Are You Ready to Downsize?
My oldest daughter is a senior in high school this year. As she enters her first year of college next fall, our youngest daughter enters her first year of high school thereby giving us about five more years with kids living at home. Well… assuming that after college they’ll both find their own places to live with the fabulous new jobs!
But knowing that we’re looking at a relatively short time period before empty nest syndrome hits, we’ve already begun talking about whether we can physically take care of this big house as we get older. We have lots of square feet, four bedrooms, three baths, sunroom, bonus room, and 1.5 acres. The main concern for me is the general exterior maintenance, especially when I see my 87-year old neighbor crank up her lawn mower every week wearing a wide-brimmed hat and dark sunglasses. I just can’t see myself doing that every single week, along with all the weed whacking. It’s hard enough NOW for me to get out and help pull weeds from the flower bed when the temperature reaches the 90s.
I am already toying with the idea of a one-level home with an association fee that covers yard maintenance. I like the idea of a neighborhood with a community room and swimming pool. So when I saw the headline on Money.com about when it’s wise to downsize, I had to go read it.
Clearly, I’ll be the one looking for a newer, smaller place in the next 10 to 15 years so the price issue will definitely impact me.
With millions of boomers competing for smaller homes, you may find it hard to catch a break on price. Even though the downsizing trend is in its infancy, over the past five years smaller homes (under 1,200 square feet) have shown a greater rise in value than larger houses (over 3,000 square feet) - 5.2% a year as opposed to 3.5%, according to Zillow.com.
The bigger problem, the article continues is getting a good price for your current home. That will depend on where you live because it’s always about location. The primary advice in the article is to sell your current home before you buy the next. But again, shouldn’t that always be the advice to all potential buyers and sellers?
Finally, you must consider how much furniture you’ll need to get rid of before you downsize. Who will take it? Can you sell it? Donate it? Will you have to buy new furniture if your current couch doesn’t fit?
I guess there will be a lot for me to consider in the next 10 years or so. Better start planning!
