It’s wise to have a plan for that day when you say a final goodbye to the work world and officially retire. Your happily ever after won’t be so rosy if you’ve put off the planning. We aren’t talking financial planning here although that will be a factor in your real estate planning.
What we’re talking about is geography–where you’ll live. The lifestyle you hope to pursue will bear on your choice of location. At least it should. Do you plan on slowing way down or going into this phase of your life with carefree abandon? If it’s anywhere near the latter, we have a suggestion for you: Downsize.
Especially if lots of travel is in your future, the last thing you need is a big house and all its accompanying maintenance to anchor you in place or tie you down to ongoing projects.
Consider selling the house and buying a condo. Here are some reasons why:
You’ll lower your housing expenses
Whether you’re single or heading into retirement with a spouse or partner, leaving the family home for a condo can be a sound financial decision.
First, condos typically cost less to purchase than single-family homes. For example, although condo prices have risen steadily over the past decade, the median sales price in March 2022 in the San Fernando Valley was $640,000. During that same period, the median sales price of an existing single-family home was $1,200,000 in the San Fernando Valley according to Southland Regional Association of REALTORS®. This represents a more than 46% difference in price.
Not only will you save money on the purchase of a condo rather than a single-family home, but you’ll spend less heating, cooling and maintaining a condo. Yes, there are fees involved in condo ownership. The bonus here is that these fees help cover many major maintenance and repair costs in the community.
You’ll have fewer maintenance hassles
Although some condo communities feature homes with small yards, they pale in comparison to what you may have now. The most popular situation is a community with common areas, maintained by the homeowners association (HOA). This means you eliminate the exterior painting, lawn watering and mowing, landscaping and even pool maintenance you did when you owned a single-family home.
You’ll enjoy more amenities
Depending on the type of home you currently own, buying a condo may offer you far more amenities. Even the smaller condo communities tend to offer swimming pools and clubhouses. A slight step-up in value and you may live in a secure community with a pool, fitness center, landscaped grounds and more. Most of these goodies cost residents nothing because the fees are included in the HOA dues.
Your home may be safer and more secure
If you plan a bit of a wanderlust lifestyle when you retire, you can’t go wrong with with the home security a condo offers. Be aware that small condo communities experience more burglaries per year than single-family homes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Condo communities that include 10 or more units, however, have lower burglary rates.
There are several reasons for this. First, larger condo communities typically offer more security features, making it tougher for the bad guys and gals to gain access to the community as well as the individual units within. The pros at brinkshome.com offer another reason. “Single family houses are often attractive targets, as their large size promises would-be thieves greater rewards and their numerous access points make them more difficult to secure.”
Owning a condo will allow you to hit the road for as long as you want with far less worry than if you leave behind a large single-family home.
My observations
You will notice when there is a property on market from a family that has lived there for 40+ years there is almost always deferred maintenance. Why? Because maintenance requires observational skills, effort to make the design choices and coordinate the work, be inconvenienced during the work and costs money. These projects are not terribly exciting to Seniors and the desire to keep the property in great shape for another 20 years it not the highest priority of many longtime owners. Just more reasons to move to a property that is lower maintenance.
If this makes sense for you then you couldn’t pick a better time to make this decision. The real estate market still favors sellers. And, the amount of proceeds you’ll have to work with after the sale may shock you.
Take advantage of that equity to downsize both your finances and your life so you can enjoy your retirement.
For a free consultation about selling your family home in Woodland Hills, Calabasas, West Hills or the San Fernando Valley Call Janey Bishop (818)570-1144 email [email protected]
or watch my videos at https://janeybishop.video/Empty-Nest-Downsizing-Playlist
I offer special TLC to families in Probate or Divorce and Seniors.
Senior Real Estate Specialist Probate Certified Real Estate Collaboration Specialist – Divorce
