Tag: 55+ moving

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#1 Mistake When Downsizing

Watch the Video https://youtu.be/jaLVlg-kWk0

Transcript from the video:

Hi everybody, I’m Diana Hodgson from The RedHeadAgent team and Keller Williams Real Estate here in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. 

Welcome to my channel!  This is my first video; I hope to have many more following.  And today, I’d like to tell you about the biggest mistake that most everyone makes when they’re downsizing. 

The biggest mistake is that they wait too long.  They wait too long to make this decision and unfortunately sometimes it’s a life change that will spur on the downsizing before someone is quite ready. 

So, my three tips in downsizing are make a plan.  Make sure that you’re sure where you want to
go.  Start to visit other communities or
start to look around with a professional. 
Hire a real estate agent to show you smaller houses.  Start to look at different neighborhoods, go
to the other state to look.  Do your
investigation…Make a plan. 

Secondly, tell someone about the plan. So if it’s your
daughter, or your son, your sisters, your brothers, somebody…Let them know what
you’d like to do in your retirement or when you’re starting to downsize so that
they understand if something should happen or if there’s a life change that
happens in your life that you can’t make decisions for yourself any longer, at
least someone knows what your plans are. 

And then third, hire a professional.  Hire professionals to help you move, to help
you downsize, to help you get rid of your stuff, to help haul away junk….all of
that.  And usually a good real estate
agent will have a list of people that will be able to help you do all of those
things and help you get through that process.

So, if you have any questions regarding real estate that I
can answer, please put them in the comments below.  Also, if you’d like to see my next video
which I hope you do, please hit the subscribe button and we’ll see each other
next time.  Thanks so much, take good
care!

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55+ Community Info

Living in Active Adult Community is a great way to enjoy one level and maintenance free living. Most communities cover the cost of maintenance and amenities with a homeowner’s association fee (HOA). Here are a few examples of  some of the great amenities communities may offer: pool access, events, community centers, a golf course and a restaurant. These amenities will help keep you active and social with your neighbors! Briarwood Commons Whitehall, Pa Briarwood Commons offers various floor-plans to choose from, designed for 100% first floor living space. Open concept will allow for you to customize to lifestyle and your needs, dining room or study, breakfast nook or family room. The community ammenties include: clubhouse, exercise room, meeting areas, card room, kitchen area, and deck to host community events. HOA Fee:  $115 / month The Cottages at Belmont Glen Location:  Whitehall, Pa Beautiful surroundings, with great views. This community is made up of beautiful spacious homes on private parcels. Luxurious master suites, extraordinary kitchens, family rooms are crafted with the finest materials. Convenient to Rt. 33, Rt. 22 and I-78. HOA Fee:  $169 / month The Cottages at Monocacy Creek Bethlehem, Pa The Cottages at Monocacy Creek, open floor plans optional sun-room, and loft allows you the  to customize your home. So if you want to extend your patio or deck, maybe add a fence, grow a garden or create your own private retreat, you can! Nestled near historic Monocacy Creek, close to the Archibald Johnston Conservation. HOA Fee:  $179 / month Country Classics Legacy at Morgan Hill  Easton, Pa Active-Adult town-homes located looking down onto the Lehigh Valley close to Routes 78, 278 and New Jersey. Five styles of town-homes ranging from 2,425  to 2,850 sqft, master bedroom suites on the first floor. A gated community offers clubhouse, with an exercise room, craft room, game room, kitchen, office, card-playing room with a stone fireplace, media room, and a heated pool. Social events held throughout the year at the Clubhouse: International night, super bowl party, holiday barbecues, doo wop dance, billiard tournament and pool parties are just a few events! Located adjacent to the community is Morgan Hill Golf Course a premier 18-hole golf course, along with the award-winning Vintage Restaurant and Bar. HOA Fee:  $277 / month* Four Seasons at Farmington Macungie, Pa Four Seasons at Farmington, premier community in the Lehigh Valley for  55+, a fabulous community offers an a resort lifestyle with a clubhouse, outdoor heated pool, tennis court, fitness center, bocce court, golf, walking trails. Luxurious ranch-style single family homes,  and  minutes from Allentown and Bethlehem. HOA Fee:  $282 / month Four Seasons at Saucon Valley Hellertown, Pa Four Seasons is an active 55+ condominium community made up of 158 duplex and quad homes with attached two-car garages. The clubhouse is the focal point for social and recreational activities. A tennis court, bocce court, putting green, shuffleboard court, and a heated pool. HOA Fee:  $265 / month Highlands of Glenmoor Easton, Pa Active 55+ community with all the outside maintenance is taken care of. Homes have open floor plans with high ceilings, and a 2-car garage. The clubhouse is filled with amenities, heated pool, exercise room, library, 3 card rooms, craft room, putting green, bocce court, workshop. HOA Fee: $250 / month* Jacob’s Farm Easton, Pa Offering a wonderful clubhouse with lots of activities, tennis courts, shuffle board, a theater room, diner style kitchen and dining, card playing room, lounge, and gym. Built in 2003, there are 135 homes located close to Route 33, shopping and dining. HOA Fee:  $500 / month Traditions of America at Bridlepath Bethlehem, Pa 55+ community with a great location in the Lehigh Valley. National Award-Winning 55+ community features resort-style amenities and recreational activities. Parties, classes, clubs and trips organized by the full-time Lifestyle Director, and so much more! HOA Fee:  $180 / month* Traditions of America at Hanover Bethlehem, Pa Voted the “best new homes community” in Lehigh Valley and one of the 100 best master-planned communities in the US. The community features a two-story clubhouse with many resort-style activities. A full-time Lifestyle Director plans clubs, parties and trips, and arranges for a variety of services for the homeowners in this active 55+ community. Clubhouse features: whirlpool spa, heated pool (seasonal), aerobics and fitness room, billiard room, card room. Both single- or two-story town-homes available with the lawn care and other maintenance. HOA Fee:  $180 / month* Turnberry Mews Bethlehem, Pa Luxury 55+ Condo Community in Bethlehem Township. Units come standard with an elevator that services all levels, have spacious room sizes, kitchens with granite counter-tops, hardwood floors, tiled baths, gas fireplaces in the family room, lots of light and windows, 3 zone heat, patios and a 2-car garage. Located close to historic downtown Bethlehem, RT 33, 22, 378 and 78. HOA Fee:  $250 / quarterly* Villages at Upstream Farms Easton, Pa The Village at Upstream Farm, is a gated community designed for age 55 and older. Homes in  Village at Upstream Farm offers quality construction and amenities. The community center offers an exercise facility, entertainment room. There is a variety of arts, cultural venues and some of the best shopping in the area. HOA Fee:  $370 / month Willow Green Northampton, Pa Located in Allen Township, just north of Bethlehem, PA, Willow Green is one of the area’s premier communities. Energy-efficient, designed to minimize your maintenance with one floor living, spacious kitchens, master suites, 2 car garages, and plenty of storage. The clubhouse has a library, computer room, whirlpool spa, heated pool, sports bar, fitness rooms. Across the street is Willow Brook Golf Course.  The community provides year-round lawn care and snow removal. HOA Fee:  $250 / month Wild Cherry Knoll Macungie, Pa A wonderful 55+ gated community, if luxury is what you are looking for, then visit Wild Cherry Knoll. This community has detached homes and semi-detached. The community has  a clubhouse with social & card rooms, aerobics, and a library. Enjoy the outdoor pool, tennis court, shuffle board, and walking trails! HOA Fee:  $115 / month *HOA fees and amenities are not guaranteed, may vary on home and HOA changes and/or updates. Contact The RedHeadAgent Real Estate Team to learn more about the communities, homes available, or to set an appointment.
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When To Downsize

A cluttered basement full of boxes and other items.

basement junk photo

When to Downsize Your Home

Are you like me?  Are you  starting to ask yourself when to downsize your home? Or perhaps you are helping Mom & Dad move, and you have to get the old homestead ready for sale.  Both situations are the same because all of us are trying to answer the same question, “How do I fit 10 pounds of stuff in a 5 pound bag?”

