Three factors to consider when downsizing to a smaller property

GUEST OBSERVATION

People downsize to apartments or smaller houses for a number of reasons.

Regardless of what that may be, whether it’s to save money, release equity in your mortgage, or because your children have moved out — downsizing comes with a set of specific challenges.

Take the three below factors into consideration to make the process as seamless and stress-free as possible.

Do your research 

Moving houses is inevitably stressful, and moving to a smaller home has the potential to cause further angst. Downsizing your home will undoubtedly leave you with less entertaining and storage spaces than your previous property.

To ensure that you don’t compromise the lifestyle you wish to live in your new home, it’s worth doing some comprehensive research to compare different properties and neighbourhoods. This will allow you to get a solid idea of whether a smaller property will be able to meet your lifestyle needs.

Tips:

• Entertain outside your home — Downsizing to a smaller property often means that your indoor and/or outdoor entertaining areas are compromised. If you enjoy entertaining guests but will not have the space in your new home, make sure you choose a neighbourhood that has appealing public areas for entertaining such as cafes, wine bars, parks and beaches.

• In the same way, if you are somebody who enjoys regularly eating out, consider the cafes and restaurants in the area to make sure that the local area doesn’t detract from your lifestyle.

• Assess the property’s storage areas — Consider whether there will be enough space and storage for your furniture and belongings. Downsizing doesn’t mean you have to get rid of all of your belongings. Look for properties that have innovative storage spaces, such as under-stair cupboards, underground storage, or a loft.

• Check out the local facilities — Take a look at the local transport links, leisure facilities, and public services in the area. Many vendors spend too much time considering the property itself and don’t take the neighbourhood itself into mind.

Try before you buy

Downsizing your home involves a great deal of planning and adapting, so it’s very important that your new property and neighbourhood are suitable.

Many people plunge straight into buying a new home when they downsize, but you should consider renting in your desired area first. It’s even a good idea to test out a few different neighbourhoods by using a service such as AirBnB. That way, you’ll be able to see if you like living in an apartment or would prefer a small house, which area suits your lifestyle best, and so on.

Renting for a short period of time when you initially downsize is a clever way to protect your investment and to ensure you have found the property and neighbourhood best suited to your needs.

Consider:

• Privacy — Downsizing can sometimes mean less privacy. If you’re not used to apartment living, make sure to consider the additional noise that comes with apartment blocks.

• Whether the property is ready to move into — If saving money or releasing equity is your priority, the last thing you want to do is invest the money you save into updating your new property. Assess any repairs and updates that are required, and factor them into your budget.

• Your priorities — If you can remain flexible when it comes to location, you will stand a better chance of finding a property that meets your needs. Where you move depends on your priorities; if your priority is to save money, moving to a different area may deliver even bigger savings.

Plan and rationalise

One of the most challenging factors of downsizing is adapting to the greatly reduced living spaces. You will likely need to get rid of some of your furniture and belongings (or at least place them in storage). This process has the potential to become incredibly stressful, particularly if you’re moving into a far smaller property, but this can be eased if you give yourself enough time to plan and rationalise your belongings.

This way, you might even enjoy the process of culling the unnecessary belongings you have been hoarding.

Tips:

• Be ruthless — If you haven’t used an item in 12 months, then it has to go. There’s no sense in keeping old belongings that are simply gathering dust in a drawer.

• Make the process fun by getting a friend or family member to help you go through your belongings systematically.

• Consider giving unwanted items to charity, sell them on eBay or Gumtree, or hold a garage sale. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!

• Avoid putting unnecessary furniture and belongings into storage. This is particularly important if you are renting before making a permanent decision to downsize.

Downsizing involves a number of decisions that affect your lifestyle, financial situation and overall happiness, so it’s important to feel that you have made the right decision.

It is an exciting move that will allow you to unlock more disposable income, simplify your life and achieve your downsizing goals.

Take these points of advice into real consideration to make the most of this new move and to ensure the transition is a smooth and successful one.

Zoe Pointon is the co-founder of real estate ranking and review startup OpenAgent.