Typically there are two types of buyers that look at buying townhomes. Young families that need more space, and downsizers that have sold their house and are looking for something that is a bit more manageable. Townhouses can be the perfect in between for both upsizers and downsizers. Seeing people struggle with downsizing we have decided to share our 5 tips for downsizing. If you are thinking about making the move from a house to a townhouse we are here to help in more ways than one.
Give Yourself Time
If you are an empty nester that has decided that you no longer need your large family home and decide that it is time to downsize you will likely be swamped by an abundance of emotions. Cleaning out your kids bedrooms or going through old boxes in the basement you will find yourself caught going down memory lane. Give yourself some time. De-cluttering will likely take you more time than you think it will. Give yourself some time to go through your belongings and pack what you need. Talk to your kids about what they want and give them some time to come pick up what is theres!
Measure your New Townhome
Your homes furniture likely will not all fit in your new townhome. Rather than packing it all up and realizing once you move that it doesn’t fit, have your agent book a time to get you into your new home to do some measurements. If your couch is too large, sell it or donate it to Value Village. The same goes for the large chest of drawers, dining room table and entertainment units. You will likely need to budget for some new furniture to fit into your new space.
Organize
Before moving day, organize your move. Do you want to hire movers? Do you need help packing? Do you have boxes? There are some great companies out there that will save you time, energy and plenty of headaches. They are reasonably priced and will help make the move much easier. Ask your agent to help refer you to any services that you should need.
Junk Removal
As you go through your house and find years and years of stuff don’t be scared to junk it. Eventually, this stuff will need to be thrown out and you will feel a sense of relief to junk it before the move rather than after. There are some great junk removal companies that will take everything off your hands or if you can borrow a truck just start loading it up. A good rule is that if you haven’t used something in the last year it likely won’t be missed.
Plan
Planning your move will save you time, money and hiccups. Make sure that you have organized street parking at your new home and have planned to book the elevator if needed. Regardless if you have hired movers or not it will be very helpful to be parked as close to your front door as possible. See if you can book a loading bay or street entrance. If you are hiring movers book them more than a month in advance. Often the good movers are booked far in advance and will charge more for last minute moves.
If you are considering downsizing we hope you find these 5 tips helpful. If you are just starting your search feel free to search for townhomes HERE.
And remember if you are downsizing and have any questions or think we can help please feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email. We look forward to helping you throughout the process.
