When Is It Time to Leave Your Old Home?

For many, the desire in later life to leave the home they inhabited for a long time comes as an intense, emotional feeling.

“When you feel more like a prisoner in your home than the king of the castle, then it may be time to go,” said Dorcas Helfant, president of the National Assn. of Realtors.

Whether you’re 45 or 75, the indications that you want to move can be obvious.

“A good bellwether is when you look around at all the wonderful things you’ve collected and say, ‘I don’t need that stuff anymore.’ The yard has become a burden rather than a pleasure. And the house is a prison that keeps you from traveling or exploring other activities,” Helfant observed.

The departure of grown children, physical restrictions, retirement, new financial limitations or impatience with home upkeep may be signals that the time to move is ahead, said Monte Helme, a vice president with the Century 21 real estate chain.

“You’re ready to move when you’re fed up with the things you’ve put up with for years--everything from the neighbor’s loud music to the need for new wiring. When your patience runs out and you’re totally frustrated with the environment, you know it in your gut,” Helme said.

You may feel certain you want to move. But making the decision on where to go is often more troubling. Realty specialists offer these pointers:

--Consider moving within your own community.

The decision to retire is what spurs most people to make their final move, but of those more than 60 years old, fewer than 15% move across state lines, said Richard Hokenson, an economist with the investment firm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in New York.

Staying within your community means a less traumatic transition when you change your housing. “Leaving a well-established neighborhood, with well-established friends, traffic patterns and shopping habits will almost always dictate some upheaval in your life,” said Helme of Century 21.

--Exercise caution before committing to an entirely new lifestyle.

“Don’t just wake up one day and decide you’re moving to some retirement community a long way away. You may get to where you thought the grass is greener and find out something else is wrong there,” said Karl Breckenridge, author of “Staying on Top in Real Estate.”

Although some flourish in a tourist area or retirement community totally removed from their previous home, many do not. Some discover to their dismay that the idea of playing golf or tennis every day has little of the appeal it did during a vacation.

If you’re contemplating a faraway move, it’s best to try out your plan before you commit. Before you sell your house and buy that condo, realty specialists advise those who can afford such an option to take a temporary rental in the community where you propose to live. Whether it be for a few weeks, a month or a year, the rental period should help you make a realistic assessment of daily life in the new area.

--Listen to your grown children, but don’t let them block you from making a move you know is right.

Many empty-nesters are astonished by the intensity of feeling their adult offspring have about the old homestead.

“The worst thing you can do is talk it out with the kids. You’ve got to realize that they’re going to be territorial. They can’t imagine you leaving the house where they grew up--where they rode their first bike or fell out of the tree and broke their arm,” Helfant said.

--Realize that simplifying your housing doesn’t necessarily mean less square footage.

There’s no one right answer to the desire for an easy housing choice, says John A. Tucillo, chief economist for the National Assn. of Realtors. The traditional choice of retirees to move from the detached home with the yard to a much smaller apartment or condo is giving way to other alternatives.

“What many people are doing is really ‘resizing’ rather than downsizing,” Tucillo said. Rather than move, some are modernizing and remodeling their long-time homes to reduce maintenance or make them more comfortable. Another option is to leave the detached home for an equally large but more up-to-date town house that requires less upkeep and yard work.

Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate .