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Why downsize?
- Too much house with the kids gone
- Too much land to take care of
- Lifestyle change
Once the kids are gone, the large house and land can be too much to care for. It’s also a time when people start thinking about a lifestyle change. Many people want to travel more and want a lower maintenance home.
That could mean staying local but downsizing to a condo or smaller home, or making a lateral move price-wise to a completely different type of neighborhood. It could also mean moving away to a warmer climate or NYC, or having a home in more than one place.
Where is everybody going?
- Rowayton
- New York City
- Florida/South
- Other (AZ, CA, elsewhere near family)
The two biggest demographics of people moving to Rowayton are young couples moving from the city who are ready to start having kids, and downsizers/empty-nesters from Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, and a few other towns. Rowayton represents a lifestyle change for these people while allowing them to still stay local.
Rowayton offers smaller lots, smaller homes, a village feel where you can walk to the beach, market, train, tennis etc. Many people who downsize to Rowayton make a lateral move pricewise for the lifestyle change. They may also have a residence somewhere else like in Florida or New York City.
Where to start?
It can be overwhelming to think about moving from a house with all of the memories and items accumulated over many years. However, this is truly the case of short term pain lead to long term gain. Before you can list your house for sale here are the steps that need to be taken:
Declutter. This may mean getting a dumpster and really cleaning out the attic, basement, and kids rooms or simply cleaning out bookshelves, excess furniture and other items. There are also estate specialists who can help sort through items that may be of value, and help get rid of other things.
Paint, make repairs. Go around the house and look for things like peeling paint, loose gutters, ripped screens and doors that aren’t working properly.
Neutralize. Walls should be painted in a neutral color. Remove any old wallpaper. Also remove items that are too personal.
Stage. This can be as basic as having a ‘stager’ come in and help with decluttering, rearranging furniture, neutralizing, and depersonalizing to bringing in furniture and professionally staging certain rooms. Staging can make the difference between selling quickly and for a higher price or languishing on the market.
Finally, start getting an idea of the market where you are thinking of moving to. Rowayton open houses are chock full of downsizers!
The Darien market is quite robust, so if you work with your Realtor and get the house ready, it should sell quickly. Click here to see the market stats for Darien and Rowayton.
Contact me for more information on downsizing, decluttering, staging, and getting your house ready for the market. I can be reached at (917) 941-5362 or via email at falkenberge@raveisre.com. More details are also available on my website.
