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5 Tips to Help You Decide If It’s Time For a Move
Kim Stanley • May 3, 2023
This is the time of year when people start thinking about moving. Maybe your family is growing and your need more space, or the kids have left home and you need to downsize. For most, considering a move involves selling your current home and finding the right new home, and it can be daunting! So take a deep breathe, relax, and consider the following tips to get you started.
1. Write down your family’s top 3 reasons for wanting to move. Aside from a job relocation, what are the life-quality issues that tug at you? Space, schools, HOA’s, taxes, commute, health, and neighborhood safety are often are just some of the issues that motivate people to move.
2. Assess your home’s equity. A note of caution here: online home valuation sites are often grossly inaccurate, especially in Texas which is a non-disclosure state (meaning the tax sites don’t have to publish sold statistics). Ask your real estate agent for a comparative analysis of the most recent sold properties in your neighborhood so you have a true snapshot of your local market.
3. Assess your home’s condition. Are there any home improvement projects or delayed maintenance issues you have been putting off? Get estimates for completing those repairs or updates so you know the true cost of selling your home.
4. Decide what are the 3 most important things you want in a new home. This may involve some compromise, as each member of the family may have a different perspective on what is most important. See where your wish list intersects, and that will become your focus for your new home search.
5. Research home prices based on your most important 3 criteria. Home prices in the Austin area are fluctuating. Based on the equity you have in your home, the cost of improvements to get the best price for your current home, and home prices for the type of property you want to buy, is now the best time to get ready for a move?
Your agent can also provide a Net Proceeds Estimate that will show you how much you will walk away with in your pocket when you sell your home. He or she can also help you plan every step of your move. If you’ve decided this is the year for a new home, now is the time to start!
Kim Stanley, SRES, GRI, e-PRO
Retirement is a time of huge transition, but it also provides the opportunity to create a whole new lifestyle. Whether a retiree chooses to rent or own their living space has a lot to do with how they envision that lifestyle.
One of the biggest motivations for retirees who decide to sell their homes and move continues to be a desire to be closer to family, especially when grandchildren are in the picture. In this case, most people choose to buy a home and reinvest their previous home equity.
Other retirees, especially those who recently retired, may want to be free to travel. This option has been on the rise as the Baby Boom generation is retiring in record numbers, a factor that has led to a huge increase in the popularity of “lock and leave” leasing communities.
Is it better to rent an apartment or house, or to own a home?
The type of amenities and activities a retiree engages in are also a big factor in choosing whether to live in an apartment or a single family home. Baby Boomers are reluctant to co
Here are the 3 primary reasons downsizers become reluctant, or downright stuck, and what you can do to help them move forward:
1) Overwhelmed with too much stuff. Sellers with growing families can quickly put extra items into storage temporarily, knowing that when they move, they’ll have the space to unpack and take their time to sort through what to keep and what to let go of. People moving to a smaller home or apartment don’t feel they have that luxury. Confusion about where and how to begin the sorting process, what to do with everything they don’t want to move, and fear of making the wrong sorting decisions can make them decide to wait.
2) Conflicting emotions about letting go of the family home. This roadblock most often involves older seniors who are moving to a Senior community. Their home can represent their ability to feel independent. Sometimes it’s not the owner of the home but their adult children who are resistant to the idea of mom and dad selling the family home.
3) Affordability Concerns.
1. I feel guilty about throwing things away.
2. So many items hold strong memories for me.
3. I paid a lot for this item when I bought it.
4. I’m afraid I’ll give up a part of myself.
5. I might use it someday.
6. If I fix it it will be a useful item.
7. It was given to us by someone special.
8. Some of my items might be valuable.
9. I just don’t know what to do with my stuff so I’m storing it for now.
Many adults are including downsizing to a smaller home as part of an overall retirement strategy. Fannie Mae recently published a survey that showed 40% of homeowners 55+ plan to move either just before or just after retirement.
If you are in this group, you may be a bit overwhelmed by everything you need to think about. Leaving the home you raised your children in and the community you have been a part of can be tough. Here are 4 questions to ask yourself as you consider the financial pros and cons of make a downsize move:
1. How do the home values in your potential new neighborhood compare with your current neighborhood? If you're moving to a high-demand location like an oceanfront community, but you currently live in an average housing market, a smaller home may cost as much or more than your current home. That can be a good trade-off – just know the impact of this decision on your annual living expenses.
2. Do you need some of the equity from your home to fund your retirement? If so, you'll want to resear
Clutter is a bummer — literally. New study shows a link between depression and the amount of stuff in your home in this article by Lisa Kaplan.
