Your quick guide to property downsizing
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes.
Nathan Walker, Sales Director, offers a little advice to those who are considering downsizing to a smaller property...
When you are part of a growing family bringing children into this world you probably reach a point where you’re looking for extra space and start considering upsizing to a larger property. As your children fly the nest and you begin to realise that you no longer require the extra space and empty bedrooms, the opposite can happen - you can begin thinking about the benefits you can enjoy if you were to downsize to a smaller property.
Less cleaning to do, lower energy bills, perhaps a smaller garden to maintain - or even no garden at all.
These are just a few of the benefits to be had by downsizing, which can all prove particularly useful for those approaching retirement. Spending less time and money on the use and maintenance of a large property will mean more time and money to spend on the things you enjoy with the people you love.
Before taking the plunge and going ahead with the relocation to a smaller property, there are some things you should consider so that you can ensure the move you go for makes sense and happens and seamlessly as possible.
After all, you’ll likely want to move for an overall better lifestyle, so the last thing you want to do is fill that move with unwanted stress and last-minute decisions.
Below you’ll find a handy little guide with some advice we’ve put together listing a few things you should work your way through when moving to a smaller home.
Marketing your current property for sale
First things first, to gain a true understanding of your finances you’ll want to enlist the help of a reputable local estate agent who can carry out a property valuation on your home and let you know approximately what sort of sale price you can expect to achieve. This will allow you to budget your finances so that you know exactly what sort of property prices you can start looking at.
Your estate agent can then of course carry out the marketing of your property and find a suitable buyer as soon as possible all while helping you with your own search for the perfect smaller home.
Read: Thinking about downsizing your property in retirement?
Be ruthless with the belongings you take
Downsizing to a smaller home will naturally mean you will have less rooms and/or space, so this will be your chance to get rid of belongings that you really no longer need. You may have furniture that is far too big so will need to think about items that you need to replace with something more suitable. Take accurate measurements of your new home before making any of those purchases!
Anything you don’t need can be given to charity, handed over to family and friends who would appreciate them, or sold through the likes of eBay, gumtree, or local car boot sales. The sooner you can start removing these items the better, as it’ll mean much less to sort out and find storage for in the final weeks and days before you move.
Plan out the move
Once you’re further down the line having chosen your new home and finding yourself waiting for the arrival of the moving date, do as much planning and preparation for moving day as possible.
Packing everything into boxes to move from a large home to a small home can be quite the chore, so think about where each box will be unpacked at the other side and clearly label everything. Stacking boxes in an ad hoc fashion into smaller rooms and then randomly working your way through them all is unlikely to be the most stress-free welcome into your new home, so thorough organisation is key!
Hopefully, despite the kids having moved out of the family home, they’ll still be on board to help you with the move!
Read: Things to consider for moving day
Contact utility suppliers
When moving from one place to another, ask the estate agent for the details of the previous utility providers so you can contact them to set up new accounts and ensure that they have all relevant information regarding your moving in date. You’ll also want to contact your own suppliers, as well any phone, broadband, cable tv packages etc. before moving into your new home as they can often take some time to switch across and become active.
Downsizing to a smaller property can be an exciting time when you know it’ll afford you far more time to do the things you love and make general day-to-day living a lot easier. So much so, it can provide you with a new lease of life.
If you’re thinking about selling your larger property to purchase a smaller home, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our expert sales team here at CPS Homes in the heart of Cardiff. With branches spread across the city our knowledge of the local areas is second to none. Call us on 02920 668585, e-mail enquiries@cpshomes.co.uk or pop in branch to see us.
