After the Kids Grow Up: Advice on Downsizing and Selling Your Home 

Your home is filled with memories. Your kids grew up there, and once they move out, it suddenly feels like a much quieter place. So, what’s next? For many parents, downsizing can help simplify life, create savings for the future, and offer new adventures. This guide will help you understand the benefits of trimming back your lifestyle, how to choose a new place to live, and how to get your home ready to sell.

Benefits of Downsizing

There are many reasons empty nesters choose to downsize, and some are more obvious than others. Maybe you’re looking to age in place, maybe you’re just ready for a new scene, or maybe you are searching for a place that is more practical financially. A little research goes a long way in making a decision of this sort. If you’re still debating whether this is the right move for you, consider some of these benefits.

• How to reduce your cost of living when you downsize.
• Done correctly, a downsize can benefit your children as well as yourself.
• How to pad your retirement savings by downsizing.

How to Decide Where to Move

Is a new neighborhood calling your name? Or maybe you’re ready to move closer to the grandkids. Sometimes just moving to a new community with lots of activities — or one that is far from hustle and bustle — is appealing. Non-retirees might just want to cut their commute. Whether you’re heading to a new area or not, there is still a lot to think about when downsizing. These resources will help you make the right decision on where to live.

• Find a quality Realtor like Léopoldine Farrington to help you.
• How to find a smaller home for your downsize.
• How to find the right neighborhood for me when I don’t have kids.
• Choosing house plans for aging in place.

How to Get Your Home Ready to Sell

You may be paring down your lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want to make as much as you can on the sale of your current home. Start by sprucing up in general: do a deep cleaning, clear away clutter, and remove items that are overly personal. Then dig into staging every room, and don’t forget your curb appeal! These tips will help you prepare your home for the market.

• Paint is an affordable, low-skill upgrade that anyone can do; here’s how paint can help sell your home.
• Visit sites like Cleaner Digs to pick up masterful cleaning tips..
• How to stage your entire home to make it appealing to buyers.
• Use an app to find the right contractor who can help with enhancing your home’s curb appeal.

Reduce Your Costs and Responsibilities

Leaving the family home behind is a difficult decision. It’s important to remember that you’re not forgetting the memories that occurred there. You’re moving on to build new ones and embrace your new role in your children’s lives. Downsizing can help make your new life easier by saving you the money, time, and labor that comes with maintaining a bigger house you no longer need.

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Article by Sarah Velasquez / sarah@ourperfectabode.com