When it comes to retiring, you have to make decisions. How you will handle your budget, what health insurance plan you choose, and how you will spend your time are just a few of the choices you face.
However, the most significant questions are about where you will live and what you will do with your home. Like many, you may want to stay in your home, or you may want to stay in the same area or move to another location altogether. Choosing to sell your home is a big decision and a very personal one. If you are considering your options, here are four reasons why downsizing after retirement may be the best choice:
1. Reducing Maintenance
Once you have retired and finished working, you’re likely ready to slow down and not bother with so many tasks. Many household jobs, repairs, and maintenance tasks can be time-consuming or challenging to handle yourself. And they can be costly to pay someone else to handle when you have less disposable income.
Unless DIY is your new hobby, it may be time to consider downsizing your home. A smaller home means fewer upkeep tasks, giving you more time to do what you love and a less stressful experience once you are done working.
2. Cutting Costs
The golden years often require more budgeting effort, as you need to make your retirement savings last. Unfortunately, medical bills and insurance costs continue to increase. As we hinted above, moving to a smaller property is an efficient way to trim the fat on your expenditures. By downsizing your home, you can cut utility and maintenance costs and stretch your dollars further after you retire.
Additionally, selling your home gives you an excellent opportunity to get some equity out of your property and cash in your retirement account. Downsizing your home and pocketing the difference can leave you with more money in the bank for unexpected expenses, travel, and other priorities.
Downsizing Tip: You might be wondering if you don’t have the ability or funds to take care of the maintenance on your home, how are you going to give it the facelift it needs to sell? The easy answer is to speak to the best as-is home buyers in Northern Virginia. You can sell your house in any condition within a few weeks and have a large chunk of cash ready to take the next step in your downsizing plan. And the best part? This is all without having to invest any money in the sale of your home.
3. Increasing Accessibility
While you may not need to consider accessibility now, each candle added to your birthday cake means you’ll need to consider it sooner rather than later. Here are some accessibility elements you will need to ponder:
- Home Layout: Is it single-story? Are there lots of stairs (inside and outside)? Is the yard large, or does it take a lot of upkeep?
- Mobility Features: Are hallways and doorways wide enough to accommodate mobility aids if needed? Do the bathrooms have grab bars, walk-in showers, or non-slip flooring?
- Proximity to Essential Services: How close are you to the nearest hospital? How far is your primary care office? Is there reliable public transportation nearby? Is there a grocery store and in-network pharmacy within walking distance? Are you in an area with grocery delivery services?
- Walkability: Even with public transportation and walkable distances, how pedestrian-friendly is the neighborhood? Quiet streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, and easy-to-navigate pathways with ramps at each intersection can make a big difference in staying active and independent.
- Community Amenities: Are there nearby recreational or community centers, libraries, or activity programs for older adults? Are there cultural venues, hobby groups, or outdoor activities like parks and trails that align with your interests?
- Climate and Weather: Consider how the local climate impacts accessibility. Harsh winters and frequent rain may make getting around more challenging. Is the area prone to natural disasters like floods or hurricanes? If so, how accessible are evacuation routes or emergency shelters? Even a snowstorm can pose health risks—shoveling snow can lead to cardiac events.
- Nearby Loved Ones: Do you have close friends and family near your home? They can help in emergencies and be essential when considering where to relocate.
How does your current home rate? If you lack some hotter commodities for the coming years, relocating may feel right for you.
You may also want a change of pace or scenery. While you used to want to live closer to your office so you didn’t have a long commute, you may now want to live closer to golf courses, restaurants, family, or the great outdoors to fill your time better. The opportunity to downsize also allows you to relocate somewhere that better suits your needs.
4. Simplifying Your Space
Once you’re an empty-nester or free retiree, you may find the space you once required in your home unnecessary. Your big home—full of your things, your family’s, and your pet’s—can begin to feel cluttered, overwhelming, and like a mess you don’t want to fix. Downsizing is the perfect time to cut down on your clutter and offload things you haven’t looked at since you graduated college.
Embrace Retirement with a Stress-Free Home Sale
Retiring is a big life choice, and if you have recently done so, congratulations! Now you can relax and enjoy time doing what you love. Choosing to downsize your home is also a big life choice, and if you have also recently decided to do that, well done. You can use the equity you have likely built up in your home to relocate to a more ideal location and property that fits the new needs of your life.
If you are worried about selling your home and the stress that it may bring, there is no need to panic. Look to sell to cash buyers in Northern Virginia for less hassle and a quicker closing than a traditional home sale. You’ll be able to get started on your fabulous retired life faster than ever.