How To Execute A Successful Move When Downsizing
Welcome to Part 3 of the Downsizing Your Home Series here on the blog!
This series was born after I had a client go through a major downsizing of her home and throughout the process she kept asking really good, valid questions that I know that other people are likely wondering too.
Most of the time when someone decides to downsize their home, it’s a really emotional journey.
Sometimes it’s because they’re empty nesters, sometimes it’s a widow situation, and sometimes it’s simply because a family has decided they don’t need as much space as they once did.
Regardless of the reason, a lot goes into it and when you throw the extra emotions into the mix, it can feel extremely overwhelming.
But as your friend in real estate, I’m here to make sure that your journey to downsizing your home is as smooth sailing as possible.
Throughout this 3 part blog series, we’ll be diving into:
Signs It May Be Time To Downsize Your Home & The Benefits That Come With It
How To Execute a Successful Move While Downsizing (you’re here!)
Once you’ve made the often difficult decision to downsize your home, it’s time to plan and prepare to make it actually happen. And THEN it’s time to execute the move.
In this blog post we’ll be diving into how to find the next best home for your needs and how to navigate selling your current home, including your loan options and a special Billings vendor list in case you’re local.
How To Find The Right Home When Downsizing
When you’ve finally decided that downsizing your home is the right choice for you, the FIRST step is to assess your needs and determine the size and type of home you truly need.
Many times, people choose to downsize because they’ve become empty nesters and they don’t need as many rooms as they once did.
Other times it’s because they desire a more simple lifestyle and no longer need that huge backyard or other amenities that once were a priority.
Whatever your case may be, it’s important to evaluate your CURRENT reality and lifestyle and understand your new wants and needs.
To effectively assess your needs, ask yourself:
How much space do you realistically require?
How many bedrooms and bathrooms are a true necessity?
Aside from the basic rooms of a house (i.e. kitchen, living room, etc.), are there any additional spaces, such as a home office or hobby room that you’d still like to have?
Are there any mobility requirements, such as a single-story home, walk in showers, etc. you need to take into consideration?
Once you have a better understanding of your needs, it’s time to consider the location!
Aside from the logistical needs of the home itself, it’s also important to understand what’s still important to you from a location perspective.
So again, ask yourself:
Do you desire to be in close proximity to family and friends? What about schools, shopping centers, parks, or other facilities?
Do you want to live in a neighborhood or do you want a more secluded space that provides more privacy?
Is there a certain community or area that you’d like to live in?
Everyone's reason for downsizing is different, so the new location you choose will be specific to YOUR reasoning!
Once you’ve asked yourself these questions and have a better understanding of what you need in your next home, it’s time to connect with a trusted, local real estate agent so they can help you set up a SPECIFIC home search.
Sure, you could browse Zillow yourself, but if you want things to move quickly and NOT have to do it on your own, working with an agent is where it’s at.
When you find a realtor that you want to work with, you’ll schedule a buyer’s consultation, which is essentially just a meeting (can be virtual or in person) to discuss what the home buying process will look like for you specifically.
There’s a few things this meeting will cover:
Buyer’s needs and preferences
The answers to the questions above will need to be related to your realtor so they know exactly what you're looking for!
Buyer education and expectations
After you discuss all of your wants and needs, your realtor will provide an overview of the home buying process from start to finish, so you know exactly what to expect along the way!
Market review
During your consultation, your realtor will likely discuss an overview of the current local real estate market conditions so that you have all of the updated information on property values, recent sales, and trends in the local housing market.
Establish a working relationship
Lastly, the buyer’s consultation really serves as a way for the two of you to establish a positive working relationship and gives you clear direction on how to effectively work together to get to the outcome that you ultimately desire! 🏠
During this time, your realtor will likely outline their services and give you all the details for how to search for properties, schedule tours, and guide you through the paperwork and negotiation process.
Your realtor will also likely discuss their fee structure and explain their legal and ethical obligations to you as the buyer, which includes fiduciary duties, confidentiality, and acting in the best interests of you!
In some cases, your realtor may ask you to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement, which simply formalizes the relationship between you as the buyer and them as your realtor, outlining the terms and duration of the working arrangement.
BUT WAIT! When you’re downsizing, you aren’t just buying a new home… you’re also selling your current one. So how exactly does all of that work?!
Glad you asked. ⬇️
How To Prepare To Sell Your Current Home
Through trial and error, I’ve learned how to guide clients through buying and selling a house at the same time and if I must say so myself, I think we have this thing figured out.
Now, it’s important to note that every agent will navigate this differently and I’m not saying this is the *only* way to make this happen, but from personal experience, it’s pretty effective.
When a client comes to me wanting to buy a new house and sell their current house at the same time, we always start in the same place: PREP!
At the Real Estate Collective, we’ve developed a 3 step proven process to help you prepare your home for the market in order to achieve the best outcome!
The really cool part? This process alone has given our clients a 47% return on investment, so if you’re looking to maximize the money in your pocket when selling, trust me on this…
1. Prep
This of course involves cleaning the home inside and out, but also can involve upgrading or renovations if needed. And no, this doesn’t mean you have to spend a ton of time or money.
We’re talking small things that make a BIG impact. Things like fresh coats of paint, new flooring, and small updates or upgrades (like kitchen appliances, for example). 🎨🧹🛠️
For a closer look at some strategic ways to prep your home for market, CLICK HERE!
