When you are young, you probably need a big house, especially if you intend to fill it with kids and pets. However, as the kids leave and you get older, you don’t necessarily want to have a big home to take care of, a yard to mow, extra rooms to clean, and the like. Thus, you may be looking to downsize your home as a senior.
Sho-Me Real Estate in Mansfield, Missouri, offers the best real estate services for those looking to buy a home and sell an existing home. We also manage rental properties in the Ava-Mansfield area and help with commercial property needs. Below, we’ll offer up tips for seniors on how to downsize their home. Contact us today to get started!
TIPS TO DOWNSIZE YOUR HOME
Consider What You Will Need in a New Home
When deciding to downsize your home as a senior, consider exactly what you will be looking for and needing in a new home. Many seniors choose to downsize their home and move to a warmer climate such as Florida or Arizona. This eliminates a lot of work for seniors that snow brings, from shoveling sidewalks to getting snow tires for their vehicles, not to mention it eliminates the extreme cold as well. Many seniors don’t want to have to mow a yard or an upstairs that they have to climb up and down as they age. Many seniors want help, so they might consider an assisted-living facility where many daily activities are taken care of for them, such as cooking. Before you begin to look for a new home, think about what you will want in a new home. Sho-Me Real Estate in southwest Missouri can help you narrow down this list.
Get Rid of Unwanted/Unneeded Items
Now that you have in mind what you want in a new home, you can begin to think about what you have in your current home that you can get rid of and that you don’t need in your new home. Odds are, you’ll have a lot of furniture to sell since you will have fewer rooms in your new home. Old books, clothes, boxes, and holiday items are good items to go through and either donate or sell at a garage sale. Sho-Me Real Estate also recommends that you don’t oversave for the next generation. A lot of seniors make the mistake of thinking their children or grandchildren might want some of their mementos, furniture, or even china. They end up saving these items only to have their relatives turn around and get rid of it when they do inherit it. It’s best to only save the irreplaceable items, such as your jewelry and old photos. The rest is just stuff that others may need.
Take Your Time
Many seniors wait till the last minute to downsize instead of starting early. This can cause anxiety and a sense of rushing into things. Sho-Me Real Estate recommends that you take your time in downsizing your belongings. You’ll probably want to go through all of your old memorabilia and reminisce. This is a great time to invite your kids to help you, as there may be stories from your childhood that they’ve never heard before that they might want to hear. Start in one room and then move onto another room. You also may want to start in the room with the least amount of stuff, so you feel like you are making progress. Your attic, garage, and basement probably have the most stuff, so we recommend you leave those for last or when the weather is good and the rooms aren’t too hot or too cold.
CHOOSE SHO-ME REAL ESTATE IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI AS YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT OF CHOICE
Sho-Me Real Estate in southwest Missouri can help you find a new home as you are looking to downsize, and we can help you sell your existing home. When you partner with us, we’ll listen to what you are looking for in a home, whether it’s close to family or to town or you’re looking for a ranch-style home. Then we’ll look diligently until we find the right home for you. Contact us today for all of your real estate needs!