Downsizing is a life changing experience that has a number of benefits:
- Generally, a smaller home is less expensive, meaning lower, or maybe even no mortgage repayments.
- Less space requires less maintenance, giving you more time to enjoy the things you love and less time doing housework!
- You can choose to live somewhere that may be more suited to your current lifestyle and needs than your current home.
With the children moving out a few years ago, and with retirement around the corner, when is the right time to consider downsizing?
If you answer yes to any or all of these questions, now may be the right time to explore options for a smaller, more suitable home:
- Do the majority of rooms in your house remain unused?
- Are most of your belongings stored in cupboards or storage?
- Are you struggling physically to keep up with the demands of the housework and maintenance?
- Do you rarely entertain large groups of people or have a number of people stay over at any one time?
Things you should consider when downsizing:
- Your physical needs. If you are struggling with stairs or finding managing a large home too physically demanding, a smaller single story dwelling may be the most suitable.
- Medical needs. Medical services close by such as GPs and pharmacies can be a top priority for those downsizing due to approaching retirement age.
- Retirement villages. Retirement villages often have on-site facilities such as medical services, exercise facilities and sometimes even eateries and leisure facilities such as a pool. If you are considering downsizing as you are approaching retirement age, retirement villages should be strongly considered as they offer some extra benefits that you may be looking for in your later stages of life.
Making the decision to downsize the family home to a smaller home can be somewhat daunting, but at the right time can also be a liberating experience!
Consider the benefits, the stage in your life and your current and future needs and when the time is right there are a number of options to explore.