Dishes in the sink, toys throughout the house, stuff covering every flat surface; this clutter not only makes our homes look bad, it makes us feel bad, too.
At least that’s what researchers at UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives and Families (CELF) discovered when they explored in real time the relationship between 32 California families and the thousands of objects in their homes. The resulting book, Life at Home in The Twenty-First Century, is a rare look at how middle-class Americans use the space in their homes and interact with the things they accumulate over a lifetime.
It turns out that clutter has a profound effect on our mood and self-esteem. CELF’s anthropologists, social scientists, and archaeologists found:
A link between high cortisol (stress hormone) levels in female home owners and a high density of household objects. The more stuff, the more stress women
Written by Kim Stanley, President, Downsize My Home LLC
We recently moved Willie, a rambunctious Bichon Friese, along with his “dad” from their 3200 two-story home to a 2 bedroom apartment at Solea in Cedar Park Texas. Although he has adjusted well to his new community, it took a bit of advanced planning and patience. Moving can be stressful on everyone, but it can be even more stressful for your pets, especially when reducing the size of their living space. Here are some tips to make a downsize move easier for your four-legged family members:
1. During the declutter and sorting phase of downsizing, make sure your pet’s belongings stay in the same spot if at all possible. Maintain plenty of room for them to move about and get to their food, water, litter box, bed and toys.
2. If you are using a pet carrier to transport your pet, set it out days in advance of the move for them to explore. Put familiar items, including their favorite treats, in the carrier to help them connect it with positive feelings.
3. When
#1 Thing Seniors Need From Us
Recently, I had the privilege of taking part in a support group at an assisted living facility I serve. I was there to offer tips for organizing their living space in a way that made them feel more at home. Or that’s what I thought, anyway. I had an opportunity to meet some charming residents and hear their experiences in making the significant transition from living in a single family home to being a resident of a senior living community.
Instead of sharing my “expert tips” on decluttering and letting go, I listened. I heard stories of struggle, loss, bravery, strength and even gratitude. I witnessed the beauty of their spirits shining through their memories and gained a renewed appreciation for the journey of aging.
I was reminded again of the number one thing seniors need from us. They need to be heard. We all do! There are a myriad of tasks involved in moving and recreating a smaller living space, and I am told many times what an amazing job our team does in making that hap
Our lives are often defined by key moments – marriage, the birth of a child, a new career, children leaving home, retirement. Each of these creates a change in lifestyle, and with it, the need to re-evaluate the way we live and the financial needs we’ll face. In addition to traditional retirement plans that include 401K, stocks, bonds, and social security, many 55+ adults are including downsizing to a smaller home as part of an overall retirement strategy. According to an article in LTC News, about 51% of retirees downsize to a smaller home or simpler lifestyle. Leaving the home you raised your children in and the community you have been a part of for decades can be tough. How do you decide if it's worth the effort? Here are 4 questions to ask yourself as you consider the financial benefits of downsizing: 1. Will you be moving closer or further away from family or other support systems? Family often plays a huge part in the decision of where to move next. Younger retirees, however, will sometimes opt to go for their dream home in the tropics or other exotic locales. Just be sure to factor in extra travel expenses to visit family and friends. 2. How do you feel about reducing the amount of your belongings by at least one half? This is both a financial and an emotional question to consider. If you have enough collectibles and items of value that you would be willing to sell, that could provide enough funds to cover moving costs. If, however, you have trouble parting with family heirlooms that won’t fit into a smaller space, you may need to reconsider. The worst downsizing mistake most people make is what I call “moving the best and storing the rest”. Don’t rely on storage units as a fallback to indecision about your belongings. It could cost you several thousand dollars, and your precious belongings will deteriorate, even in a climate-controlled storage unit. 3. Do you need some of the equity from your home to fund your retirement plan? If this is the case, you'll want to research potential homes carefully to find affordable options that will allow you to stay mortgage-free and have a nest egg left over to re-invest. Consult with a real estate agent that specializes in serving mature homeowners to get a comprehensive analysis of all your options. 4. How do the home values in your potential new neighborhood compare with your current neighborhood? If you plan on moving to a high-demand location such an oceanfront community, but you currently live in an average housing market, a smaller home may cost as much or more than your current home. That can be a good trade-off if you plan on investing in a resort type of lifestyle – just know the impact of this decision on your annual living expenses. Kim Stanley is the founder and president of Downsize My Home LLC , a company that provides products and services designed to empower Seniors and families to transition to an easier lifestyle surrounded by the things that matter most.
