Watching your parents age and lose their independence is hard. But just as your parents cared for you for so many years, now it’s your turn to return the favor. Some decisions are easy, while other choices are more difficult. One of the challenges that adult children frequently face in these scenarios has to do with their parents’ home. How should you handle it?
Is it Time for a Transition?
AARP research reveals that 77 percent of people would prefer to age in place (meaning they’d like to continue living in their homes as they get older). And while this is certainly a sensible thought and fair desire, it’s not always the best option.
As your parents age, they may begin to experience mobility issues and a loss of independence. As they do so, it becomes increasingly difficult (and, perhaps, more dangerous) for them to live alone.
There’s also the practical element of living in a house that requires upkeep, care, and maintenance. From small chores like vacuuming carpets and cooking meals to bigger issues such as handling repairs and dealing with yard work, there’s a lot that goes into keeping house and home.
Getting your parents to transition out of their home in their older years may be as easy as asking. (In fact, some parents will bring it up themselves.) For others, it requires more conversation and cajoling to get them to willingly move into an assisted living facility.
“Moving an aging parent from their home is not a decision to be taken lightly. Most aging adults want to remain in their home forever,” California Mobility explains. “While the transition to a care community may at some point be necessary, the first step should be identifying what actions can be taken to help the aging parent remain at home. While aging parents may disagree with moving, moving to a care community may not work out like adult children expect.”
It’s not as simple as telling your parents that they need to move out. Make sure you’re being understanding and empathetic. Listen to their concerns and explain the benefits of moving out. You don’t want to “guilt trip” them into making a choice, but you should voice your thoughts on how it’s impacting you and your siblings.
Eventually, most aging parents reach a point where they agree to move out. At this point, the question becomes: What do you do with the house?
3 Options for Your Parents’ House
When it comes to making decisions about your parents’ home after they move out, there are dozens of different decisions you can make. However, all of these choices ultimately fall under one of three larger outcomes.
You can (1) keep the house, (2) rent the house, or (3) sell the house. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of each:
1. Keep It
The first option is to keep the house. This may be a good option if you have a ton of sentimental attachment to the home and want to move in and make it your own primary residence. Or, if the property is located out of town, your family may use it as a second home for weekend trips and vacations.
Keeping the house may also be an option if you believe the property could be worth significantly more in three, five, or 10 years. This might be true if the house is located in an up-and-coming part of town or you know about a new development that’s coming into the area.
2. Rent It
This is probably the least common option of the three, but it is an option. If you’re a real estate investor – or want to get into real estate investing – your parent’s home could become a rental property. This is an especially good choice if you live near the property and there’s little/no mortgage.
When it comes to renting, there are a couple of important considerations. First off, are you okay with it, sentimentally? In other words, are you going to feel weird seeing other people living in your parent’s home? If you think it’ll be too much to handle (emotionally), you might want to go another route.
Secondly, consider whether it’s actually a good candidate for renting (numbers-wise). Would it be better to sell the house and use the proceeds to buy a better investment property? Think through all possibilities.
3. Sell It
Finally, there’s the option of selling the house. Emotionally, this may be the most difficult outcome. Financially, it typically makes the most sense.
When you sell the house, it gives you a lot of flexibility. Here are some examples of different ways you can use the funds:
- You can take the proceeds and use that money to help pay for aging parents’ assisted living care (which isn’t cheap!).
- The money can be used to purchase another home as an investment property.
- The money can be invested for a child’s college savings plan or your own retirement.
- The proceeds can be used to pay off debt and build up an emergency fund.
As you can see, there are plenty of options that make sense when selling a house. It’s up to you to figure out what the best path is for your parents and your family.
Let Light Street Residential Buy Your House for Cash
At Light Street Residential, we make selling your aging parent’s home easy and stress-free. We do this using a simple three-step process. Here’s how it works:
- Request an offer online (no expensive repairs or inconvenient showings required).
- We send a competitive, no-obligation cash offer. (You decide if you want to say ‘yes.’)
- Schedule a stress-free, quick closing and get paid in as little as seven days.
That means you can go from requesting an offer to closing on the house and having access to the cash in as little as a week. This makes selling your house to Light Street a no-brainer option for families that are not interested in keeping or renting the house.
Want to get a cash offer right away? Click here to start the no-obligation process!