I’m not quiet ready to move yet but I am starting to think about the prospects of moving us into a smaller space.  This is exactly the time when you start to downsize! The minute you start to think about downsizing is the minute you begin to downsize.  It will take some time so you might as well start now.

Remember when you moved into your first apartment?  I remember when I was single again after my first marriage fell apart, I TRAVELED LIGHT!  I didn’t have much stuff.  I had one bed, one couch & a chair, one dresser,  a few boxes of kitchen utensils plus the bathroom towels & shower curtain and a trunk full of clothes.  30+ years later, I’m not traveling as light anymore.  I have spent years using lots of time and energy and money filling up a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home.  The closets are overflowing, the basement is full and everywhere I turn each room is full of furniture. It’s beautiful and it makes me happy and satisfies me but….Hmmm, what to do with all of the stuff?

Before you move or downsize tip: You must give yourself permission to get rid of things. This is a huge decision.  Give yourself permission to say good bye to items that you have spent your life collecting.  I will ask my children what they want to take.  I will give them things that they may not need or want just yet.  In the case of moving Mom & Dad,  invite family members to take the items that they want and that will lighten the load.  Tip: Set a deadline with family and friends; Tell them if the item is not moved or picked up by (a date) then it will be disposed of and stick to the plan.

In the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering  and Organizing by Marie Kondo the author writes that if an item no longer brings you joy then it’s time to let it go from your life.  She instructs us to thank the item for supplying its joy to us at one time in life and then release it so that it can/will bring joy to someone else.  This main idea took away my guilt when it was time to get rid of items and beloved processions.   When I first started downsizing I started in my closet after reading this book.  I removed almost 3/4 of my clothes…. you know the ones that you can no longer fit into…the ones that you have been hanging onto for YEARS….or the ones that have long gone out of style….or the clothes that still have tags one them.

Downsizing Your Home With Style

Downsizing your home with style doesn’t have to be costly.  Sometimes it can be as simple as a new color of paint or a new set of curtains or removing wallpaper or a few new decorative pillows on the couch.  But it does take some planning and a little throwing away and a little rearranging.

Tip:  First things first,  draw out your floor plan and select the furniture that will fit into that floor plan.  What will fit and what will not?  Imagine your new location.  How much and which furniture will fit into that space?  Ask yourself if you really want to take this same furniture or perhaps use this time to buy a new couch or chair or bedroom suit.  How many closets will you have?  How much clothing will fit into that closet? How big are the rooms?  Don’t forget your artwork!

Not all of your furniture needs to go into the same room as it was in the old house.  Perhaps a chest of dresser drawers could be re-purposed in the living room to hold the television. Get creative and move items into new arrangements and into new rooms. There are no real rules about where something needs to be placed.  If you don’t like it, move it again until the placement makes you happy.

Simple ways to give your rooms new style is easiest by changing the color of the walls.  Complement the new color with accent pillows.  The pillows on your sofa could be the only items that change that make the room look different.  The little spot of color will pull the eye from one thing to another.

Another change could be the artwork.  Find an inexpensive piece with new colors that will change up the color in the room. Even a new or different area rug will change things. Not everything has to be new.  Many times you can use what you already have and re-purpose it in another room

How to Downsize When Moving

Once the idea of where the placement of furniture will be in the new place you will start the process of moving and getting rid of the belongings that won’t fit into the new space.

Photographs can be scanned and put on the computer.  Or try your hand at scrapbooking.  If you can’t bring yourself to throw out the actual photo then send it back to the person who is in the photo after you have scanned it into your computer.  Perhaps they don’t have a copy of the photo which you are sending and it will be a nice gift.

An auction can be held at the property or more conveniently at the auction house.  Here in the Lehigh Valley there are many auction houses that are capable of taking away items to be sold.  A few local auctioneers are Tom Hall Auctions,  Alderfer Auction & Appraisal,  Dotta Auction just to name a few.  An auctioneer will charge a percentage of the sale as their commission or fee.  They need to get paid for their time and effort.  They will charge you to pack your items into a truck and take them to the auction house.

