Listing alternatives and decisions for older properties

In the current real estate market you might be confronted with multiple solicitations to sell your home. The flyers, postcards, letters, texts and emails may arrive on a regular basis offering cash deals, quick settlements and no need for repairs.

When you live in an older house or one in need of repairs the deals could be tempting. Frankly, you may have noticed both small and major defects in your own property over time. Add this to what it is like to live in the same house for many years, in some cases accumulating items you know should find their way to trash or at least to a better home and the property owner can begin to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of a major overhaul both of the structure and its contents.

The market is somewhat different today than previously. Many solicitations now come from large corporate outfits motivated to buy, rehab and resell. Another consideration is the property might not even be your own. If you are the executor of an estate that owns real estate you could be tempted to sell quickly without the concerns involved in making repairs for prospective buyers. Still, you have beneficiaries and you need to accept an offer that reasonably reflects the value of the property for sale.

Suppose, however, it is your own property under consideration. One downside to selling your own property is you still need to find another place to live. As you explore the cost of purchasing a newer or a fully renovated property you might experience a shock at cost and reassess your options. You might also consider a senior community or an apartment or to stay where you are and adapt. When you do this you may become involved in financial projections to assist in making the decision, a process which our office has also been involved in.

I have often written about the dilemma of deciding whether to stay or to go even sometimes discussing the popular television show on HGTV, “Love It Or List It.” The program would not be so popular I suspect except that viewers are facing the same considerations. Notably, by my count, more homeowners confronted with the decision in the show, tend, after they have spent considerable sums to renovate their own houses, to “love it” rather than to “list it.” Is there a happy compromise? Here are some considerations. FIRST , YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING AT ONCE OR NOTHING » It may be time to take a step back and look more

dispassionately at the common situation that affects so many. When you feel perfection is the only solution, you might become discouraged to begin. Discouragement is the enemy.

Years back, a marketing mentor of mine, Charlie McDermott, shared an easily remembered piece of advice — the difference between a “task” and a “project.” A project can be long range and consist of many “tasks” along the way. If a project is seen only as a series of “tasks,” it is not so intimidating. Small steps help.

Applying this idea to home improvement, it might not be necessary to groan when considering the need for a $50,000 kitchen or bath remodel or a new addition to the house. Instead you can consider first the simple daily tasks that make a home more organized and enjoyable or begin saving for the repairs. In the right case a HELOC, Home Equity Line of Credit, can make sense to move ahead. Everything does not have to be finished in a weekend. However, it is a good idea to get started even if it is one step at a time. Clearing out clutter is a good beginning.

NEXT, CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES »

Take a space in your home and see what you can do with it. Then, step back and admire it for what you have accomplished. This gives you energy to handle the next task. It might help you to stay or cause you to consider moving alternatives.

FINALLY , ASK YOURSELF WHAT YOU REALLY WANT »

Weigh the cost against the alternatives. If you agree with this idea — that small steps can make a difference — this is a model you can carry into other areas of your life. If you think about it I believe you will remember many small things that were big deals — and made a difference.

Assocs., PC is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and limits her practice to elder law, retirement, life care, special needs, and estate planning and administration with offices at 790 East Market St., Suite. 250, West Chester, 610-436-6674, colliton@collitonlaw. com. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, co-founder of Life Transition Services LLC, a service for families with long term care needs.