How to Sell a Home in Denver as an Empty Nester

The kids have all moved on to college dorms, apartments, or their own homes and left you with an empty nest… now what? Should you stay in your home or sell it? It’s not an easy question to tackle.

Since your family home has likely been one of the biggest investments you’ve ever made, it’s understandable if you’re a little apprehensive about either selling or staying. If you’re approaching retirement or have already left the workforce, a big real estate decision like this one will feel even more stressful.

To ensure that you make the right choice for your financial circumstances, we recommend a four step process to determine what you should do with your home now that you’re an empty nester.

1) Assess Needs

If you built or bought your home when you had to make room for multiple children, you are going to find yourself with entirely too much house once they have moved out. That might not seem like a real problem at first, but consider all the extra time and money required to heat, cool, and maintain a family-size house and yard. It might be more than you’re willing to take on at this point in your life. If you’re going to be traveling a lot, that makes downsizing an even smarter solution.

At the same time, if you don’t feel like you have too much house and the market, your tax situation, the circumstances in your life, or a lack of inspiring housing alternatives suggests that it’s not a good time to sell, than it might be better to stand pat for now. Let the situation and your needs dictate your decision.

If you plan to stop working soon, it would be wise to talk with a financial advisor specializing in retirement financial planning in CO before you make a decision on your home.

2) Contact the Neir Team

Even if you have experience buying or selling a home, there are plenty of good reasons to reach out to a Denver real estate agent as an empty nest seller. The Neir Team can help you assess your situation and determine the true value of your home. If selling is the right move for you, we can assist in analyzing the market, setting the ideal list price, and finding your next home.

3) Get a Lender

Your financial outlook has changed since the last time you went home shopping. You could be willing to pay more on a mortgage, or you may want to cut back to leave room in the budget for travel and other expenses. Talk with a lender to hammer out a clear financing plan before you start shopping for a new house.

4) Find Your Next Dream Home

This time around you may be more interested in downsizing to a condo or townhouse, or upgrading to a custom home that has everything you want. You also might be looking for a different type of neighborhood. According to Minneapolis luxury home builders Erotas Building Corp, proximity to good schools doesn’t matter as much to empty nester home buyers as access to entertainment and the right type of amenities (pool, fireplace, etc.).

The Neir Team is here to help you make the right buying and selling decisions based on market conditions. Getting into the market as an empty nester doesn’t have to be stressful. Contact us today for help analyzing the market, setting a price, finding a new home, and more!