Helping an Older Loved One with a Real Estate Transition
Many people, in the prime of their lives and financially stable, will buy themselves a decent-sized home in which they raise a family or enjoy their space in whatever way they desire. Life always brings with it a series of changes, however, and at some point, most will need to make a real estate transition. For many, that transition comes in their old age, when they need to move into a facility that can provide them with more care than their family is capable of handling. There are lots of other reasons why people might make real estate transitions throughout their lives but dealing with the specific challenges that come with moving a loved one from their beloved home to a suite in a care facility can be difficult for anyone to handle on their own.
When it comes time for this transition to begin, don’t be surprised if your loved one is resistant to the idea of making this change. Many people feel very attached to their homes, as they are safe spaces where they have likely spent a fair amount of their better years. You can make this transition a bit easier by identifying key parts of their living space that they can bring with them in this transition. Some care facilities provide furnished suites that make the transition seem harsh, as everything will be different from what they are familiar with. Bringing your loved one’s favorite furniture and décor from their home into their new living space will make the transition much easier on them emotionally.
Once your loved one is situated in their new home, however, you are often left with an awful lot of work to do to go through what is left over at the old house. Many times, there will be dozens of knickknacks and sentimental items left behind for you to either keep or get rid of. Of course, some things left behind will be worth keeping, but often much of it you will want to just throw into the garbage. At this point, it is smart to ask for help and hire an estate sale company. They will come into the home and determine what is left of value and hold a sale to get rid of anything that you don’t want to keep. Some companies work for a flat fee, but other companies will take a percentage of the profit made from the sale. Sometimes, however, estate sale companies will assess the value of the things in your home and decide that you do not have enough valuable inventory to conduct a profitable sale, in which case you might be left to figure out how to handle everything on your own.
After the home has been cleared out of any unwanted stuff, it is time to try to sell the property. It is wise to invest in staging services, as clean, nicely staged homes sell on average 70% faster than vacant homes. People have trouble imagining how a space will look with their stuff in it, so seeing a beautifully decorated home motivates people to buy. Staging a home also increases the chance that you will get offers closer to your asking price. It is not an expensive service and it could really make all the difference, especially if your loved one is depending on the money from the sale of their home to live off of for a while.
This transition phase isn’t easy for anyone who has to go through the process, not for the person transitioning, and certainly not for the person who has to deal with what is left behind. The good news is that VNTG Place can assist with any step of this process that you need help with. VNTG has services for home liquidation and cleanout, home staging, and remodel and redesign. If you simply want out without any of the work, VNTG Place will even buy the home from you and leave you with no worries. If you are in the process of a real estate transition with your loved one, contact us today and let us handle all of the hard parts so you can focus on what’s important to you – being there for the person you love.
