Real estate and the empty-nester: from downsizing to rightsizing
Graduation season is a familiar rite of passage for teens and young adults. For their parents, it can signal a new phase of life as empty nesters - and new opportunities to buy or sell a home.
Becoming an empty nester stirs a range of emotions. On the one hand, it can be sad to watch your children, whom you’ve spent almost two decades raising, head off to college or the workforce, maybe even start their own families.
Your home, once filled with the sounds of screaming toddlers, birthday parties and family dinners around the table, suddenly feels different. Many empty nesters go from having four- to five-bedroom houses, to realizing that with the newfound empty space, they’d prefer a three-bedroom condo or villa, which can be a struggle to come to terms with. But consider this not a step down – it’s a step into a new lifestyle.
Major life transitions bring along key considerations. Keep reading to learn more about the empty-nester approach to real estate, whether buying or selling a home.
Key Consideration #1: Size
One of the main reasons that empty nesters move into a new home is downsizing. Once the kids are out, parents realize how much space they really have, and oftentimes, it’s more than they need. A couple used to living in a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house with a big yard in the suburbs may only need a two bed, one-bath condo.
Most of the time, empty nesters flock toward smaller properties and a move-in ready experience. You don’t want to go through a remodel as an empty nester. Also, parents want office space fit for their work-from-home schedules or late-night travel planning. Typically, empty nesters look for homes with two to three bedrooms and a den.
Key Consideration #2: Location
Now, the ideal location is no longer surrounded by good school districts, extracurricular activities, or the kids’ piano teacher. Instead, access to amenities is important. For empty nesters, consider the lifestyle that you want to live with your copious amounts of free time. Do you want to spend your evenings on the boat, your mornings at the pickleball or tennis courts, or your afternoons catching up with friends at golf? Seek out homes close to recreational spaces, grocery stores, restaurants and social opportunities.
Southwest Florida is the resort capital of the world, with plenty of locations and spaces that will fit your needs when it comes to proximity to your favorite activities.
What does your lifestyle look like? That's the million-dollar question.
Key Consideration #3: Move-in Ready
As an empty nester looking to sell, you need to understand how to prepare your home for the next bustling family.
If you’re planning to sell your home, there are a few things to consider before putting it on the market. One of the best investments a seller can make is to update/modernize an older property in need of some TLC. Brush on a fresh coat of paint, replace outdated appliances, swap out those old curtains or blinds and have the carpet replaced or professionally cleaned. The investment at the front-end should more than pay for itself through increased value.
Instead of leaving up the themed paint colors in your kids’ rooms, take them down to a natural color. Another family is going to come in, and if they can’t see themselves moving in, it’s hard for them to pick that home.
Need a trusted real estate agent? Contact Aprile Osborne, chief vision officer of Call it Closed International Realty, at 239-220-8607.
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