Hey, Retirees: Plan to Upsize With These Four Easy Steps
By Bob Shannon | Photo by Pexels.com
As retirees consider options for the next several years of their lives, more and more are choosing to move into a larger home. After all, their brood continues to grow — with family members, grandchildren, and pets entering the picture more frequently.
In other words, not all retirees are opting to downsize, which is the general perception. In fact, a survey of people aged 50 to 89 found that 30 percent of those who had moved since retirement had opted for a larger home. It’s absolutely possible to accommodate your growing family and provide the perfect escape for your grandchildren for whenever they want to visit. Experienced real estate agents Jane and Richard Noltensmeier offer the following tips as you consider a big move.
Step one: Budget for the perfect home
Of course, the first step in any home-buying process is finding out how much you can afford to spend. Use a home affordability calculator to determine the kind of home you can feasibly purchase.
When looking for a larger home, it’s critical to consider your price range. If you have a moderate amount of debt, this can be a challenge. You’re not alone here! In fact, according to a study done by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, debt incurred by American families with a head-of-household older than 55 had increased significantly from 53.8 percent in 1992 to 65.4 percent in 2013 — a measure of close to a 12 percent growth. Before you start looking for a home, it’s recommended to get rid of as much of the debt as you can. Debt relief specialists, for instance, are trained to know all of the opportunities available to you and help you select the proper course of action. Amount of debt owed, employment status, and payback ability are all factors that specialists take into account.
Step two: Find a home (and one you can afford)
Once you have your budget in hand and a debt solution in place, it’s time to find a home! Checking out online listings from Jane and Richard Noltensmeier is a great way to start your home search.
As you look into increasing your usable space, think about what you want out of your retirement life. For grandchildren (of both the human and furry variety!), you may want enough space for playrooms and enough acreage to accommodate lots of outdoor activities. To keep your creative muscles spry, you may even want to build a workshop in the backyard to accommodate growing retirement hobbies.
Or perhaps you’re embracing the growing trend of multi-generational living and want to share your home with your parents, your adult children and their kids, or both. In this case, you’ll not only need a home that’s large enough to accommodate everyone, you’ll also want to look for properties that allow everyone to live together without having to physically be together all the time. For example, finding a home with a mother-in-law suite will allow you to live in the main part of the house and your grown child to live in their own private space. Similarly, if you need to accommodate your child’s whole family, you may opt for a property with a guest house that will serve as a comfortable home for multiple people.
Step three: Stay safe during the move
Moving costs should also be baked into your overall home-buying budget. Things like packing materials, moving fees for uncommon items like pianos, and cleaning supplies for both old and new homes can add up, and if you haven’t included these things in the planning, these expenses can hurt.
Staying safe during your move not only includes financial security but encompasses physical safety as well. If you can, hire movers (or conscript some eager grandchildren!) so that you don’t have to worry about moving heavy things yourself. Hiring a moving manager to orchestrate all the disparate parts of your relocation could be beneficial as well. You want to make things as simple as possible during your move-in, so you can start to maximize your enjoyment of the new space now instead of recuperating from the stress of a move.
Step four: Enjoy your new upsized life!
This one is self-explanatory — congratulations on your new, affordable abode. It’s time to get cooking and wait for the grandchildren to catch the scent from miles away. Your new generational castle awaits!
Are you ready to upsize into a bigger home? Turn to real estate experts Jane and Richard Noltensmeier to find the perfect place where you can expand your life and welcome family. Call today to make an appointment! 714-932-2403 (Jane) and 714-644-1665 (Richard)
