As we get older and life circumstances change, it’s common to arrive at a juncture where you need to reexamine your living situation to best suit your needs. As you’re getting ready to make these changes, here are 5 tips to help you downsize your house in BAKERSFIELD.
Re-Evaluate Your Needs
The first big step to finding the new, perfectly-sized home for yourself is to start from scratch and create a checklist of what you want and need from your new home.
Take into account your current life circumstances and the best estimation for where things may go for you in the future. If you’re dealing with mobility issues, you may feel a ranch-style home with wider doors could be ideal. A walk-in shower that can be adapted with handrails, lower countertops, or a staircase with space to easily install a lift chair are all possible necessities now or later on down the road.
Perhaps your kids have all grown up and moved out, and you’re wanting to ditch the additional living space that goes unused.
Taking an honest look at what’s going on in your life will establish sensible boundaries that help inform your home purchase.
Give Yourself Time
As you’re setting out to downsize your house, remember to create a reasonable timeline in which to get everything done.
It’s easy to hit the market, find a property in which you’re interested, and get carried away pursuing it with an offer.
However, providing yourself enough time to process what’s happening and handle your current home is part of the equation.
There will be lots of cleaning and packing involved, and you don’t want to find yourself in a scenario where a closing is looming while you don’t have your ducks in a row.
Scrutinize the Listings
While looking through the for-sale listings, be picky and allow yourself to go back to the drawing board if there isn’t anything out there that fulfills those needs you established while exciting you with the possibilities.
Oftentimes, finding the right home for a buyer is a mixture of the practical and emotional. You have to balance the practical portion of your requirements and the location of the property with the emotional excitement of feeling like you’ve found the right new home for you.
If you feel like both of these areas are being satisfied appropriately by a particular property, then it really could be the right move for you.
Declutter and Sort
As you’re preparing to start looking at properties, you want to get started on decluttering your current home to keep things moving smoothly.
Since downsizing is the entire point of this endeavor, making some tough decisions on what can stay and what can go is bound to happen.
We recommend beginning in one room or area of a room and then moving across the home in one direction. This helps maintain organization while also hopefully stopping you from missing anything that could become a thorn in your side once closings and moves are happening.
If you feel that you’re having trouble sorting through your possessions, ask family or a close friend for assistance. You may discover they help provide a different perspective that allows you to let go of items you truly thought you needed, but are no longer necessary.
Distribute Significant Items
As you’re going through your possessions and deciding what stays and what goes, have a special pile for items that you’re ready to get rid of but should be given to specific individuals.
Family heirlooms are important, and downsizing is the perfect time to pass these items on to their new intended owners.
Try to do this immediately after completing your decluttering to make sure you aren’t giving yourself the chance to delay passing them on and then just allowing yourself to keep them thinking you’ll get around to it later.
Help When You Downsize Your House in BAKERSFIELD
If you’re looking to downsize your house in 2021, contact our team today at 661-465-3997!