What are the obstacles to downsizing, and how can we get past them? Rebecca Bomann, CEO of SASH Services (Sell a Senior's Home), joins Suzanne to address obstacles people face as well as their solutions.
Rebecca says, "I've sat in hundreds and hundreds of living rooms over the years that I've been providing these services, and my clients articulate to me why they don't feel like they can move even though they really want to or need to.
"One of them, and this is kind of a misperception, is they have the physical limitation of not being able to sort and pack their whole home. Of the hundreds and hundreds of clients that we've assisted, only two of my clients actually did their own packing. Everyone else had a team of helpers, professionals downsizers, people to come in and help sort and pack. My dream is that someone can sit in their recliner with their favorite beverage, and they're just making decisions. 'I don't want that. I do want that,' and they have professionals help them with that process. No one should ever feel like they can't move because they have to physically do the work. Bring people in, you deserve that kind of help. There's a great network of what's called senior move managers around the country. Just go to their website, type in your zip code, and see who's near you. And that website is https://www.nasmm.org/, the National Association of Senior Move Managers. It's a great resource.
"Another obstacle is they feel like they can't really get through it, because they don't have family living close by that can help them through the process. Families are scattered all over the country and the world these days, they very rarely all live on the same block, and they think, 'I'll never get through this. My family's all out of the state, or on the other side of the country.' And I always say, 'Bring in the professionals. You actually can have a very low-stress, very supported, very easy move because you've got a team of people helping you, whether your family can be there or not. And it's sometimes a blessing if your family can't help. Because they will sometimes come in with their emotions, their attachment to the home, competition between them, fighting over heirlooms, or they can only give you an hour a week for six months. Don't feel bad at all if your family can't help, it's probably a good thing.
"One more obstacle is feeling like people have limited resources to pay for the sorting, and packing, and emptying out of their home. They think, 'Well, I don't have the $5,000, $7,000, or $9,000 to be able to pay all these people to come and help me. So I guess I'm stuck.' There's so many ways that this can be paid for. A lot of senior living communities actually provide assistance with this. They have incentives, they give financial credits, or they have their own moving services. The other thing that we've seen many time is that the selling of valuables in the home will actually pay for all of the labor and professionals to come and help you in the home. So if you've got lunch boxes from the 1960s in your attic, an amazing a collection of antique furniture, or World War II paraphernalia in the basement, collectors all over the country are looking for these things. They will pay good money. You can have an online auction with professionals who'll manage it for you. I've seen online auctions make $10,000, $13,000, $18,000 for a client. And then they have plenty of money to pay for their move and don't have to dip into other resources."
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