Helping Aging Parents Move to the Right Next Home

Helping aging parents move usually starts with worry. The stairs. The yard. A fall, or a close call. The drive that's getting harder. You can see that the house isn't working anymore, and you may not be sure your mom or dad sees it the same way.

This kind of move involves more people and more feelings than most. Your parent is leaving a home that may hold fifty years of their life. Brothers and sisters may live in different states and have different opinions. And somebody, often you, ends up holding the to-do list.

It helps to have one person outside the family who knows the steps, keeps everyone informed and isn't in a hurry. That's the part I play.

We usually work in this order, though every family is different.

• Where next. A smaller single-level home, a place closer to family, or a senior living community. I help with homes for sale, and if a community is the better fit, I can still handle the sale of the house while you work with them.
• What the home is worth. I show you what similar homes are selling for and estimate what the sale would net after commissions and typical closing costs. That number often decides which next steps are possible.
• A plan for the belongings. What goes along, what goes to family, and what's sold or donated. This takes the longest, so we start early and go room by room.
• Getting the house ready. Long-time homes often need a few things. I'll tell you which repairs are worth doing and which to skip, and I can suggest local help.
• Timing the sale and the move. We line up the dates so your parent isn't living through showings longer than needed, or moving twice.

The sale itself follows the same steps I use for every home, described on my How I Sell a Home page. See how I get a home ready for more on that step. For questions about taxes, benefits or paying for care, please talk with an accountant or an elder law attorney. Those answers need to come from them.