When is the right time to sell your home if you are an older adult?
If you have lived in your home for decades and feel so comfortable there but you are aging, should you sell now? When is the right time? There are many factors that go into a decision to sell. The variables are you, your financial situation, the home and the neighborhood. There are also invalid reasons to stay.
The You Factor:
- Has your health diminished your mobility and you find yourself living on one floor?
- Are you living there alone, and it seems very big, and you utilize only a few rooms? Do not count if family uses the extra rooms only a few times a year.
- Are you physically struggling to keep up the home? This includes if you have help and are still struggling.
- Are you lonely or scared home alone in a single-family house?
The Financial Factor:
- Right now the market is a sellers’ market. Can you get more for your home than you thought possible? Use the money for something else and move to a smaller place.
- Is your house costing you for things you can’t enjoy like paying for expensive landscaping or a pool?
- Are you struggling to keep up the home with a fixed income?
The Home Factor:
- Is your home in need of updating that is expensive and you won’t appreciate?
- Are there many steps that you have trouble navigating? Upstairs bedrooms may be too hard to get to. If you are sleeping in a lounge chair because you can’t get upstairs every night that is a problem.
- Are there expensive repairs in your home’s future such as roofs and furnaces.
The Neighborhood Factor:
- Is your neighborhood still safe? Some neighborhoods were family areas thirty years ago and are now crime ridden.
- Are you still near family or have they moved far away?
- Can you depend on neighbors to help in an emergency? Conversely, are your neighbors a problem?
- Can you still drive from your home to essential services you need like a grocery store or doctor?
Here are reasons that are not valid in considering whether to move:
- You have too many things. They are things and not relationships. Either your family can take them or you can donate them to charity.
- You have great memories in your home. Great memories will move with you.
- You love your neighbors. Although great neighbors are wonderful and helpful as you age, this should not be a factor. Hopefully they will keep in touch. If you have great neighbors chances are you are a good neighbor yourself and will make new friends.
- You feel so comfortable there. Moving is always an adjustment for anyone of any age. You will adjust.
These considerations should be revisited every six months to one year. We change, our financial situation can change, our home may need repairs, and the neighborhood can change. Change is inevitable.