Avoid the Downsides of Downsizing in Retirement

Many people fantasize about financing a good chunk of their retirement by selling their current home, buying a smaller place and investing the difference for income. In reality, however, they often reap far less profit than they might have hoped.

Done right, downsizing can still be a good idea. You might not only walk away with more money, but also simplify your life and reduce your home-maintenance and utility costs for years to come. To reach that happy outcome, you need to steer around the unexpected pitfalls that make downsizing so dicey. Here are four traps that await downsizers, with ways to avoid each.

Boomers Plan to Age in Place, but Are Unprepared to Do So

While homeowners are familiar with typical aging-related projects, they view them as irrelevant, according to data from the recently released HomeAdvisor 2016 Aging-in-Place Report. More than 86 percent of the homeowners surveyed in the report are familiar with common aging-related renovations, but less than one-quarter (22 percent) have completed an aging-related project. The report discusses the need for a new dialogue about aging in place and suggests three solutions to achieve this: change perception, focus on livability, and maximize smart-home technology.

The Future of Retirement Communities: Walkable and Urban

FEW people in America walk to work. Most of us drive to the supermarket. But more older people these days are looking for a community where they can enjoy a full life without a car.

Ben Brown and his wife, Christine, say they weren’t thinking about retirement when they moved to Franklin, N.C., a small, lovely town nestled in the Smoky Mountains near Asheville, a haven for many East Coast and Midwest retirees.

5 downsizing tips from the pros

For empty nesters, seniors and others who find themselves moving into a smaller space, downsizing can feel emotionally and physically overwhelming. But careful planning and perspective can make it easier.

It helps to keep your eyes on the prize, experts say. Envision how great it will feel to be unburdened by excess and achieve your goal of living happily with less, in a smaller but comfortable space, said Stephanie Sisco, home editor for Real Simple Magazine.

Aging in Palce

The story of Mary Casavecchia and the house she won't leave began decades ago.

There was a brief, disastrous marriage to a man who made her heart flutter, then abandoned her. She was on her own, raising two children on a bookkeeper's pay.

She never wanted to marry again. When it was time for Linda, her oldest, to go to school, Mary Casavecchia did an unusual thing for a woman in 1965: She bought a rowhouse by herself in Northeast Philadelphia.

Marni Jameson: Advice on downsizing

“Where do I start?” was the first question from a woman in a group at a bookstore in Salt Lake City, where I was giving a talk about downsizing.

“In the place that bothers you most,” I say. I don’t tell her that to start sorting through a lifetime of accumulations at first feels like stepping into quicksand.

“What about my tools?” asks a gentleman in his 70s. “I have $60,000 worth of tools no one appreciates anymore. I’m not going to just give them away.”

The Doctor Is In. In Your House, That Is.

REMEMBER when doctors made house calls?

While only a relative handful of doctors still offer them, there is growing evidence that comprehensive home medical care could be a viable alternative to the attendant woes and soaring expenses of institutional health services, particularly for those in late retirement.

‘Elder Orphans’ Have a Harder Time Aging in Place

Thriving in a place that’s safe and comfortable, surrounded by cozy memories, is a natural desire of older adults. We treasure independence and want a space to call our own, and we prefer that place to reflect the person we’ve become. We understand that aging bids compromise, and once 65 hits, the changes bring reminders that we’re no longer the same. We don’t move as quickly, we don’t multitask as well, nor do we easily adapt. Those are the simple cues. As we age, the physical and mental challenges delivered through loss, immobility and dependence are the ones that put us at higher risks.

City solutions for elder orphans

On average, the number of people 65 and over who live alone in the U.S. range between 12 and 51 percent, depending on the city. The graying of America forecasts the aggregate to double. Factors that create the trend of aging people, boomers, in particular, to live alone are high divorce rates and childless marriages, according to AARP.  The U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 17.5 percent of individuals age 50 and up were either divorced or separated as of 2011. So, the numbers of people without a spouse or child continue to rise.