Yes, it seems counterintuitive.
“Decide where I want to live and move first. Sell my house after I move. Frankly, I had never considered that option,” said Oklahoma City homeseller and longtime homeowner, Beverly Jean.
The idea of moving first and selling second may feel a bit out of order. While not generally contemplated by retirees downsizing to a smaller place, or even to many real estate agents, it’s a strategy commonly employed by Buckelew Realty Group and other Certified Senior Housing Professionals (CSHPs) around the country who are trained by the Buckelews.
The rationale for this particular strategy involves effectively managing both the logistical challenges associated with downsizing, as well as the far less discussed and more emotional aspects of late-life moves.
For homeowners not burdened by a mortgage, this is an elegant solution for avoiding the hassles most commonly associated with selling a home. Even those with a mortgage can use the strategy with the right financing in place.
Convenience
Homeowners are generally inconvenienced during the initial marketing period while potential home buyers view the property.
In a seller’s market, this temporary displacement can be anywhere from a few hours to several days or weeks.
During this time, people of all sorts (albeit accompanied by a licensed agent) will parade through the home, checking out every nook and cranny along the way.
Once the home is under contract, the inspections begin. A series of various home inspectors will require access over a 10-15 day period.
They will spend several hours flipping every light switch on and off, running all the appliances, and crawling in and out of literally all accessible spaces. While showing appointments and inspections are taking place, homeowners are asked to leave the property – pets too.
Not only can this be inconvenient, especially during inclement weather, it can also create significant stressors for those who place a high value on privacy and a tidy home.
Privacy
Because the home is being publicly marketed, there will be interior photographs placed online for all the world to see. To make the home more appealing, agents often want occupied homes to be staged for these pictures (and during showings).
More importantly, however, homeowners should know that photographs depicting the contents of their home are easily available, not only to potential homebuyers, but to anyone with internet access.
Logistics
Once under contract, purchasers typically want occupancy within about 30-45 days (60 or more is very rare). This requires the homeowner to be packed, moved, and the home completely emptied in that timeframe.
While packing and moving might be easily accomplished in this span of time, emptying the home takes longer than one might expect.
Once the owner has moved, estate liquidators generally need at least one to two weeks to prepare and a weekend or two for the sale.
This is followed by yet another week to deal with remaining pickups or trash removal. During this same time the home inspections are also taking place so there is a lot of traffic in and out of the home!
Emotions
Beyond the logistical challenges, many longtime homeowners face the task of letting go of decades of treasured possessions.
While not always recognizing the emotional toll on them early in the process, the closer to move day (or closing day for the home), the more latent emotions begin to creep in.
Instead of having time and space to grieve and say goodbye, people often report feeling rushed – emotions ultimately taking a back seat to more pressing matters.
Even the most enthusiastic home sellers, those who are generally optimistic and cheerful, can get sentimental as the end of the process draws closer.
Deadlines cause people to feel rushed and can limit the time needed to feel fully complete and without regret about hard decisions they are having to make.
Many downsizers expect their next move to be similar to their previous ones, but that isn’t necessarily the case. It may be time to re-evaluate the order of things and create a new plan – one that makes the most sense for today.
If you or someone you know would like a complimentary downsizing coaching appointment, give us a call at 405.708.7010.
Planning a future move,
but just aren’t quite ready yet?
If you are a seasoned homeowner or someone
who plans to downsize from a larger home to a smaller
space in the next few years, you have come to the right place.
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