The Best Tips to Downsize to Smaller Homes
One of the questions many owners ask themselves is, “should I downsize my home.”
Are you wondering how to downsize your home? If so, you’re not alone. Many people don’t need the large homes they’ve become accustomed to.
How to know when it is time to downsize your home is a very personal subject!
With the size of the average home in the U.S. more prominent than ever, many owners are finding themselves in living spaces that are larger than they want or need.
You may have bought a bigger home for your growing family, or maybe you bought it because it was a good deal.
Perhaps you were doing well financially and wanted a home that reflected that.
Whatever your original reason for buying a bigger home, if you are now thinking of downsizing, you are not alone. As life goes on and your needs change, finding a smaller home can be ideal.
The kids could be off to college and not coming back, or maybe you are heading toward retirement and would like to find a retirement community. Whatever the reason, it may be time to downsize into a home that meets your current or projected lifestyle.
Below are eight questions to ask yourself when considering downsizing to a smaller home or condo. Does downsizing your home make sense? That is a question only you can answer, but here are some things to consider.
Reasons For Downsizing Homes
On the surface, it may seem advantageous to opt for bigger over smaller when it comes to your living arrangements. However, in many instances, less is more.
Consider the resurgence of tiny houses as a more prominent housing option. The ever-growing appeal of downsizing homes is an option for numerous reasons.
From my experience as a real estate agent for the past thirty-seven years, there are common reasons I hear from my clients. The reasons include saving money and getting rid of unused space.
Downsizing homes can be an excellent move at any time, depending on your goals. Buying a smaller home could make sense if you’re a millennial home buyer who wants to travel more or have an early retirement.
A smaller home can make your life more manageable if you’re older. I know it has for me.
Once the kids move out of the house, you may realize that downsizing houses makes sense. For those who love to travel, a condo or townhouse can be the perfect property to move into.
Both of these options allow for lower maintenance than owning single-family homes. The properties have HOAs that take care of the exterior, so you are only left to maintain inside your property.
Having owned both, I can attest to the benefits of downsizing into a condo.
How to Downsize Your Home With These Tips
Use the following advice as a downsizing checklist from someone who has recently gone into a downsizer home.
It is essential to understand how to downsize for a move as it will save you time and money.
Start By Organizing to go Into a Smaller Home
One of the keys to downsizing houses is starting to process well before your move. It makes sense to begin the process months in advance. By starting the process early, you’ll feel less stressed.
Trust me. You will feel overwhelmed by downsizing when you don’t have a plan.
It is best to try to tackle one room at a time. Mastering the art of decluttering or organizing your property might seem impossible. However, tackling it one room at a time won’t seem as bad.
One extra benefit is it will help stage your home before it is listed for sale.
Your home will also sell faster when you follow these tips.
Understand The Size of Where You’re Moving Into
Before downsizing houses, you should understand the property size you’re moving into. Calculating the square footage of a home should be done to know the space you’ll have.
To downsize, you must be aware of the size of space you are aiming to accommodate. Ideally, you should calculate the square footage of each room.
By measuring the room sizes, you’ll know which pieces of furniture you can donate or discard before relocating. When you don’t know where you’ll be going yet, it makes sense to eliminate things you know are unnecessary.
It’s entirely possible that some of your furniture will not work in a smaller home. You can decide later if there are items you’re unsure about.
Consider The Lifestyle in Your Downsized Home
Beyond the size assessments, it is essential also to consider the broader impact of downsizing. While the size of what will fit is vital, so is complementing your new lifestyle.
Reducing one’s possessions is an excellent opportunity to refresh and rejuvenate your living arrangements.
Choose How to Downsize Your Belongings
There are several ways to eliminate things you no longer need or want. Let’s review the best way to downsize your possessions. All of these methods should be part of your downsizing checklist.
- Start by getting rid of all the things that are considered “junk.” Call one of the top junk removal companies and have them dispose of these items. One of my favorites is 1-800-Got-Junk. They are one of the more prominent junk haulers and have excellent ratings.
- You can also give things to family and friends.
- Having an estate sale is another popular method for removing valuable items.
- Sell items you know you will not be taking with you. A garage or yard sale is one of the best exercises when moving to a smaller home. Here are some great tips on having a garage sale.
