9 Tips for Senior Home Sellers*
Most people aged 65 or older have lived in their home for at least 25 years. That means moving is a challenging and unfamiliar experience. Here are nine ways seniors can ease the transition from their long-time residence to their next home:

1. Make a move that will improve your lifestyle, perhaps by giving you more
freedom, more security or more recreational opportunities.

2. Focus on the positive aspects of your move.

3. Start looking for your next home before you sell your current home.

4. Be open-minded about all your housing options.

5. Make multiple extended visits to a new community at different times
of the year before you decide to move there permanently.

6. Choose a real estate agent who has experience in helping seniors
buy and sell homes.

7. Choose a real estate agent who is knowledgeable, patient and straightforward.
The agent should give you information and choices, not directives.

8. If possible, make needed repairs and update your decor before you put
your home on the market. A modernized home in good condition will sell for
a higher price than a comparable home that's out-dated or in ill-repair.

9. Unclutter your home before it's shown to buyers. They want to see your house,
not your stuff.

Living Independently Takes Modifications. It's a fact: 82 percent of seniors want to live indepen-dently in their own homes as long as possible. But a new AARP survey of 2,000 people aged 45 and older throws new light on the difficulties of independent living. Nearly one-fourth of the seniors surveyed predicted that they or someone in their home will have difficulty navigating through the home within the next five years.

Of the people who were able to modify their home, 70 percent had made at least one modification to improve ease of navigation and 67 percent believed those modifications would enable them to live in their home much longer. Examples of modifications include putting nonskid strips in bathtubs and replacing dim light bulbs with higher wattage illumination.

Baby boomers are beginning to address their elderly parents' difficulties, according to AARP, and are starting to think about whether their own homes will meet their needs as they age.

* An SRES Article.



Home Search | Buying | Selling | Falmouth | General Info 
For Seniors | About Us | Home

COPYRIGHT © 2007 BY DAVID F. KELLEY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

<