Essentially anything that’s going to shine up the property to give it a wow factor that buyers are looking for!
When thinking about what upgrades or renos to do during the prep stage, consider: what are they getting that the property down the street doesn't have? What are the things that are going to make YOUR property stand out?
And don’t worry – you don’t have to figure this out alone! As your realtor, I, along with my team of experts, can provide guidance on what will make the biggest difference.
For tips on how to prepare for downsizing specifically, CLICK HERE!
2. Perfect
Once your home is prepped, it’s time to PERFECT! ✨
This is where my staging expert will come in and get your home looking picture-perfect for listing photos and showings, so you can really sell those potential buyers.
This is what allows buyers to visualize the space as their own. They can come in and imagine what their life would look like in the home.
What I love about my stager? Strategy is the name of her game and she has the big picture in mind always. THESE are the kind of people you want on your side!
3. Present
You’ve prepped and you’ve perfected, now it’s time to PRESENT. 📸
During this phase of the process, our exclusive photographer will come in to make sure every corner of your house is looking its absolute best and captured effectively, so you can feel confident knowing quality offers will be coming in.
If you’ve ever browsed Zillow or any other platforms showcasing homes for sale, you know that the pictures can really make or break a property.
That’s why professional photography is a non-negotiable because let’s be real… professional photos are WAYYYY more exciting to look at than Sharon’s iphone 5 photos, ya feel me? 🤣
We want your property to be show stopping. When people are browsing homes online, we want your property to stop them in their tracks and say, “THAT ONE! I’ve got to see that one.”
That’s the goal and with the right people on your side, that is exactly what you can expect! 👏🏼
❗️Here’s the secret sauce (in my humble opinion) about buying and selling at the same time: we DON’T list your current home until you find the new home you want to buy. ❗️
This gives us the ability to buy and sell contingently – meaning there’s a set of conditions that must be met for the transaction to proceed. Contingencies provide a way for either party to back out of the deal without facing legal consequences if the specified conditions are not satisfied.
In this case, the contingency for buying your new home will be based on your current home selling and the contingency for selling your current home will typically include your offer on the new home being accepted AND a game plan for occupancy.
Essentially what we’re doing here is viewing the two transactions as ONE, because you aren’t willing to do one without the other.
The reason I choose to navigate the process like this is because as a buyer and seller at the same time, your most common concern is often going to be about the “in between.”
If your current house sells before you buy a new one, where will you live and where will you put your stuff in the meantime?
On the flipside, if you buy a new home before your current home sells, how will you cover all the costs associated?
It causes a lot of unnecessary stress when the process is treated as two separate transactions, and even though technically they are separate, I believe that we can navigate them differently in order to avoid some of the “in between” questions like above.
Even with this strategy, the question still remains – where do I put my stuff when my current home sells?
And in my experience, there’s two main ways we can navigate this:
Occupy your current home for a certain amount of time post closing OR
Occupy the new home prior to closing.
Both of these are options that, as a realtor, I can help you navigate and oftentimes it’s not a problem.
The Power of a Bridge Loan
As mentioned above, when you’re downsizing your home, you’re most often buying and selling at the same time. Sometimes this can feel overwhelming in a variety of ways, with one major factor being the financial aspect.
But I’m here to say that you have a few options when it comes to financing, with one of the most popular options being a bridge loan!
A bridge loan is a short-term loan used to bridge the gap between the purchase of a new property and the sale of an existing one. With this loan, as the borrower, you can finance the purchase of your new home before you’ve sold your current one.
The biggest advantages of using a bridge loan include:
Immediate Access to Funds – a bridge loan provides quick access to the funds needed to purchase a new, smaller home before selling the current, larger one
Avoiding Contingencies – allows you as the buyer to avoid making a purchase offer contingent on the sale of your current home, making their offer more attractive to sellers
Market Timing – enables you to take advantage of favorable market conditions, both for purchasing your new home and selling your current one
Smooth Transition – facilitates a smoother transition between homes, reducing the stress of coordinating closing dates and moving logistics
Flexibility in Selling – with the pressure of purchasing the new home relieved, you can typically take your time to sell the current home at the best possible price without the urgency to sell quickly
Renovation and Repairs – you can use the bridge loan to cover any necessary repairs or renovations to your current home to increase its market value before selling
Overall, bridge loans can be useful for those who need to purchase a new home quickly, but they can come with higher costs and risks compared to traditional financing options.
That’s why working with an agent to help you navigate your specific situation is always the best move!
How To Make The Moving Process Less Overwhelming
Moving homes is ALWAYS a big deal, but even more so when you’ve made the decision to downsize.
With decades worth of belongings, the whole process can feel a little overwhelming which is why this series was created in the first place.
If you’re feeling stressed about downsizing and aren’t sure where to start, CLICK HERE for my best tips on how to sort and declutter, a list of local professionals to help you, and the ultimate downsizing timeline!
And once you’re ready to make the move, I’m here to help. If you’re local to Billings, MT CLICK HERE to connect and I’ll help you get started on the right foot.
Oh and since moving entails a lot of different things, I’ve got another list of vendors to help you with all things home.
Whether you need a general contractor to help with repairs or renovations, a plumber, electrician, landscaper, or even an interior designer to make your new home everything you want it to be, I’ve got the recs!
Not local to Billings? Don’t worry, I know people!
Connect here if you’re out of state and I’ll get you in touch with a trusted agent in your area that can help you downsize your home with ease.