How To Help An Elderly Relative Downsize

How To Help An Elderly Relative Downsize

While most people don’t love thinking about it, aging is just a part of life. However, the thought of aging or loved one’s aging can be highly stressful, and it can also bring with it some logistical and emotional challenges.

When your loved one’s age, their lives will start to change. Despite how much they might want things to remain the same, they may have health issues that make it impossible to perform their daily tasks as they used to. In these cases, many older adults have to downsize in order to tend to their own emotional, mental, and physical needs. Often, family members and other loved ones of the elderly need to help them make these big life choices.

As your parents or other loved one’s age, they may need help managing their home. Their health may decline, making it difficult for them to handle the cleaning and routine upkeep of the house. While deciding to help your senior loved one downsize is challenging, it’s often the right call.

While downsizing their living space can be a lot of work and also an emotional time, there are some ways to make the process easier. So, if you’re unsure of how to help. These tips can help you work with your loved one as they downsize and decide to sell or rent out their home.

Should I Help Them Sell Or Rent?

Unless your elderly relative has significantly declined in health to the point they can’t make their own decisions, you should only act as an advisor and help in this process. You should ask them what they would like to happen to their home. Perhaps it’s best to keep the house in the family and see if anyone else would like to buy it or rent it.

Or, if finances are a concern, renting out the property could be a way to help pay for the care of your family member as they age and have health needs. However, when renting out the home, you or your relative will still be responsible for the general upkeep and maintenance of the property. So, if this sounds like more work than it’s worth, selling could be the better option.

Can You Help Your Family Member Sell Their Home Quickly?

Once you and your relative weigh the options, you may decide that selling the home is the best choice for all involved. When selling the home, you have a couple potential courses of action:

  1. Sell the home the more traditional route: You could work with a real estate agent or list the home yourself. While there are benefits to this approach, it can take time and money that you don’t have. You’ll likely have to pay thousands of dollars in closing costs, listing fees, and more. And it can take months to find a buyer.
  2. Sell the home fast with a cash offer: On the other hand, a cash offer from a reputable business is an excellent want to sell the house in just a week or two. With Light Street Residential, you won’t have to pay closing costs or realtor fees. Instead, you’ll get cash for your elderly loved one’s home so that you can focus on extending their quality of life. Your relative can use this money for their next house or their healthcare.

When choosing the right way to sell their home, you’ll have to look at overall finances, your loved one’s health, and the timeline for moving them somewhere new.

How To Help Your Loved One Downsize And Move

Once you decide how to sell the home, you’ll need to have a plan in place for the moving process. You’ll also need to determine where your loved one will live after the sale. If they can still primarily care for themselves, a smaller home or apartment could be the answer. Or, if it’s unsafe for them to live alone, you may need to find a care center or have them move in with you.

Whatever option is right for your family, there will still be a moving process and considerable downsizing, especially if your relative has lived in their home for many years.

Tips For Making The Moving Process Easier

Your elderly relative may have a hard time moving out of their home. They may have an emotional attachment to the house and many of the items inside. You may also have strong memories and feelings about your family member aging, so remember to be gentle with them and yourself in this process.

Here are some general tips to make this life change easier for all involved:

  • Work with your loved one’s healthcare providers to ensure their health needs are met.
  • Seek out support from other family members and friends.
  • Consider hiring movers or organizers to help you with the downsizing process. A third party is much more objective and can assist with making difficult decisions.
  • Ensure you take the feelings and mental health of your elderly relative into account.
  • Keep any keepsakes and heirlooms that are important to the family. While you may have to get rid of some things, you don’t necessarily have to do a major purge.

It’s worth reaching out to others in person or online who have been through a similar process, as they can act as a good resource.

Contact Light Street Residential For A Cash Offer

Helping your family member or loved one transition to a new phase of life may be an emotional and stressful time for you and for them. However, you can make the transition easier by moving through the home sale process in a safe, straightforward manner.

At Light Street Residential, we have a three-step process that’s easy to complete. You’ll get a fair cash offer for your home, and we even cover closing costs. Contact us today to learn more or fill out our online form to get an offer.

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