Retirement brings some major changes to your routine and lifestyle. For many, this means reconsidering staying in the home you raised your kids in. Sometimes, as you age, the size of your family home is no longer practical. For some people, it makes more sense to move to a smaller home. This is called “downsizing” and if you are wondering “should you downsize your home” there are a few questions you should be asking yourself first.
Downsize Your Home Questions to Answer
Can You Afford Your Current Home?
The most important question you can ask yourself when debating if you should you downsize your home is: Can I afford to stay in it? It can be tough to cover the expenses of homeownership on a fixed income, like Social Security. Your home expenses in retirement may include:
- Mortgage
- HOA fees
- Insurance
- Property tax
If these costs seem too high on Social Security, you don’t want to just jump to taking money out of your retirement account to pay for them. It might be a good idea to downsize.
Could You Stretch Your Savings by Downsizing?
It’s possible that you could make some money by downsizing. If you sell your bigger house for more than your new, smaller house, then you could put that money away. Adding the extra money into your retirement account could be one way to give yourself more financial security.
Will Downsizing Your Home be More Affordable?
It is likely that downsizing will be more affordable than keeping your large house because smaller houses usually cost less. However, there are some notable exceptions, like moving to a more desirable area. If you move to a more expensive neighborhood, this could interfere with your money-saving venture. Be sure to move to a comparable area to ensure that you save money when downsizing.
Will You Have People Coming to Stay?
If you plan on having family or friends staying with you regularly, you might want to keep your larger house. Whether it’s your kids moving back in, grandchildren visiting, or a few friends staying over, you may want to consider this before downsizing. When you move to a smaller house, it is less likely that you will have room for this kind of entertaining.
Can You Handle Your Home’s Maintenance?
Commonly, as you age, keeping up with the maintenance of your home can become very difficult. Things like mowing the lawn and cleaning out the gutters can become dangerous for you to handle on your own, especially if you worry about taking a fall. If the maintenance of your home is too much for you, then downsizing can be a solution.
Will You Be Happy in a Smaller Home?
Changing your location is a big undertaking and moving to a smaller house is a huge change from what you’ve been used to for years. Ask yourself if moving to a smaller place will make you happy. If you won’t be happy in a smaller house, then downsizing simply isn’t for you. Just remember, that this is all about affordability and if you can’t afford to stay in your home, then you may want to work on warming up to the idea of downsizing.
Ready to begin downsizing? Here is the best FREE starter’s guide to beginning your downsizing journey. Click the icon below to download your FREE copy to Unlock the Power to Declutter: The Definitive Guide on How to Start.
Confident Living is a continuing care at home membership program, focused on helping you remain active and independent as you age in your own home. We serve the greater Cincinnati area. For more information, contact us online or call (513) 719-3522.