Moving Elderly Parents – Helping Elderly Parents Move 2017-12-05T08:24:05+00:00

Tips for Helping Elderly Parents Move

Moving to a new home is difficult as it is, but it’s even more difficult for the elderly. Helping elderly parents move also isn’t easy, since you often have to take care of selling the home, finding a new place for them to live, and moving all their belongings.

If you’re moving elderly with dementia it can be even more challenging, and it’s also difficult moving elderly into assisted living. But no matter your situation, there’s a real estate agent out there who can help you.

Moving Elderly Parents

The actual moving part of moving elderly parents isn’t always the most difficult part; oftentimes it’s more difficult convincing your elderly parents to move.

Houses hold so many memories, and it’s tough to leave behind a place where you’ve raised your family and spent so many years of your life.

Saying goodbye to a home can be a tearful and sometimes traumatic event, so the key to making it easier is to focus on the future. Remind your parents of all the things they’ll be able to do again after they move, all the new friends they’ll make, and the new experiences they’ll have rather than focusing on leaving.

Selling the Home

In many cases when selling an elderly parent’s home, there are updates and repairs that need to be made. If your parents have lived in the home for years (or decades) and haven’t done many upgrades or fixed problems, it may be tougher to sell the home.

In this case, you have a few options: You can do the repairs yourself (or hire someone to do them for you) then list the home, you can try to sell the home as-is and hope the right buyer comes along, or you can sell the home to an investment company.

When you sell the home to an investment company, such as STL Real Estate, that means that the company will inspect your home to evaluate its worth and determine the repairs needed to sell it, then they’ll make you a cash offer (which includes closing costs) to take the home off your hands.

Which Is the Right Option for You?

Determining which of these options best fits your and your parents’ needs is a personal decision, and it depends on the house, as well. If your parents’ house is already in good condition, it may sell quickly if you list it on the market.

Or if the home is in need of a lot of upgrades, you need to sell it as soon as possible, or you just don’t want to deal with the hassle of putting it on the market, handling paperwork, and negotiating a deal, you can sell to an investment company.

No matter which option you choose, it’s important to talk it over with your elderly parents to make sure they’re comfortable with the decision as well. This will help ease the transition into their new life, which will also make your life easier. And when you’re ready to sell, contact STL Real Estate to get started.

Learn More: How to Help Aging Family

My Parents are Moving to a Retirement Home, What are Their Options for Selling Their Home?

You have a couple of different options in selling the house for an older parent who’s moving into a retirement home. You can certainly reach out to a real estate agent to list the property and there’s always some confusion with parents who have lived in a home for a longer period of time and maybe haven’t kept up to date but you certainly can sell as-is on the market.

You can also take the initiative and rent the home out especially if it’s something that is very personal to the parent or to your specific family and you think that it should stay in the family. Maybe you rented and kind of take on the investment role depending on if there’s a loan left on the home or again if it has enough value that you can make a nice return as an investment as a rental home.

The other options are that if it’s something that maybe you’re not living in the same community that your parents are and you don’t the area very well there’s a lot of renovation companies like ourselves at STL Real Estate who purchase homes with cash quick close to then do a complete renovation update and then sell on the market. If that is something of interest as well there are plenty of companies out there that do those sorts of things.

You just want to make sure that you’re working with one that’s going to walk you kind of through the process, help you with all the title company fees and get you to the closing table. Again, it can be an emotional time for older folks who are moving into a retirement home to let go of those personal items. It does take a little bit of time and some sensitivity but if you can just find the right solution I think it makes everybody happy.

How do I Sell a Home in Need of Repair for My Elderly Parents?

Selling a home that is need of repairs is a kind of question that we get a lot, especially with parents who have lived in a home for an amount of time and they haven’t done a lot of the cool updates that are going on with the granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. They still have an option to sell on the market as-is. That would help get the home sold. There’s a lot of buyers out there who are looking for a great home that might need some of their own touches.

But at the same time, if it’s a home that is in need of so much repair, you might not want random people coming through with appointments to show the house. You can contact an investment company like STL Real Estate and we come in and evaluate the property. We’ll tell you exactly what we would do to the property as far as updates, what we think we can get on the market as far as once all of the updates are complete. Then, we’ll give you the option of us buying it for complete cash close in as little time-frame.

How Do I Make Moving Less Stressful for My Elderly Parents?

Selling a home and moving for aging parents can be a trauma. My suggestions in how adult-children can help their parents move through it a little smoother is to make sure that they are focused on where they’re going and what their life is going to be like, the next phase that they’re going to be making new friends and doing things that they may have not been able to do while living in their home because sometimes homes are a burden at a certain point in life and they’re going to have more time to enjoy things.

I really encourage everyone going through this process to focus on where they’re going not what they’re leaving behind because that’s the past and we’re moving into the future.