I have been introduced to a ON-LINE auction company called MaxSold which  I think is an amazing concept. It’s a combination of auction and estate sale wrapped into one and the auction is played out on the internet. No strangers come to your residence.  Everyone bids on line.  Here’s how it works: You pay an upfront charge to have the MaxSold representative come into the house to price, photo and arrange everything into box lots.  The box lots are photographed and uploaded onto the MaxSold website. An worldwide online auction is scheduled and takes place of YOUR items.  If a box lot or item is bid higher at the last minute (as often happens in a live auction) then the auction continues for another two minutes until the last and highest bid has  been made. Items are paid for at once by credit card – so you get your money at once and don’t have to worry about bounced checks.  Once the items are sold the MaxSold representative comes back to the house on the “pick up day” to orchestrate the retrieval of all sold items by customers.  So there is no mix-matching of the wrong person getting the wrong box etc.  MaxSold does take a percentage of the proceeds as payment.  It is amazing what will and can be sold in the box lots…things like household cleaners,  old knickknacks, rolls of paper towels…items that would never sell individually in a traditional auction and it’s all because there is always an item of value in the box.  If there is anything left over, you would be need to have it disposed of.

Another way to downsize while moving is to have an estate sale.  This is like a week long yardsale.  A estate company is hired to come in and price everything , advertise the sale and complete the sale.  Many companies will dispose of what is left and not sold after the sale.  Both auctions and estate sales are a good way to offset the cost of moving  and avoiding filling up our landfills with furniture and household items.

Donating items is always a great way to make your belongings go away.  Because the baby boomer generation is so large & aging and downsizing at the same time there is a great deal of used furniture on the market. So some weeks an auction house will be over stocked with furniture just like yours.  Meaning that you may not get a whole lot of money for the furniture and items at auction.  Local non-profits need your items. Donation may be the way to go.  Your generosity could help someone else in their time of need. Building materials can be donated to Habitat Lehigh Valley ReStore.  There are two local locations here in the Lehigh Valley.  Habitat For Humanity does great things for working families in need of reasonably priced housing!  The proceeds from the sale of items at the store help Habitat for Humanity to provide the mortgages for these homes. Via of the LehighValley has two locations where you can donate items.  Via will also come and pick up items that you want to donate.  My husband and I have used Purple Heart for donating items.  This is a organization which picks up and resells the items and all of the proceed go to help service men & women and their families. Also, bed linens and mattresses can be donated to shelters for the homeless or halfway houses helping to get people back on their feet. Call first places like The Victory House or New Bethany Ministries or The Allentown Rescue Mission they will tell you what they need.

And if all of this is too overwhelming, as it sometime is.  Or if you do not have the time or the energy to do any of this yourself.  Or if you are out of state, call a Senior Move Manager.  Senior Move Managers are people who specialize in helping you do everything that has been mentioned above.  One Senior Move Manager who I would recommend is Jill Duffey Kearney from Senior Moves by Design,  she and her dynamic team can help you do any and all of the above.  I have worked with Jill on many occasions and I can tell you Jill gets the job done!

Another way to sell your processions is by opening an Ebay account or a Craig’s List account.  Both are internet pages/companies where you can post a photo of your item and sell it in an auction format or as a “buy it now” scenario.  This is a slower way to turn your possessions into cash but they are both pretty easy ways to do it.  My husband & I just used Craig’s List to sell a bike rack. We sold it for a fair price and the buyer came to pick up the item.  With Ebay you do have to figure out the web site and ship the item to where ever the buyer is.  It does take some practice but it is a great way to turn your items into cash.  A friend of mine has made a fine living over the past few years downsizing & selling her possessions.

In conclusion, it’s a lot of work to downsize so get started NOW!   And if you can’t do it alone, call me, I help many people though this process.  I can put you in touch with a network of people who will also help, movers, haulers, packers. estate people…you name it I have a go-to person who can help .

Once you do start to downsize you will feel like the weight of the world starting to lift from your shoulders.  And as you lighten your load of belongings you will discover the feeling of freedom that it brings.

Unencumbered is a wonderful word for it.  Enjoy!!

If you are considering selling your home, please contact me for a FREE Comparative Market Analysis.  My direct number is 610-417-1174