Downsizing to a smaller home is an incredible way to start over in life after the kids leave home for college. Therefore, you need to approach the process with great care to get a home that lives up to your expectations.
There’s something magical about having kids in the house. Don’t believe it? Just ask the parents who’ve shipped their last kid off to college. An increasing number of elderly parents are suffering from empty nest syndrome. While you’re happy that your son or daughter has grown up, the empty bedroom down the hall might serve as a haunting reminder of their absence.
Rather than deal with the resulting loneliness, consider downsizing to a cozy master-planned estate around West Melbourne, Victoria. Along with the new home, you will get a fresh start in life.
Define Your Needs
The last thing you want is to move into your home only to have it fail to meet your expectations. That would put you in the tricky situation of having to fit your needs into the house or peruse the market again. Certainly, you want to avoid both of these scenarios, and they would only complicate your life.
To avoid such issues in your new home, make a list of your needs and wants. You can start with what you don’t like about your current home. Consider the number of bedrooms and their sizes. As you’re advancing in age, you might want to avoid a storied house as they come with stairs. You want a home that won’t tax your delicate joints or restrict your movement.
Crunch the Numbers
As with any property deal, your new home will have a cost implication, and you need to be sure that you’re getting value for your money. To safeguard your financial well-being, you should have some money left over after buying a small house. Therefore, it might be great to pick a location where the real estate prices are pocket-friendly. However, if money is not a significant concern, you can look at a community that offers you the life that you wish to lead.
Also, you need to look at the tax policies in the new location to avoid incurring hefty recurring bills each year. You also want to look into the Home Owners Association before buying a property. The last thing you want is an HOA that saddles you with draconian rules and ruins your retirement. Be sure to ask about the HOA fees as high fees can leave a sizeable dent in your pocket.
Look at the Local Community
If you’re packing up and leaving all your friends behind, you need to be sure that you’re moving into a healthy living environment as well. You should pick a location that lets you establish strong social connections with like-minded people. Social relationships are known to improve the quality of life by boosting your emotional well-being. Looking into the demographics of a location can help you pick one that suits your age and societal needs.
Downsizing to a smaller home is an incredible way to overcome the empty nest syndrome. It gives you a fresh start and lets you create new beautiful memories. Therefore, you need to pick your new home with the utmost care to ensure that it lives up to expectations.
