There’s a reason why “tiny houses” are a hot trend right now; because downsizing is a good idea. Finding a Tiny House or simply a more economical place to live makes good sense. No matter the reason, whether you are a senior close to retirement, or are in the midst of a divorce, or recently found yourselves as empty-nesters, downsizing can be liberating and economically freeing.
Why Downzing is A Good Idea
A smaller, home often leaves you with more money in your pocket for traveling, paying off debt, helping your grand kids with college tuition, and much more. Not to mention the fact you’ll have a smaller mortgage! Maintenance costs go down, property taxes are often less (depending on where you move) and you don’t need as much “stuff” so you can start to purge the closets of all the collected junk from over the years.
Lower Costs
On the flip side, if you’ve imagined having more than one residence, downsizing your current home and lowering your cost-of-living might help you to purchase a second property.
Whatever the reason, downsizing minimizes your environmental impact; a smaller property requires less energy and can decrease your carbon footprint. Not to mention, downsizing often means a much simpler life. Though it may be daunting, going through a lifetime’s worth of belongings and clearing out what you don’t need, want, or use will leave you feeling relieved and likely revitalized!
Less is Always More
Less stuff equals less stress. Also, when you sell your stuff, that’s money in the bank! Think of what else you can do with the extra time and space when you don’t have to lug around that encyclopedia set from 1981. Downsizing forces you to get rid of your extra baggage, literally.
Less Debt
You’ve probably heard that it’s better to spend no more than 28 percent of our net income on our monthly mortgage payments. Wouldn’t you feel less stressed if you had more money in the bank and less money in debt? Maxing out our debt-to-income ratio on a home is a recipe for disaster. Your mortgage is usually your biggest lifetime debt and probably the No. 1 thing you can change by downsizing.
There are many reasons good reasons to consider downsizing. Overall, smaller generally means smaller costs and less generally means less stress!
If you think downsizing might be in your future, I would be happy to help you through the process. Please email me or call me and let’s sit down and talk about the best way to get started. If you want to learn more, please visit our right-housing article for more details.