The big trend in property ownership these days, especially in areas with high property values such as Los Angeles, is downsizing. Why is this? The economic outlook of the country is changing. Millennials are almost a quarter of the population— the largest generation, demographically— but own barely 3% of the country’s wealth. Baby boomers, by comparison, controlled 21% of national wealth when they were the same age. Without getting into the whys and wherefores, this trend is bad news for empty-nesters looking to cash in on their four- or five-bedroom home in the suburbs. A growing number of boomers can’t sell their homes at the price point they value them at. Rather than rattle around in over-large properties that fewer and fewer buyers can afford mortgage payments on, canny Angeleno boomer homeowners are downsizing and moving from their current homes into more suitable accommodations. As a top real estate firm in Los Angeles, The Bienstock Group is on hand to facilitate this transition. With our white glove customer service, handling both property sale and purchase for clients, we are the perfect company to manage downsizing in Los Angeles, whatever your reason to downsize.
Upgrading While Downsizing
There are multiple benefits to downsizing your home. Most obviously, a smaller house means smaller monthly mortgage payments. You can put the extra money in your budget towards vacations, your kids’ education, your retirement fund, or anything else that takes your fancy. When you downsize to a more compact home, be it a condo, apartment, or simply a smaller home, you also benefit from the reduced time and labor costs of maintaining less square footage. Less vacuuming, less lawn care, less dusting, and fewer rooms to clean. It also means lower utility bills, as you’re not paying to heat and supply electricity to as large a property. If you’re savvy with your real estate, your new smaller property will also have a low risk of anything going wrong, something that can’t be said for a house with multiple bathrooms, a swimming pool, and a loft. Spend the new chapter of your life actually living it, not patching up problems with a house you no longer see the benefit of. What will you do with the money you’ll no longer be tossing into the enormous maw of your family home’s mortgage? You could take up a new hobby. Or start that business you’d always wanted to. Become a donor to cultural institutions or your preferred charity. Your family home can help a new family tell their own stories while you begin a new chapter in your own, full of potential.
Downsizing Your Home in Los Angeles
How do you prepare to move into a property half the size of what you are accustomed to? You need a plan. If you are the custodian of your family’s history, it can be difficult to decide what should stay and what should go. Common wisdom dictates that dividing your belongings into the following five categories should be helpful.
Use/Keep:
Items you’d have to replace in your new home (such as basic furnishings, appliances, flatware) belong in this category. You may want to find other homes for spares, though. Do you really need three sets of flatware?
Sell:
There are plenty of ways of making money from your possessions. Craigslist, eBay, even a yard sale. There are also services that will take care of selling unwanted belongings for you.
Love:
This category is for family heirlooms, or else items of significance to your loved ones. You may be able to find other homes for these with family members, as opposed to keeping all of them yourself. If all else fails, a storage unit is a much cheaper option than a four-bedroom home you’re only using 25% of.
Give:
If the item is clean and useful, but too much of a bother to sell individually, it may find a good home with a charity. Be sure that the items are of good enough quality to be donated.
Boomer and Senior Downsizing
While the gravitation away from empty nest family homes is one Los Angeles real estate trend, another is the proliferation of luxury and ultraluxury condos. Land is becoming more expensive, and the authorities more permissive in terms of vertical development. High gas prices and traffic congestion are also tilting the wheel towards investment in condos near mass transit stations and community-like areas such as Downtown LA and the Westside. Many of these condo developments come with benefits such as gyms, pools, clubs, restaurants, and concierge services. In addition, many of the condos are adapted for modern space requirements, offering spacious, breathable floor plans with ample bedroom square footage.
Just because you are downsizing doesn’t mean you have to feel like you’re living in a smaller space. Imagine the convenience of leaving your Downtown LA home and walking a block to a five-minute train ride that puts you on the doorstep of the LA Opera, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, or the Ahmanson. Or setting out from your condo in Culver City and spending 15 minutes on the E line before stepping off in Downtown Santa Monica, with all the shopping and restaurants you could need. More central living also means better access to healthcare services. Perhaps now it isn’t a consideration, but 10 years down the line, you may be thankful to be so close to a major hospital like Cedars-Sinai, Keck Hospital of USC, or the UCLA Medical Center.
For families with seniors who are in need of hands-on care, The Bienstock Group are on hand to take care of the complexities of Los Angeles realty so that your loved ones aren’t subject to undue mental or physical duress. Our personal brand of minute attention to detail and elevated touch ensures that our clients experience extraordinarily low levels of stress or complexities involving the sales process. We have cultivated a reputation for real estate service in excess of all industry standards and expectations, which is only made possible because of the baseline of respect and esteem that we view all our clients with.
How Real Estate Agents Can Help With Downsizing In Los Angeles
A serious life transition such as downsizing should not be entered into lightly. While people are working longer these days and the retirement age is rising, a senior move can still be a significant drain on energy. The physical and emotional strain of packing and moving on from the family home can be aspects of a move that demand a lot. That’s why The Bienstock Group work so hard to offer caring transitions. Our services include providing a process that is smooth and stress-free, while also maximizing profit to ensure our clients are satisfied. We cover you from start to finish. Ask our previous clients: they will tell you we are the top Los Angeles real estate sales team because we never miss a step when it comes to satisfying the home buyers and sellers that trust us to handle their homes.
