Moving from the family home is something to do only when it’s difficult to manage where you are. There is a certain amount of nostalgia built around staying in the Halifax home where you raised your kids, and where you created many of the most important memories of your life.
Even as you move through your Boomer years and well into your senior years, you might modify your house to age in place. You think that if you manage to make it through your older years without a lingering illness, you can even stay there until the end.
“Preparing To Downsize” Please Click Here
This makes a certain amount of sense, but it can also deprive you of many of the pleasures of your senior years if you hold on to your house too long. Moving to another residence can net you a lump sum of money and reduce your monthly living costs.
“Wait,” you are thinking, “my house is paid. How can I really save money I had if I sell my home and buy another one or even rent a place?”
As Sass puts it, about 30% of the average retiree’s monthly expenses go for housing. If you move from a $250,000 house the one costing 150,000, you might clear $75,000 after you pay out moving expenses. This enables you to bolster your nest egg in case you need it later or to withdraw an extra $3,250 from savings each year.
If you want to take a trip or buy a new couch, you can do it without worrying that something important won’t get paid. Place the savings on utilities and other expenses from a bigger house, you can save an additional $3,000 per year, for a total of $6,250.
A Lesson In Retirement Math
People with out-of-town children and other relatives don’t want to leave the family home because it is a refuge for them when they visit. When the kids come home for a visit they can stay with other relatives or at a hotel. You can pay for the lodging with the money you’ve saved from downsizing.
Why Wait To Move?
New housing can mean a whole new world. Why live in the suburbs where young families are replacing many of your old neighbors who have moved or passed away when you can acquire a new peer group if you move to a senior community.
Move from the suburbs where everything is spread out and settle in urban areas and give yourself instant access to restaurants, culture, shopping, and even amenities such as indoor parking and the doorman. Move and you can start to reap the economic and social benefits you seek.
The Time To Move Is Now
It makes sense to downsize your home when you retire. Now is the time to start thinking about the possibilities if you move to a less costly place with lower expenses.
Roy Thomas SRES® (Senior’s Real Estate Specialist) is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group Professional Realty. Since 1991, Roy specializes in helping retirees with their later in life real estate transactions. Call Roy at 902-497-3031 or contact Roy here
