If you are thinking about downsizing in Atlanta, you want to read this before you sell your home or call a real estate agent.
Your Move Simplified is a team of organizers based in Atlanta. We love helping people (age 55 and up, and seniors) downsize, once they’ve decided that moving and relocating is the right choice for them. We help our clients deal with the downsizing process, without the overwhelm.
Through the hundreds of families we have helped in the Metro Atlanta area, in Georgia, we have created the following 3 questions to ask yourself before you downsize. We recommended asking these questions before you hire a real estate agent.
Question 1 to ask yourself before you change your lifestyle
Where will I go if I sell my Atlanta area home?
Often, we work with senior couples in the metro Atlanta area who were excited about the hot Atlanta real estate market, and they put their house on the market, without fully thinking about where they would go.
In 2020, and 2021, homes were on the market, and a few days later, off of the market. This is great for certain sellers, but for my senior clients, this meant they needed to move into their new forever home, and to make a decision about where that forever home would be, fast. This caused a great deal of overwhelm and stress for a few of my clients. Some ended up moving into apartments temporarily, until they figured out where they want to move (this was not a clean process).
Leaving a family home in a hurry for a large profit can seem like a great idea, but you want to make sure that you have a place to go before you put your home on the market.
Question 2 to ask yourself before you sell your current home
Where will my possessions go if I relocate and what would be the footprint of my new home?
Oftentimes, if you are downsizing, especially if you have been in your current home for 10 years or longer, you are going to be in a new space that has less storage and square footage. Will you conduct an estate sale to get rid of some of your possessions that you no longer need, so your items can fit into the new square footage? Or will you conduct a yard sale? Generally, we recommend some form of a downsizing sale. You don’t have to get rid of all of your furniture, but if you are looking to downsize, it is likely that not all of your possessions will come with you to your new property.
If selling your items feels scary, that’s ok. You may want to leave it for your next generation, and we can put it into storage in the meantime.
The important thing here is we want to make sure your most loved belongings make it to your new home, whether it’s an active retirement community, a smaller home, or a condo.
We can help arrange for estate sale services in the Atlanta metro area, and connect you to our network.
Keep in mind, you don’t have to be a senior to be downsizing. We work with people who are as young as 55, and they want to move into a community with amenities and concierge services.
Question 3 to ask yourself before you go through a relocation
Is this the best time to relocate?
Yes, the market might be hot. Yes, the value of your home has 4x’d. Yes, it’s getting colder in Atlanta, and maybe Florida is calling. Yes, the upkeep of the home is becoming more difficult. Yes, the seasonal household tasks are tougher to maintain. All of these are legitimate reasons homeowners may consider selling their home.
You want to ask yourself the following questions:
1) How much will my savings be if I relocate? Especially if you are going to invest in a new property and have mortgage payments, albeit at a smaller monthly payment.
You will still have property taxes, and maintenance payments (even if it’s a condo, there’s HOA fees, which can sometimes be a chunk of your new mortgage).
2) Will I be far from my kids or grandchild? Family is important. And if you are moving to Alpharetta or Roswell, or another area in Atlanta, keep in mind that traffic and travel time in the metro area is extending. If you have an emergency, or are far away from your immediate family, how long will it take for them to get to you? This is an important question for downsizers and their caregivers to consider and answer before calling a real estate specialist.
How the Your Move Simplified Team helped Senior Sally transition to her new home outside of Metro Atlanta and some tips to help
Recently, the Your Move Simplified Team helped Sweet Sally move from Virginia Highlands to North Georgia.
Sally is a retired grandmother who was a resident in her home and community for over 30 years.
Sally called her real estate agent to help her get her house on the market. Her agent saw her home and put in. a call to the principal owner of Your Move Simplified, Scott Johnson.
You see, Sally loves her things, and she has spent 60+ years traveling and collecting precious memories. There was no way her friends could help her pack much less move her things. Her children were outside of Atlanta and asking them to help would be a bit of a burden.
To appeal to potential buyers, Sally had to take her memories off the walls, stuff photographs into cabinets and drawers just to get the house picture ready. Her garage ended up getting most of the unwanted items as temporary storage, but they didn’t collect too much dust.
Our team is here to help seniors downsize in Metro Atlanta
Sally’s home sold in record time (unexpectedly!) and for a record price. She was in a pickle to pack the contents of her home and move. To add to the stress, Sally’s future home wasn’t ready for her to move in.
The Your Move Simplified team of move managers stepped in and helped Sally pack up her home, and move some of her items into storage, until her future home was repaired and ready for her to move into.
Sally had a hard time deciding which things to keep and which things to get rid of. We worked with Sally to keep all of her things and have it fit into the interior of her new space.
A professional move manager can help downsizers
We worked on disposing of trash, hard to recycle materials and finding a mover who could move her outside of the perimeter. We significantly reduced the burden that Sally would have had to go through without our help.
Sally trusted us in the process, and said many times that she could never do this without us and she would likely have been unpacking 6 months after moving.
Your Move Simplified can help you maximize your interior space and storage in your new home
My team and I had her packed in one week, moved things to storage, and when her future home was ready, we unpacked her in another week. Sally moved into her new neighborhood, closer to her family, ready to be social, instead of spending her Saturday nights unpacking and setting up her new bedroom.
Give us a call, email, or text us, anytime.
Is an Estate Sale or downsizing sale right for you?
Here are tips to help you decide.
1) You can hire a professional estate sale service provider if you’ve got one, or we can introduce you to our favorite specialists who can help you liquidate some of your belongings, if you don’t have any contacts.
2) This professional will charge a % of the items sold. You’ll want to be aware of that % and comfortable with it before you hire them?
3) Even if you hire a professional estate sale service provider, you’re going to need some energy to manage them? If not, we can assist with this as well.
4)Is it better to sell your items, or is it better to donate them? This can be an emotional decision, but my team and I can help you decide.
5) Don’t forget about consignment. This can be a great option as well.
You do not have to do an estate sale or downsizing sale if you want to get rid of your possessions. You have other options. Get in touch with Scott Johnson from Your Move Simplified.
If you are looking for senior downsizing services near Atlanta, Scott Johnson and his team of organizers are here to help you. We work with seniors moving from forever homes that include high-end retirement communities. We know this is an important transitional time for our clients, and have a non-judgmental, supportive attitude.
