When your home no longer suits your age

Many senior citizens have already experienced this: the little house they bought in the prime of their lives has become too big for them and maintaining the property is too strenuous. This was also the case for Elisabeth and Dieter L.

Elisabeth and Dieter L.'s children moved out 20 years ago. Daughter Susanne began her studies in Würzburg and son Thomas found a job in Frankfurt am Main. Today, they both have their own families and their own house. At the time, Elisabeth had lots of ideas about what she could do with the space she had gained. In the end, her husband lived out his model train hobby in Thomas' room. Susanne's room remained a guest room - but was used less and less.

Housework is getting harder and harder

A few months ago, she passed away while weeding the garden. Dieter also found it increasingly difficult to mow the lawn. They both wondered how much longer they could cope with looking after the house. In the end, they came to the conclusion that the house was no longer suitable for their stage of life. But what should they do next? They would like to continue living in their own home, but it should meet a few conditions in line with their age: It needs to be little work, age-appropriate and, ideally, barrier-free. In addition, the distances to shopping facilities and doctors must be short. Elisabeth and Dieter therefore decided to sell their house and move into a condominium near their son Thomas.

What is to happen to the beloved house?

But when it came to selling their house, the question arose: how much is it currently worth? Susanne advised them to have the value professionally determined in order to get the most out of the sale. She searched the internet for a quality estate agent in the region. After the valuation, Elisabeth and Dieter were convinced of the estate agent's expertise, so they commissioned him to sell the property. He was able to explain to them clearly and transparently how he determined the value of the property. He also took care of obtaining the documents relevant to the sale and managed the interested parties and viewings. As he was also able to offer virtual viewings for the property, this reduced the number of viewings for Elisabeth and Dieter in their home, which they still lived in. For them, the property sale went smoothly and without any worries. The estate agent even found them a new suitable apartment. He agreed with the buyers of their home that they would not be able to move in for another two months, once Elisabeth and Dieter had moved out.

Help from a professional

Even though Elisabeth and Dieter didn't have much work to do with the house sale, they realized how time-consuming and labor-intensive it is. In the end, they were glad that someone had done the work for them. Dieter is convinced that they wouldn't have been able to do it themselves in such a short time and that the buyer might have pushed them down on the price. They were even able to fulfill a few long-held wishes for themselves and their grandchildren with what was left over from the sale proceeds and the purchase of the condominium. Elisabeth's conclusion: "If selling a house, then only with an estate agent."

Are you wondering whether your property is still suitable for your age and what options you have if not? Get in touch with us! We will advise you.

Further information can be found here:

https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/14135/umfrage/deutschland-anteil-senioren-an-der-bevoelkerung/

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seniorenwohnung

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betreutes_Wohnen

Legal notice: This article does not constitute tax or legal advice in individual cases. Please consult a lawyer and/or tax advisor to clarify the facts of your specific individual case.

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