Tips For Downsizing And Retiring In Central Florida

Getting ready for retirement is one of the most exciting, fun, and rewarding times of your life — especially if you’re planning to move to beautiful Central Florida. Before you can kick back and relax, you’ll likely have to do some preparation and planning before you can enter the next stage of your life. Downsizing is often one of the most challenging obstacles many people face when it comes to retirement. Downsizing is important, not only for financial reasons but also to ensure you’re living in a space that you can easily manage and maintain as you grow older.

If you’re planning to downsize and retire to Central Florida, building a custom home is an easy way to ensure your living space meets all of your needs and criteria. In this article, we’ll provide tips on how to downsize and create the perfect living space for your retirement.

1. Establish Your Goals

Planning for retirement often means setting 5, 10, and 15-year goals, as well as creating a plan for how to get there. Working with a retirement planner is a great way to create an achievable plan. Before you can downsize, it’s important to carefully construct a step-by-step process and conduct a thorough financial evaluation. As part of your evaluation, you’ll want to get an accurate sense of your home’s current value and the cost of your new home. You’ll also want to carefully craft a list of requirements for your new residence.

Setting your goals well in advance will help ensure you’re prepared when the time comes to make decisions.

2. Decide On A Home Type

The majority of people who downsize in retirement decide to move from a large home to something that’s smaller and more manageable. Smaller condos and townhouses might be an option, but many people actually prefer single-story, open floor plan custom homes.

Building a custom home makes it easy for retirees to downsize. When buying an existing home, you’ll likely need to make tradeoffs and it’s easy to come in over or under budget. On the other hand, working with a custom home builder will enable you to design a home that meets your exact requirements and accurately forecast the cost ahead of time.

3. Start The Decluttering Process

Once you’ve committed to downsizing, defined your goals, and selected a house, it’s time to start the decluttering process. Some people find this to be the most difficult part of downsizing. Parting with things that hold sentimental value can be difficult, so it’s important to give yourself time to go through the process. Determine what items you can throw away, what can be donated to charity, and what you might like to give away to family, friends, or neighbors. It’s easier to part with items if you know they’re going to loved ones.

4. Establish A New Routine

Life changes in retirement, and you might not know what to do with all of your new free time. Adjusting to a routine after so many years can be a challenge, but planning ahead can help. Take time to plan out a typical day. Maybe it involves visiting with friends, going to the fitness center, or pursuing a new hobby. Make sure to give yourself a sense of structure, so you can make the transition easier.

Why Central Florida Is A Great Place To Retire

There are so many reasons why Florida is consistently ranked as one of the top states for retirement year after year. At the top of the list is usually Florida’s unbeatable climate. Florida averages 237 days of sunshine every year, which is well above the national average, and with warm to moderate weather throughout most of the year, outdoor activities are never confined to a single season.

In addition to beautiful weather, Florida offers numerous education options if you want to continue your education at an older age. If you’re planning to bring your family along, Florida offers a strong job market, numerous resources, and some great tax breaks for homeowners.

Why You Should Consider A Custom Home In Retirement

Many people mistakenly believe that building a custom home is only a good investment for first-time buyers or young couples, but building a home actually has several benefits for seniors and those looking to retire.

  • It Makes Downsizing Easier
    When you’re committed to buying an existing home, it’s incredibly difficult to find one that is the right size and meets all of your needs. Building a custom home allows you to ensure your next residence is the perfect size for your lifestyle without having to sacrifice any important features or location.
  • Special Accommodations
    If you require special accommodations, it can be very expensive to engineer an existing house to meet your needs and living arrangements. Starting from scratch is often easier and more affordable. We recommend working with a Central Florida contractor that specializes in ADA compliance and handicapped accessibility.
  • Energy-Efficiency
    A new home means brand new appliances, a new roof, and well-insulated doors and windows, which means your Central Florida home will require significantly less energy and resources to stay cool all summer.
  • Less Maintenance
    The last thing you want to worry about in retirement is something breaking or a massive home renovation project. A brand new custom home means you won’t have to worry about things breaking and you can avoid maintenance and upkeep.

Downsizing and retiring in Central Florida is a popular decision for people all over the world. Building a custom home makes the downsizing process so much easier. If you’re looking for a custom home builder that specializes in single-story, open floor plans, contact us at Atlas Homes today. Our team would be happy to guide you through the downsizing process.