Are You Ready To Downsize Now?
Depending on what stage you are in life you may be asking yourself if moving to a smaller home may make sense. This could be to save money, cash out of your home for retirement, switching to condo living or perhaps less people are living at home these days. Whatever your reasoning may be you will want to ask yourself some very important questions before you embark on any plans. Here is some help on what to decide.
Is it a good move financially?
Just because you want to move to a smaller home doesn’t mean costs are going to change. Consider the price of the new home in mind versus what you will net from the sale of your current home. Will taxes be lower? Will there be an HOA fee? Find out about these costs to be sure you will save money.
What pleases you most about moving?
Make a list of the reasons why you wish to move and weigh them against where you will move to. For example, you may be excited to no longer clean such a large home, but will you miss spending your free time in the larger yard you may have? Make sure the move will truly enhance your lifestyle and not leave you missing what you have now.
Where will my stuff go?
This is a very important question. If you move to a smaller home, you will have less room for everything you have today. Be sure you are ready to part with anything that won’t make the cut for the new home. After all, it won’t make sense to move if you have to pay for a larger storage unit if you aren’t ready to get rid of a lot.
Do I choose a condo or smaller home?
There are pros and cons for each but it comes down to your preferred lifestyle. A smaller home will still offer you more privacy but the regular maintenance is on you to manage. While a condo is a more intimate setting yet your regular dues take care of all the regular and necessary upkeep items.
What type of floor plan do I need?
You cannot always base your needs on square footage. Number of levels of a home along with how it is laid out are nearly as important. A home may be on the small side but if it has an open concept and enough room in all the right spaces it could work just fine. Touring everything in person will help identify this.
Am I ready to move?
In the end, once you start viewing homes that are smaller and begin doing the math of what you will save in each property’s scenario, then the value proposition should become clear. Comparing what you have now to what you will have then will help you decide if you are ready for this next chapter in your life.