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Selling to
Downsize Your Home
There are certain times in life when people want to downsize to a smaller home. You may have had kids who grew up and no longer live with you, you might have health problems and want less to keep up with, or you may have financial reasons for downsizing. No matter what the reason, the goal is to have your house sold soon so that you can move on to your new, smaller home.
Selling a home can be complicated, but the main idea is to make sure the home appeals to as many people as possible. There are many ways that you can prepare for your downsizing, and these will help your home to be more appealing.
Key Takeaways
Start by getting rid of unnecessary items to make your home appear larger and neater, helping it appeal to potential buyers.
Arrange furniture to create open, functional spaces, and depersonalize the home to help buyers envision themselves living there.
Fix any visible issues, such as broken fixtures or leaks, to avoid turning off buyers and ensure a smoother sale.
Work with a real estate agent to set a competitive price based on the current market, comparable sales, and your home's features.
Use online listings, social media, professional photos, and open houses to reach a broader audience and increase visibility.
Be patient during the selling process, and avoid accepting low offers out of haste to move on to your new downsized home.
Get Rid of Items
When you’re downsizing, you won’t want as much to take care of, and you likely won’t have room for all that you have. Stuff tends to accumulate over the years, and it can be overwhelming when you’re trying to move. As early in the process as you can, it’s a good idea to start paring down your belongings. There are many guides to doing this such as the series written by Marie Kondo. These guides teach you how to evaluate your things and get rid of anything that isn’t needed and that doesn’t bring you happiness.
The KonMari method has downsizers start with their clothing and get rid of as much as they can and then proceed to other categories of items. You could also do the task room by room to ensure that no areas are skipped. The more you get rid of, the easier it will be to move to your smaller home. Having fewer things also means that the house you’re selling will look bigger and neater to potential buyers.
Get rid of anything that could be construed as clutter. If you have many decorative objects in a room, see if you can get that number down to one or two. Clutter keeps dust around, and it takes up space and makes rooms feel smaller. If there’s something you don’t love or need, this is the perfect time to get rid of it. Getting rid of furniture will probably be a big part of the decluttering process. You won’t want to bring all of it to your next home or the excess of furniture may make life more difficult. Sell, donate, or give away the furniture pieces that you can live without. Be sure to clear items out of the garage and basement as well. These areas tend to get full of things you no longer want, and they will make a better
impression on buyers when they’re tidier.
Stage Your Home for Buyers
Once you’ve gotten rid of as much furniture as you can, you can arrange what’s left to its best advantage. Creating usable, airy spaces makes the rooms look larger, and this is more appealing to buyers. Create beautiful spaces that show what the potential buyer can do with the room. Setting up a bedroom or a home office can be done with a few pieces of furniture that are used creatively to make the most out of the space.
Depersonalizing the space is also important. Stash away any personal photos and small personal items so that the buyers can better imagine themselves living there. A real estate agent can usually go through each room and tell you what you can do to stage it effectively. They often have small suggestions that can make a big difference in the way a room looks and feels.
Move in a few plants to key areas. Greenery brings life to an area as well as a pop of color. Having a few plants around makes an area feel more vibrant. Having a plant in an empty area, such as a countertop, can make a big difference in the way the room is perceived.
Make neutral spaces in your home. If the walls are a fun color, that’s great for you, but it might not be fun to the next person. A coat or two of paint is inexpensive and can transform a room. Use beige and other neutral colors so that the room will appeal to more people. This can help you get your home sold so you can downsize and start living a simpler life.
Make sure to take advantage of natural light. Open the curtains and blinds in the home so that plenty of light streams through. A bright home feels better to many buyers, and it gives a home a lighter look and feel. If you have a lot of heavy drapes, you might consider taking them down.
Make Necessary Repairs
Getting your home sold is much easier when there isn’t anything wrong with it. When you want to downsize you can get to that stage more easily with the quick sale of your home. If you know of anything wrong with it, get it fixed. Take a tour through your home with a critical eye to see if you can find any problem areas. There may be things that you’ve simply gotten used to that actually need to be repaired before the home is sold.
If you have broken fixtures, this is the time to replace them. If there are any cracks in the walls or in the flooring, get them repaired. If you have a leak anywhere in the home, make it a priority to get this repaired. Nothing can turn off buyers faster than plumbing problems.
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Finding the Best Price for Your Home
Pricing your home appropriately is a science as well as an art. There are a lot of factors that go into the price you set. The real estate market at the time in your area is one of the main factors to be aware of when setting a price. There are sellers’ markets and buyers’ markets, depending on the number of homes currently on the market and the demand for homes in the area.
Your real estate agent should be an enormous help in determining a good price. They will likely find out the prices that comparable homes have sold for lately. This can help greatly in determining the price per square foot that your home should be able to get. If there are a lot of upgrades in your home that the comps didn’t have, this can also affect the price.
The age of the property, the size of it, the condition of the home, and the area it’s in all factor into the final price. If the price is set too high, it will turn off a lot of buyers. If it’s too low, this can mean leaving money on the table that you could have used to buy your new home. Working closely with your agent can help you to get just the right price.
Market Your House
When you have the right price set, you need to make sure that potential buyers know about your listing. Your home should be listed on all the popular real estate websites like Zillow and Realtor.com. Most home buyers these days start their search online, and you need to have a good listing that has plenty of great photos on it. Consider hiring a photographer to take some professional photos that flatter your home. Make sure your listing is on social media channels by posting it yourself and having others you know post the listing.
Having regular open house showings can help get more people in to look. When you’re working with an agent, let them know that you want to have an open house soon to give interested people the opportunity to look inside. Your agent may know of other marketing methods in the area such as local real estate magazines.
Be Patient and Positive
Having a positive attitude can help you a lot with the process. You’re eager to downsize, but the process can take time. You need a lot of patience so that you don’t go with a lowball offer simply to get the sale completed. It’s usually best to wait until you have a few offers to make your decision about the price you’ll accept.
There’s a lot to do when you’re downsizing, but there will also be a lot of emotions around the move. You’ll need to process all the emotions and still be able to stay objective about the price you’ll accept. Stay positive and keep discarding items so that you’ll be ready for your downsized home by the time your current home sells.
When it’s time to downsize, you can do a lot to get ready for your new life. Selling your home is one of the steps you’ll need to take. You can sell the home faster and get ready for a smaller home at the same time by going through your belongings and discarding what you can. With an airy home that looks great, you can more easily sell it and get to the new life you want to live.
There is no “best” age to downsize, as it depends on many factors. Depending on the situation, downsizing needs can be different for each person. Typically, people begin downsizing in their 50’s-60’s.
Downsizing can be a good idea, and generally, is. When you downsize you’re not only downsizing the amount of items you have, but also more affordable bills, accessible property, and potentially – less stress in a smaller home.
When one begins downsizing, begin small. The first step is to declutter. Go space by space and declutter each room. After decluttering, one can begin packing intentionally on where things will go in a new, smaller home.
If selling the primary residence, one can avoid up to $250,000 of capital gains as a single, or $500,000 as a couple. Utilizing a realtor will benefit in knowing how to best do this.
Downsizing can be an extremely personal experience, so each individual may have a different reaction. Downsizing cons include, but aren’t limited to: losing the social life in the home’s area, losing the emotional attachment to the home, and dealing with the loss of space in itself.