Need a Reason to Sell Your Home?
By Elizabeth Weintraub, About.com Guide
American home owners sell and move, on average, every five to seven years. Why do home owners move? People who have lived in the same home for the past 30 years have a hard time understanding this phenomena. They are shocked that people move so often, but I know one thing for certain: Their day to sell and move will come as well.
Here are the top 15 reasons why people sell and move:
1) Home is too small. First-time home buyers often outgrow their "starter" homes. Increased family size is the main reason home owners say they need a larger home.
2) Upgrade. The grass is greener on the other side. People often want what they don't have and long for a bigger, more expensive and grander, upscale home. It's the American way.
3) Fix purchase error. Owners might believe they made a mistake when purchasing their present home and want to rectify that mistake. Maybe they thought they could get by without a back yard but yearn to garden, or the dining room in the center of the house annoys them, or they no longer enjoy the underbelly of planes flying overhead within inches of their face.
4) Job transfer. Relocation makes it necessary for many to pull up roots and move. If the commuting distance exceeds an hour, most people would prefer not to spend two hours in traffic every day.
5) Personal Relationships. Moving in with a partner or getting married can mean one of the parties will need to sell, especially if both owned homes prior to the commitment. On the other hand, break-ups cause owners to sell as well for three basic reasons:
One party may need to buy out the other and not have the cash available.
The home may not be affordable to sustain on one person's income.
The home holds bad memories, making a fresh start desirable.
6) Neighborhood changes. The neighborhood might have changed for the worse, economically, socially or physically. For example, maybe a freeway was constructed nearby. Maybe the next-door neighbors receive visitors who arrive wearing striped pajamas at 2 AM. Or they have hung sheets over their windows while a skunk-like odor permeates the air.
7) Empty nest. The kids have grown up and moved out. The owners want a smaller home. The older you get, the harder it is to keep a big house clean.
8) See family more often. Some people want to be closer to their family as they age and will move to be near relatives. Parents want to be near children. Grandparents, near their children and grandchildren.
9) See family less often. To put more distance between the home owners and relatives. Some might move out of state to keep harmony within the family. Dysfunctional and fractured families have been known to blossom being separated.
10) Retirement. Active-adult communities are attracting many buyers over the age of 55. These planned communities have golf courses, club houses, workout facilities, week-end social gatherings, back-yard barbecue parties and more, all designed for people over 55.
11) Health problems. Physical ailments such as knee or back problems make it difficult for an aging population to climb stairs in a two-story, so a one-story home may be more practical. A trade-off solution for many elderly people who don't require round-the-clock care is to buy a condo or move into assisted living housing.
12) Deferred maintenance. Some people don't want to put on a new roof, replace the siding or buy a new furnace, so it's easier to buy a newer home. When you figure the life of most home systems is about 15 years, it could make sense to get out before everything goes haywire.
13) Home improvement perfection. A small segment enjoys fixing up and selling, spending time, money and effort on remodeling, and once the work is completed, these people become restless because there is nothing left to do. Some of you may call these people obsessed, but for some, it's a way to maintain balance while mastering a hobby.
14) Cash in equity. Some home owners can't stand the fact their home is worth all that money because that money is not in their pocket. These people would prefer to stare at their passbook savings than stare at four walls with empty pockets. They. Just. Want. The. Money.
15) Lifestyle change. Others are simply tired of owning a home and would prefer to travel, pursue a hobby or be less responsible. We used to call these people misfits or boomers, but many past a certain age want to find a calling that is meaningful to them. So, for these people, home ownership loses its priority status and turns into the ticket for realizing dreams.
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