- My personal favorite is having a charity do a donation pick-up. Several charities will come to your home to take things away. You’ll be helping someone in need, which is an added benefit.
- Figure out the storage area in your new home. Sometimes people overestimate going from a large to a smaller home in the area they will have.
Organize What You’ll Be Keeping
Invest the appropriate amount of time in sprucing up your home. Not only will your day-to-day activities become more efficient, but it will make packing easier!
Arrange smaller things within drawers by using plastic containers. For more oversized items, you can get moving boxes. Don’t forget to label each box which will make downsizing more straightforward.
After years of accumulation, papers and documents can be plentiful in your filing cabinet. It can be helpful to purchase a shredder if you don’t have one.
Ensure you keep all your vital documents, like tax returns and birth certificates, somewhere safe. Understanding the best methods of packing your home is essential for a less stressful move.
Should You Downsize Your Home?
Does downsizing homes make sense right now? Here are some considerations to help make your decision.
1. Have The Kids Moved Out of The House?
One of the main reasons why so many owners go big with their home purchases is to fit a growing family. But when the kids go away to school or move out of the house to start their lives, it can leave many bedrooms sitting available – rooms that have to be cleaned, spaces that wind up being heated and cooled with no one in them.
If you no longer need a four or five-bedroom home, it makes sense to move to something smaller and cheaper. You may find that a large chunk of change is going out the door to pay for your kid’s college degree, and the home has become a financial albatross.
Money is often a top consideration for knowing it is time to downsize your home.
2. Do You Want to Keep Costs Down?
Expenses are a significant reason to know it’s time to downsize your home. Big houses are expensive to maintain and insure. You also spend more on property taxes.
Big homes also lead to higher utility bills. With a smaller home, you will save money on your monthly and yearly costs.
If you are close to retirement or already retired, these savings can make your retirement income go much further. The question of when to downsize your house is often precipitated by trying to change household expenses.
3. Are You Going Through a Divorce?
One of the most common reasons people downsize from their current home to a smaller property is because of divorce.
While nobody plans for divorce, it is a common occurrence. Most of the time, the marital home is sold, and both spouses end up with a smaller house or condominium. Selling a home while getting divorced brings with it some tough decisions when it comes to real estate.
Does either of the spouses want to keep the home? Does one need the equity out of the house to purchase another property?
Are there children involved that will stall a move to a different home due to schooling or some other practical matter?
While divorce is one of the most prominent reasons people downsize to a smaller home, it also needs the most thought to get things right.
If these are the cards that life has dealt you and you will buy shortly, consider the tips for buying a home after divorce. The article will give you a few things that should be factored into your decision-making.
One of the biggest mistakes I see some people make is their insistence on keeping the marital home. Sometimes divorce can make your decision-making go askew.
Downsizing should be the answer due to finances and other matters, but that is not what happens. The win-at-all-costs attitude is what tends to cause people to make stupid choices.
4. Do You Have a Lot of Equity in Your Home?
If your home is paid off, or if you have a considerable amount of equity, you may be able to sell your home, buy a smaller house in a cheaper area, and still have a sizable amount of money left over.
Depending on where your home is located, the market, and how much the house has appreciated, you may find that your home is now worth far more than you realized.
You can find a smaller, less expensive home and add a lot to your retirement – or use the money for whatever you need. Let’s face it not having the burden of a mortgage feels good as well!
However, ensure you are up to speed on real estate capital gains tax laws. This is one of the best homeownership advantages from a financial standpoint, given that you can exclude up to $250,000 in profit if single and $500,000 if married.
As great as the tax code is, if you live in a large, expensive home with tons of equity, you could have a good size tax bill.
5. Is Your Home Located in a Desirable area?
There are a lot of factors that people consider when buying a home. You may have purchased your home because it was in an affordable area. If you bought in an accessible place, you might have noticed over the years that the area became more popular and less affordable.
The more desirable your area has become, the more expensive your home may be. Quality neighborhoods have characteristics most buyers desire, such as convenience to shopping, restaurants, schools, and major highways.
6. Do You Live in a Good School District?
If you moved into your home because of the school districts, you might be paying quite a bit in property taxes – which made sense when you had kids in school.
But if your children are no longer at home, does it make sense to keep paying those taxes?
You could move to an area with much lower taxes without worrying about the school district.
