in your own home in a retirement community where residents have many amenities available to them? Perhaps you want to live nearer to the center of town so that most places you need or want to go are within walking distance. You may want to live closer to your grandchildren. Maybe you want to live in a smaller town where the pace of living is slower and traffic is not a problem. What you want for your future will greatly help you with your downsizing decision.

Decide what size and type of home is right for you.

If you are downsizing, you need to figure out just what is the right size home? What rooms can you do without? Which rooms can be smaller without cramping your lifestyle? Determine what rooms and features you must have, which ones you would like, and which ones you don’t want.

Do you want a one-story house, or is a two-story home more to your liking? Many boomers are opting for one-story homes in anticipation of a possible physical limitation down the road which would prevent them from going up and down stairs. Others will take a two-story home if the master bedroom is on the main floor.

Do you want a smaller yard to reduce your lawn care work or do you want a larger yard in order to garden more? Do you need a patio or deck for entertaining? Answering all of these questions will help you determine just what size home you want.

If you prefer a maintenance-free life, perhaps you would also prefer a condo. With a condo, you eliminate the home maintenance chores, but you have the additional monthly condo maintenance fees. You also need to make sure that the condo is financially solvent with a good reserve fund or you could be liable to some hefty assessments.

Consider your finances as you downsize.

Downsizing can be a great way to reduce your monthly living expenses. To maximize this benefit, consider moving to a less expensive neighborhood than your current one. Combining the smaller square footage home with the less expensive neighborhood will provide you with greater savings in your mortgage payment. It may also reduce your real estate taxes.

You can also free up some cash from the equity in your current home when you sell it. Since that money won’t have to be invested in the new, less expensive home, you can invest it, or spend it on activities that you enjoy.

Start downsizing your stuff right now.

If you are going to be moving from a large home to a smaller one, you are going to have to get rid of some of your belongings. The smaller home won’t have nearly the amount of storage space that you currently have. There will be fewer cabinets and smaller closets and rooms. If you are like most homeowners, all of your storages spaces are full. Where will you put all of this stuff in your new smaller home?

To make the move easier, get rid of items that you won’t need in your new home. Look at every item in every room, cabinet, closet, or storage area of your house. If you haven’t used the item in the last two or three years, it’s time to get rid of it. You can give some items to family members or to charity. Or, you can sell some of the items for cash. Worthless items should be discarded. One way to look at this process is to ask yourself which items you would replace if you lost everything in a fire. If you wouldn’t spend money to replace an item, get rid of it.

Don’t forget to check out your furniture. You won’t be able to fit all of it in the smaller home. So, you will have to get rid of some of it. Larger pieces may need to be replaced by smaller pieces. For example, a large sectional sofa may need to be replaced by a small sofa in order to fit in a smaller living room. If you are reducing the number of bedrooms, you will need to sell or give away bedroom furniture.

If you systematically get rid of your excess belongings, you won’t have to spend money moving them. And you won’t have to pay to store them in a storage facility. Starting this process now will enable you to downsize your stuff in an organized fashion. You may have to go through the process a couple of times before you eliminate enough items to fit what’s left into your downsized home.

Now, go find that new home!

You have figured out how you want to live, where you want to live, and what type of home you want to live in when you downsize. Now that you have downsized your belongings, it’s time to go look for that new house. Your preparation will make it easier to find your new home and begin your new life.

If you are considering buying or selling a home, send us a message or give us a call. My partner Andrew Palumbo and I both have extensive real estate and construction experience.