As graduation season commences, you may find your household becoming a little quieter as your graduates prepare to leave the nest. Or maybe you are recently retired and want to spend more time traveling and enjoying your new freedom, and less time worrying about home maintenance responsibilities. If you’ve been feeling like your home is little too empty or if you have too many rooms to clean, now could be a good time to consider downsizing. Below are some questions to ask yourself to determine if downsizing is right for you:
- • Do you want to reduce your overall living expenses including your mortgage, utility bills, and maintenance costs?
- • Do you want the freedom to spend more time traveling and require less permanent living space?
- • Do you want to invest less energy in household maintenance, and spend more time enjoying your favorite activities or hobbies?
- • Do you want to adopt a greener way of living and spend less energy on electricity, water or gas?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, downsizing could be the right choice for you. The following are three comfortable alternatives to the home you currently are in:
- • Age-qualified community: The standard age requirement for an age-qualified community is 55+. These communities are often gated and offer amenities such as a pool, fitness center, organized activities, athletic teams, sports courts, a golf course and more. Many of these communities are in popular snowbird destinations (Florida, Arizona, California) so your new home could feel like a permanent vacation!
- • Downtown living: Dwellings are typically smaller, but the energy of the city is so much larger! Moving from the suburbs to the city offers you a wealth of museums, restaurants, shopping and theatre right outside your door. A move to a smaller space in the city could also allow you to sell your car, reduce your stuff, and possibly lower your taxes.
- • Suburban condo: While still maintaining home ownership, condo buildings offer the convenience of less space to maintain and perks that may include a front door staff, an in-building fitness center, pool, or community room. Moving to a condo building also eliminates much of the maintenance associated with owning a large home, including mowing the lawn, cleaning the gutters, or sweeping the driveway.
Once you’ve established the new type of dwelling that best suits your lifestyle, you can begin the packing and purging process by keeping the below tips in mind:
- • Evaluate. Once you’ve decided on your new home, carefully measure the rooms and assess the storage capabilities to determine which of your belongings will be able to come along during the move.
- • Assess. You are not only downsizing your home, but your belongings as well. Carefully evaluate your items to determine what you really need from both a practical and sentimental standpoint.
- • Eliminate. Donate or sell (cha ching!) the items you’ve collected over the years but no longer need. If it is broken or damaged, don’t be afraid to throw it out. Have your kids take their favorite belongings so they can keep their favorite memories.
We hope you’re able to use these tips to determine if the downsizing process is the best decision for you. We wish you luck in the process and hope you enjoy your simplified new lifestyle.
[...] not saying work less – just smarter!) including: lightening up your home office, downsizing your home, moving in the summer, how to attract buyers during the summer months, and advice on buying a [...]