There is a direct correlation between schools and real estate market value. While taxes may be higher, you can also expect your home value to be much better.
7. Are You Worn Out From Taking Care of Your Property?
Many look for downsizer homes because they are tired of taking care of their current property.
Big homes require a lot of maintenance, as do big yards. Keeping a big house clean and in good working order is a lot of work. Mowing a big lawn takes a lot of time, and cutting the grass only gets harder as you get older.
Raking up the leaves in the fall is tedious, even when you are young and fit. Keeping up with the leaves when you are older is tiresome.
You may pay for landscaping and cleaning services to take care of all these things, or you may just be resolved to work hours each week to keep up your property. Either way, you may be wondering if there is an easier option.
A small home takes less effort to keep up, and a townhouse or condo is even less work because the management company handles the exterior work. It would help if you understood which housing choice makes the most sense: a home or a condo.
Have to look at the advantages and disadvantages of homes vs. condos. A condo may be the best move if you travel a lot or don’t have the time necessary to keep up with a home.
If, on the other hand, you can’t stand the thought of losing control of what goes on around you, a home may be the wisest choice. When downsizing, these are subjects that should be thought through carefully.
8. Do You Want a Change of Scenery?
A big, lovely home can start to feel like an anchor. Sure, the house is impressive, but even the most beautiful home can begin to drag you down if you are ready to move on to a different area.
You may want to live next to the ocean, in the mountains, in a city, or out of one.
Many times people want something different, which is perfectly OK. Maybe the hot desert air is calling to you, or you want to relax in a small, quiet town.
Whatever location you are looking at, chances are if you sell your big home, you will have the ability to settle there in a small, modest home.
When folks get older, they may also find that instead of having one big home, they would rather have two smaller properties.
Sometimes people don’t want to leave their hometown roots, so they buy a smaller property in the exact location. However, they will buy a second smaller place in an area they have vacationed in and loved.
Maybe downsizing sounds appealing to you for this exact reason.
9. Do You Need to be in a Different Area?
Your life is changing all the time, so your priorities and daily demands will also change.
Sometimes downsizing is necessary to accomplish a primary goal.
You may have grandchildren you want to be close to or another family member or loved one that you either like or need to be nearby.
You may have obligations to a group or organization that are hard to meet in your current location. Or you might want to be closer to things you know you will need in the future, like healthcare.
Selling your current home and moving into something smaller is usually the best way to get close to the things that are important to you. Your willingness to go with a smaller property gives you options.
Other Options For Your Needs
What if you decide that downsizing your home is not the best move at present, but you need additional funds?
Are there any options to get funds while remaining in my home and possibly downsizing later? There sure are!
Take a look at the best ways to get the equity out of your home.
If you are at retirement age, a reverse mortgage is one of the more common ways to remain in your home while also being afforded access to your home’s equity. You can see the pros and cons of this type of loan in the article mentioned above.
Final Thoughts For Downsizing
Downsizing is a significant financial and emotional move, especially when you have been in a home for an extended period. The saying a house is a home is true. We build so many great memories in our homes it becomes hard to leave.
You’ll know that downsizing is right when you reach a certain point. The unexpected benefit of downsizing your home is having less to worry about.
Hopefully, these downsizing tips have come in handy.
About the Author: The above Real Estate information on how to downsize your home was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 37+ Years.
Are you thinking of selling your home? I am passionate about real estate and love sharing my marketing expertise!
I service Real Estate Sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Natick, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, and Uxbridge MA.
I was just thinking about how downsizing is becoming very very prevalent as of late and how there needs to be good content made about it. Bill, you’re on top of it! Great article!
Bill great advice. Sellers downsize for a number of reasons. Many times it is empty nesters. Parents are in a large home. The kids are grown and have move out. Home that was full of kids and noise. Now you have empty rooms gathering dust. It make sense to move to a smaller home or condominium.
If I sell my house before I find a new one then what? I’m so scared to sell my house because I don’t know if it will be the worst mistake or the best decision.
Mary nobody can answer that question but you. Downsizing to a smaller home is a big step in ones life. It is something that should be given a lot of thought before coming to a final decision.
This is a very useful article for homeowners who are considering downsizing their homes. Thanks for the downsizing tips.
Great tips for those of us considering simplifying our lives as we get older.