Advantages of Downsizing Your Home
The trend appears to be toward downsizing into smaller homes, even though Americans aren’t quite ready to completely give up their McMansions. Downsizing to a smaller footprint has its advantages. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Savings when you downsize
The most obvious advantage to downsizing into a smaller home is that the monthly payment will typically be lower than it would be if you bought a larger home. Less obvious money-saving advantages of downsizing include:
- Lower utility bills – Less area to heat and cool makes those bills drop
- Less maintenance – Downsizing into a smaller house makes the repair bills smaller. As an example, a smaller roof takes less material to fix if it needs repairing
- Less to keep clean – With less square footage to clean you won’t need as many cleaning supplies and the time spent will also be less when downsizing.
- Less to furnish – With a smaller space you’ll have less furniture, and it will typically be smaller in size as well.
- Less taxes – That’s right! When you’re downsizing into a smaller home the taxes you pay for that home will be less than a house with a lot more square footage.
The case for downsizing to save money is even more urgent if you are nearing or in retirement. Home maintenance and the annual property taxes can eat up a huge amount of your savings. If you aren’t near retirement, think of what you can do with the money saved by downsizing. You could upgrade your furnishings with high-quality furniture and appliances that will last longer and provide another cost-saving advantage.
Downsizing your space
Lifestyles have changed since the days when formal dining and living rooms were all the craze. People are waking up to the fact that they have been paying for huge amounts of space that they seldom use and downsizing now look way more appealing. Today, a country kitchen or informal dining room is plenty for our smaller families and any extra space is typically devoted to a home office or larger kitchens and bathrooms.
One of the most common fears when considering downsizing into a smaller home, however, is the lack of storage space. The solution? That’s right, downsize all your “stuff” too. People will tend to use 20 percent of what they own, 80 percent of the time. This means that 80 percent of our “stuff” just sits, taking up valuable space. In the process of downsizing, if you feel that you absolutely can’t live without these belongings, put them in storage and pull them out on the rare occasions you need to use them.
Creative downsizing
The rest of the items you take with you when downsizing can be stored creatively in a smaller home. Utilize the vertical spaces in the home, such as placing shelves above the clothing rod in the closet or above the washer and dryer. Raise the beds to create storage space beneath them.
Downsize for happiness
While living large is impressive, living small can also bring happiness. Smaller homes require less work thus freeing up time for leisure activities and time to make memories. Since downsizing into a smaller home also costs less, the extra money can be used to create your own brand of happiness. You now have the time and money from downsizing to take that trip you’ve been thinking about. You can also go out with the family to more hockey games or to the baseball stadium.
If you think downsizing your home might be your next step, give us a call here at The Old Mill Group Real Estate and we can make the transition as seamless and painless as possible.
Downsizing your home?
Check out our video!
Want to see more videos?!?
Check out our YouTube channel!
New Home Builder Search
