Although most people want to stay in their home as long as possible, at some point moving to a smaller home, apartment, or senior living community will most likely be necessary.

Maybe you have a situation where you've raised your kids, and now you have a room or multiple rooms that are not used, and just becoming large closets or storage areas for "stuff."

Maybe your house has steps or other features that have become obstacles are are difficult to navigate.

Are you debating if you should spend the money needed to make needed repairs or updates to improve the house, and make it more comfortable or livable for your current wants or needs?

Have you decided you'd like to find housing where you don't have to take care of the yard, scoop the snow, or worry about maintenance or repairs any longer?

Maybe you've experienced an event in your life where you need to make a move to living accommodations that provide some level of assistance, such as an assisted living community or long term nursing care.

If you are currently going through one or multiple items above, you're certainly not alone. Some or all of the above scenarios are reasons to consider downsizing.

Many homeowners know they need to do something, but then it hits them... where do I go?

What about all the "stuff" that has accumulated in the house for all these years? How do I physically make the move from my house to a new home?

One of the biggest issues that worry many homeowners that would like to sell, is the catch 22 of potentially having a vacant house.

Maybe you want to sell, but don't want to worry about moving and then having a vacant house to take care of or worry about.

Maybe you could sell your house, but you don't have a new home or apartment to move into.

Do you wish you could sell your house, but wait to move until you're ready? 30, 60, 90 days later, so that you can make the transition to a new home or apartment on your schedule?

Would you like to enjoy life more instead of just living to take care of a large house you don't need?

Are you an adult child of parents that have waited too long to make a move and have ended up having needing to make these critically important decisions for them?

Continue reading, or get your FREE copy of Home Downsizing Secrets right now!

Your next home or apartment will dictate what is moved and what will not be moved.

Senior move managers can help create room layouts of your new home or apartment to determine what pieces of furniture will fit and what won't.

They can also provide services of actually coming into your home, packing everything up, arranging the moving company for the move, then unpacking everything at your new home or apartment.

You can literally just get yourself from point A to point B and let them handle the rest!

If you'd like to find a local Move Manager to help with your move, just call our office at (855)-291-5005, and we can help with that!

When starting the downsizing process, it can be a good thing to start deciding what you know you will NOT want to take with you. You can then donate, sell, or dispose of those items.

If you are selling a parent's or loved one's house, this can be an even more difficult situation. Getting rid of your own "stuff" is one thing, but when you have family and/or siblings involved, it can be quite another.

Typically, the "stuff" may not necessarily be a big issue, but the memories that go along with the stuff certainly can be.

I know with me and my siblings' own situation, of taking care of our Mom's house when she passed away, going through items dating back to when we were kids, along with pictures dating back generations, is very difficult to sort through, much less giving ourselves permission to throw anything away.

If you'd like more information on downsizing, get your FREE copy of "Home Downsizing Secrets" right now!

Is it time to sell your, or a loved one's house? If you want to sell a house, you have a few options. Enlist the assistance of a real estate agent. Market the house yourself, or For Sale By Owner (FSBO). Or call a company that "buys houses."

Using A Real Estate Agent:
Using a real estate agent to "put your house on the market" is the most common way to sell a house.

Being able to have your house on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) which also then "pushes" your listing information to multiple other online sites definitely has the advantage of getting your house in front of potentially thousands of other agents and their potential buyers.

The biggest positive aspect, as mentioned above, is it can expose your house to a large potential buyer pool.

They can also reduce some of the stress of selling a house by communicating with the buyers and their agents, as well as taking care of any paperwork with the transaction, so you don't have to.

But, are you prepared for potentially stressful items like getting and keeping the house in "show ready" condition?

Are you able or willing to accommodate last minute showing requests from agents? Do you mind total strangers who may or may not be serious buyers walking through your house, especially if having an open house, where you or your agent doesn't have complete control over who is in your house?

One thing to remember is that an agent has no "skin in the game." If they over promise what the house will sell for or what you will NET from the sale, or don't do a great job in marketing the property properly, YOU are the one that is affected most.

Two, most buyers have an agent they are working with to represent them. The buyer knows the seller is trying to sell their house without paying commissions, so they will typically always ask the seller to pay a commission to their agent.

And, whether a buyer has an agent or not, they know you are trying to save money on commissions and will likely try to reduce the price of the house by at least as much as what the commissions would have been.

The above items are negotiable, but just realize that they will be part of the reality of selling a house For Sale By Owner.

If you are fortunate enough to find a buyer, are they actually able to buy the house? Do they have funds or the ability to get a loan to purchase the house?

One of the most frustrating things when selling a house, is to find a buyer, be told that they have been "pre-approved" for a loan, only to find out this so-called preapproval is conditional on a number of items that the lender hasn't bothered to check yet.

Selling To A Home Buying Company: Just like the other ways to sell a house, selling to a "home buying company" also has its positives and negatives.

The negatives: The real or perceived thought that a seller may net less from the sale of their house than if they sell with an agent or FSBO, the thought of "all that those buying guys do is give low ball offers," the thought of "if they tell me they can buy my house for cash, will they actually be able to," does this person or company really know what they're doing, etc.

Some buyers will make an offer on a house, sometimes without even seeing it, then nickel and dime a seller by deducting costs and fees like as if they were working with a real estate agent or when they actually come to inspect the property.

The positives:
If you're working with a "real" home buying company, you can sell your house quickly, in its "as is" condition, and close & move when you want.

With Home Downsizing Solutions®, we can close as soon as the title and closing company checks title and prepares the closing paperwork.

We can close on the house, giving the seller the peace of mind that the house is sold, but allowing them to remain in the house until they are ready to move, or their new home or apartment is ready to move into.

The seller is able to leave any or all of the "stuff" in the house they don't care about. You don't need to worry about cleaning the house up, as you would a traditional sale.

A great home buying company can customize or tailor an offer or solution to what a seller really needs, which are sometimes different than just a cash purchase.

It takes a true professional company to be able to provide the best offer and solution for a house seller's specific situation.

How you sell a house depends on the benefits a particular real estate professional provides and the value you place on those benefits. I

f you have questions about finding a great real estate professional, just call my office at (855)-291-5005 or email us at Support@SGRealEstate.com

Selling your, or a loved one's, house and downsizing is a major life event. But, with the right "team" of professionals to assist with the various aspects of the transition, it doesn't have to be as stressful or filled with hassles.

The right move manager and moving company can make the physical move to a new home or apartment as easy and "hands off" as you want the move to be.

The right senior placement agent can be a great asset to find the best senior living community for you or a loved one, depending on the type of care needed and services provided by the community or facility.

The right real estate professional can make selling your house and the transition to a new home or apartment stress and hassle free.

Don't let the thought of "where do I start" or the fear of "overwhelm" not allow you to take the first step. We can help!

If you have questions about how and where to find the best local services to assist you with your specific needs, just call my office at (855)-291-5005 or email us at Support@SGRealEstate.com