The Advantages and Disadvantages to Downsizing Your Home

Real estate comes in cycles and one of those cycles is the cycle of life. When you first start shopping for a home, you may pick a fixer-upper or something small because of your budget. However, as your family grows, your home may grow.

Then, your children grow, they move out and you’re stuck with a five bedroom, three bathroom home for two people. When this happens, it might be time to downsize your home. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of downsizing.

Downsizing Advantages

Downsizing comes with many advantages. Of course, the first and most important is the amount of money you will save. If you currently live in a $400K home with tons of living space, you may be able to sell it, move into something half the price and save the cash on your mortgage payment. If your home is paid off, you might have a nice chunk to add to your retirement fund.

Along with the direct benefit of living with a cheaper mortgage payment or a lower cost home, you’ll also save on property taxes, insurance and utility bills. A smaller home doesn’t cost nearly as much when it comes to any bill associated with the home.

Less Maintenance

Along with lower costs, you’ll have less maintenance to worry about. In fact, you could go from a home with a large yard and many rooms to clean to a condo with no yard and less square footage to worry about keeping clean. When you choose a condo, you won’t have to worry about cleaning gutters, painting, landscaping or anything else outside of the home.

Ability to Move into a Different Neighborhood

Maybe you’ve been living in the suburbs of New Orleans and you’re ready to be downtown. Selling your larger home may allow you to purchase a luxury condo in one of the hottest areas of town. This could be a dream come true and allow for more time to spend doing fun things nearby.

Disadvantages of Downsizing

While there are several advantages to downsizing your home, there are also a few disadvantages. You will have to go through the selling process and there are some costs involved. In addition, selling a home you’ve been in for many years and the home your children grew up in can take an emotional toll. You’ll also need to downsize the things you own and get used to a smaller space.

While there are some disadvantages, for many, the advantages of downsizing outweigh the disadvantages. This is especially true if you get to move to a more exciting neighborhood.