3 Things to Do Before Home Downsizing

There comes a point in many people’s lives when they want or need a home that’s smaller than their current one. Couples have children that grow up and move out. Retirees might want less space to clean or less yard to maintain. Some folks just get sick of stairs and crave a single-level home, and others just want to save money.

Whatever the reason, downsizing has its appeal. And while it might sound as if it’s a way of simplifying your life, moving into a smaller home can get a little complicated if you’re not smart about it. Here are three things to consider doing before you downsize your home.

Purge

Moving into a smaller home will likely mean less maintenance and fewer repairs, but it also means less space. If you have a big home now that’s full of belongings, it might not all fit in your new, smaller home. So it’s not a bad idea to do some purging before packing up to move.

If you’re moving into a home with fewer bedrooms, you can probably do without as many beds, dressers, and nightstands. If you are going from a home with a living room and family room to one with only one or the other, you can probably ditch some other types of furniture.

As for non-furniture items, it’s important to go through your “stuff” and only keep what is useful or meaningful to you, as a smaller home will probably have less storage space. That means taking inventory of all the things tucked away in kitchen cabinets, closets, attics, and basements. Why pack and move non-essential items when they won’t even fit in your new home?

Starting to purge a few months before a move is a good idea, too. You can separate things into various categories, such as trash, garage sale or donations, and choose how you get rid of them.

Plan

Home downsizing often comes with reducing or even eliminating a house payment. That, like purging some of your belongings, might feel liberating. But if you don’t plan accordingly, you could be missing out on the full advantage of the extra cash.

What are you going to do with that money? Can you invest it, so that the money you’re saving on a house payment is actually making money for you? If you don’t have an “emergency fund” – cash for an unexpected expense – it might make sense to put the monthly savings in one. Moving into a smaller home and then having to take out a home equity loan in the event of a financial emergency might be counterintuitive.

You also have to have plans for hosting get-togethers and out-of-town guests. What will you have to adjust in order to accommodate people in a smaller space? It’s probably something to think about before moving into that smaller home.

Prioritize

Just as with any home purchase, you’re not likely to get EVERYTHING you want in your downsized home. So before going shopping for one, it makes sense to prioritize the things you’re looking for. If you don’t, you risk having a case of buyer’s remorse.

Maybe you want a smaller yard, or no stairs, or fewer bedrooms. Are those things all deal-breakers? For instance, can you accept a house with a larger yard if it had more storage space than a home with a tiny yard? If you’re moving from four-bedroom colonial to a ranch, is a two-bedroom ranch a better choice than a three-bedroom, two-story home with a first-floor master suite?

There will be tradeoffs, so it’s important to decide – before shopping – what you can and can’t live without in your smaller home.

People buy smaller homes every single day; it’s a common occurrence. But purging, planning and prioritizing will likely make for a smoother transition to a smaller home.

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