Selling the Family Home to Fund Retirement: Get It Done in 5 Steps

Thinking about the financial and practical aspects of selling your family home to fund your retirement? Wondering where to even begin?

It’s a major milestone. And it’s best approached one step at a time.

Here are the steps in the process of navigating the real estate market as a senior, selling your home and starting this new life phase. When your mission’s accomplished, we hope you’ll look back at this brief guide and think… “Well, I’m glad I knew that.”

Step 1. Size Up Your Home’s Market Value.

Maybe you’ve decided to move into a senior community. Maybe you’re fulfilling estate planning goals. Maybe you are just downsizing, or hoping to profit from home equity to boost your financial strength. But no matter why you sell your long-term home, make the most of your property value.

You want to maximize your profit, yet set a price that attracts serious buyers. If you’re like most sellers, you’ll check the leading listing websites for their dollar assessment of your home. (You can look up your home before actually listing it.)

Who’s your best adviser here? Why, an experienced real estate agent who studies the prices fetched by comparable homes, of course! So…

Step 2. Pick a Great Advocate.

Working with a real estate agent with experience supporting seniors can be extremely helpful. What, you might ask, makes a real estate agent great?

The perfect agent knows mortgage professionals, knows interior systems and design, and can help with the timing of repairs. Get a few recommendations from locals. Then scour the agents’ websites and online profiles. Check that the agent communicates as a real person, not AI.   

You might also consider looking up the Society for Certified Senior Advisors®. These agents have professional responsibilities tailored specifically for transactions involving senior sellers.

Step 3. Prepare to Advertise.

Get ready to talk up what you love about your home, so you can stand out — and not get a cookie-cutter description — when you list.

Don’t hesitate to crow about any senior-focused perks like handles and bars, strong lights, non-slip surfaces, ramps and so forth. Public transit nearby? That’s a plus.

This is also a perfect time to update your will and/or estate planning documents. Talk with your wills & estate lawyer and financial pro. These experts can guide you using the resources you tap by selling, to wisely support your retirement.

Disabled buyers often struggle to find workable homes. See our tips for seniors with disabilities to imagine what it’s like for these buyers.

Step 4. Pick the “Low-Hanging Fruit” for Maintenance

List the low-cost, high-impact fixes you can handle to prepare for your buyers.

Tighten up the faucets. Paint the walls. If bigger jobs are necessary, consider them investments — maybe safety features for the buyer, too.

Got years of accumulated stuff in there? Take decluttering seriously. Potential buyers will appreciate it. And never underestimate the power of curb appeal. Sprucing up the garden and painting the mailbox is never in vain.

Step 5. (Woohoo!) List Your Home on the Market.

Consider a brief checklist to really get ready to show off your long-time pride and joy:

• Envision your marketing project. Buyers want images and videos. In-person showings can be even more compelling.

• Professional staging shows off your home in its best light. Consider the value in staging a home, says Architectural Digest. The publication associates staging with boosting offers by 1-5%.

OK, now that your home looks spiffy, time to put out the welcome mat.

Scammers like seniors. Be alert. Get the scoop on deed theft. And look out for any too-good-to-be-true buyer offers or anyone trying to rush you through the selling process.

Wishing You Well, Seniors Who Sell!

There are a number of way seniors can get top dollar for their homes. All the while, keep your support team—family, friends, advisers—in the loop to succeed with your home sale.

At the end of the day, you’re fulfilling a dual mission: sell well, and create a strong basis for the next chapter of your life. That’s what funding retirement is all about.

Important note: This column is not individualized legal or financial advice. So again, do seek out guidance from your tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers.