inception-app-prod/MGJlZDMxYjAtM2NlNi00MzQ2LThiMTQtNDRkYzg3YTE4YTBi/content/2021/03/cd8ef427-1c88-41bc-a2ce-7853223f3a471.png
#1 Individual agent at Remax Equity Group!
  • Home
  • About Lori
  • Listings Search
  • Communities
    • Vancouver
    • Battle Ground
    • Brush Prairie
    • Camas
    • La Center
    • Kelso
    • Ridgefield
    • Washougal
    • Woodland
  • Buyers
    • 4 Questions to Ask Before Buying
  • Sellers
    • What’s My Home Worth?
  • Blog
  • Contact
Lori Anderson-Benson
(360) 241-0199
Sign In
Sign Up
inception-app-prod/MGJlZDMxYjAtM2NlNi00MzQ2LThiMTQtNDRkYzg3YTE4YTBi/content/2021/03/cd8ef427-1c88-41bc-a2ce-7853223f3a471.png
#1 Individual agent at Remax Equity Group!
  • Home
  • About Lori
  • Listings Search
  • Communities
    • Vancouver
    • Battle Ground
    • Brush Prairie
    • Camas
    • La Center
    • Kelso
    • Ridgefield
    • Washougal
    • Woodland
  • Buyers
    • 4 Questions to Ask Before Buying
  • Sellers
    • What’s My Home Worth?
  • Blog
  • Contact
inception-app-prod/MGJlZDMxYjAtM2NlNi00MzQ2LThiMTQtNDRkYzg3YTE4YTBi/content/2021/03/cd8ef427-1c88-41bc-a2ce-7853223f3a471.png
#1 Individual agent at Remax Equity Group!
inception-app-prod/MGJlZDMxYjAtM2NlNi00MzQ2LThiMTQtNDRkYzg3YTE4YTBi/content/2017/06/Renovate or relocate- How to help your elderly family members decide.jpg

Renovate or relocate? How to help your elderly family members decide

inception-app-prod/MGJlZDMxYjAtM2NlNi00MzQ2LThiMTQtNDRkYzg3YTE4YTBi/logo/2019/03/2B5A4538_pp-2.jpg
Lori Anderson-Benson,06/5/2017

If you have elderly family members, you may already be thinking about how suitable their living situation will become in the next few years. A top question on the minds of folks in this situation is whether to remodel their current home to fit their needs or to downsize to a smaller home. Here are some key factors to explore to help you with your decision.

1) Will you earn back the upfront costs of either option?
Look at both the option to remodel and to downsize and figure out what your return on investment could be. Keep in mind that most Washington home renovations don’t pay for themselves with a higher sale price — the most you might recover from a remodel is approximately 80 percent of the upfront costs.

When considering the costs of listing the current home for sale and moving to a smaller one in an area like Vancouver, determine if they’ll be in the new home long enough to earn back the upfront expenditures.

2) How long will it take to remodel?
A home renovation is going to require a significant commitment of time and energy. Factor in the effort for getting quotes from local Vancouver contractors, choosing finishes, and managing the work, and you could be at 3-6 months for most types of renovations. If it’s their primary residence, keep in mind that it can be very disruptive to live in a home undergoing a remodel, so consider any additional costs that may occur from other living arrangements.

3) How will renovating affect a future sale?
Will a home remodel result in over-improving the home for the neighborhood? If you’re considering upgrades that might be more extravagant and costly within a community that won’t sustain a higher selling price, then you won’t see much of a return on investment. Will the renovation require home updates that will actually make the home less attractive to future buyers? Also consider if the renovation could be completed with the future in mind, and maybe another family member can move in to take ownership down the road.

4) How much effort will downsizing require?
Consider the emotional drain of downsizing a home that your elderly family members have lived in for decades and all the memories that come along with growing a family. Many aging parents can’t bear the thought of sorting through decades of boxes and belongings. Also, consider if you’re ready to invest the time and energy into sifting through your childhood memories. Many find this undertaking too overwhelming.

5) How much money could actually be saved?
When downsizing a home, less physical space will result in less space to keep warm or cool, mow, and pay property taxes on. It’s easy to assume that monthly expenses will go down drastically, but consider the cost of living in the downsized Vancouver space; if it’s in an area with a relatively high cost of living, the savings won’t be that significant. If your loved ones move to an adult or retirement community with amenities like a pool and fitness center, the monthly expenses could even go up with association and membership fees.

6) What type of lifestyle adjustments are involved?
As our loved ones age, maintaining familiarity around friends, family, and community is an important factor to consider when deciding to stay in a current home or downsize. If the ultimate choice is to downsize, consider the new proximity to their current activities and social events.

All these questions are important to ask when making the decision to renovate or resize your home or the home of a loved one. If you still feel a lack of clarity on which path makes the most sense, make sure to contact your local realty specialist for more guidance and information on the current state of the Washington real estate market.

Print Details
Previous post
Next post
7 Essentials to Consider When Choosing a Paint Color
Hottest Luxury Listings in Vancouver

Have a question?

Send
Submitting
Succes! Your message was sent!
Oops! Error occurred.

Search listings

Enter city, zip, neighborhood, address…
Loading in progress…
No results found
Type in anything you’re looking for
Search

Office

REMAX Equity Group Realtors-Lori Anderson-Benson
7701 NE Greenwood Drive, Suite 100Vancouver
Washington 98662
360-828-2087
vancouverhomefind@gmail.com

Find the perfect home

  • Home
  • About Lori
  • Listings Search
  • Communities
  • Buyers
  • Sellers
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Testimonials

Consumer Protection & Privacy

  • Accessibility
  • DMCA Compliance
For ADA assistance, please email compliance@placester.com. If you experience difficulty in accessing any part of this website, email us.

© 2022 All rights reserved

Created with Placester

Sign in

Sign in with your email address

Sign In
Forgot your password?
Create an account
You have been successfully logged in
The page will reload automatically.
Go to the homepage
Sorry something went wrong
Login or password are incorrect. Please try again.
Try again

Sign Up

Sign Up
Already a User? Sign In
You have been successfully registered
Please check your email.
Go to the homepage
Sorry something went wrong
Please try again.
Try again

Reset password

Enter your email address

Reset password
Return to Log In
Reset password email has been sent.
Go to the homepage
Sorry something went wrong
Please try again.
Try again

Change password

Change password
Your password has been successfully reset.
Go to the homepage
Sorry something went wrong
Please try again.
Try again
Send
Succes! Your message was sent!
Back to homepage
Oops! Error occurred.
Please try again.
Back to form
Already a User? Sign In

Account verification in progress

Please wait...

Account Verified!
You may now log in into your account
Go to the homepage
Verify your email address
In order to log in to your account, you need to confirm your email address. Please check your inbox!
Go to the homepage

Share this listing

Copy Link