Downsizing your home – the pros and cons

How is downsizing defined?

Downsizing happens when you want to sell your flat or house in order to move into another property that is smaller. There are many reasons why people might want to do this, and it’s something that homeowners of all ages might consider depending on their circumstances.

Elderly couples might want to move into a smaller home once their children have left and grown up, or if they can no longer handle the upkeep of a larger property. In addition, if a partner dies it’s possible that the other partner might want to move into a smaller property. Or if a person needs to move into a residential home, that’s another type of age-related downsizing.

Financial concerns can also be a reason for downsizing no matter the age of the homeowner. If they need to release cash quickly to cover some debt, they might try selling their house or flat and then move into a smaller home that has reduced, and more manageable, mortgage payments.

Or sometimes people simply want a change of scenery and want to own a smaller house because it means less maintenance and it will give them more free time and money.

Whatever the reason behind your decision to downsize your property, you should be aware that there are a number of potential advantages and disadvantages associated with the process of trying to sell your existing house or flat in order to fund the purchase of a smaller next home.

And there are additional factors to consider, for example whether or not to embark on potentially lengthy and costly repair works for your home before attempting to sell it.

Take time to read all about these pros and cons in the rest of this guide, and also to get advice on your various options for how to find a buyer once you are ready to sell your property. You have several choices available, including strategies that can not only get you a speedy sale but will mean that you avoid having to pay any commission – such as selling to a quick buyer.

However you choose to sell your house or flat, the good news is that securing a buyer for the property is possible, putting you on the path to downsizing to your next ideal property.

Should you fix problems with your home before trying to downsize?

You might already have found your future dream home and you’re excited to sell your existing property so that you can make an offer on the new one. But before you do this, you should take a moment to assess whether your property has any problems that you may want to fix before selling.

There are many different issues that can affect all types of properties, including needing to remove asbestos, dealing with dry rot, suffering from a leak in the roof, trying to manage damp, coping with subsidence and more. And unfortunately some potential buyers will see a home with any of these or other issues as being a “problem” property that they don’t want to own.

Other buyers might still be willing to make an offer on your home, but will want to reduce their offer price significantly – at least by the amount of money that they expect it would cost them to fix the problem as the property’s next owner. This is turn would inevitably reduce the possible profit that you could make from the sale, which will not be an ideal outcome for those sellers who are attempting to keep their costs low whilst almost maximising their profit.

Therefore, fixing whatever problems you might have at your home before trying to sell it would have the effect of removing this potential downside from the selling process. Once the issue is resolved, it should no longer be something that discourages buyers or leads to reduced offers.

But there can be downsides with repairing a home before selling, as Bettermove notes. Depending on the scale of the problem, the work could cost potentially thousands of pounds and take months to complete. Neither of those outcomes would be attractive to homeowners that either need to sell their current home as fast as possible, to keep their costs low, or both.

If you do not have the funds, energy or time needed to pursue fixes at your property before downsizing, rest assured that you still have options in order to find a buyer.

One choice is to contact LDN Properties or another no-fee quick home buying company, as they’re known for making fast and fair offers to purchase almost any type of leasehold or freehold house, flat or other residential property no matter their age, condition, location, shape, size or type. You’ll get a competitive offer even if the home has a major problem remaining.

Later in this guide you can read more specific details about the speedy and stress-free process of selling to a quick home buyer, along with information about other methods for selling.

Fees that might be involved with attempting to downsize your property

For many homeowners, trying to keep their costs as low as possible when selling their house or flat is their top priority. That’s why it can be useful to learn about some of the potential expenses that you might incur when you attempt to sell your current property, as they can range from a few hundred pounds up to thousands of pounds, as the HomeOwners Alliance details.

Just note that not all of these costs will apply in every scenario, for example you will only need to pay commission to an estate agent if you decide to use that method to find a buyer. If you instead choose to sell to a zero-commission quick home buying company like LDN Properties then you will avoid paying any fees, whilst also completing the sale within a few short weeks.

Understanding the full range of costs involved with selling your current home in order to downsize to your next property will help you with more accurately budgeting for the change. Some of these expenses can include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

Auctioneer fees: If you choose to sell your home through an auction and it manages to find a buyer, you will have to pay the auctioneer commission for the work that they will have done in advertising your home, hosting the auction and overseeing the completion of a successful sale. Many auctioneers charge this fee at about 2.5 percent of your home’s final sale price, although the exact amount may vary, and this commission is subtracted from the sale proceeds.

Estate agent fees: An estate agent will handle almost all of the work needed to find a buyer for your property, and like auctioneers they will charge you commission if they manage to get an offer through to the exchange of contracts. The typical range of fees charged by an estate agent is from 1.15 percent to 1.40 percent of a property’s sale price, but can be higher or lower than this. This fee will be deducted from the final sale proceeds, which will increase your costs.

Conveyancing costs: The conveyancing process involves your solicitor or other legal representative collecting a large amount of information about the next home that you plan to buy, and they will charge for this work. Expect to pay at least roughly £500 in fees for the conveyancing process, although the precise amount could easily be more than £1,000. The fee for this part of the buying process can be higher for leasehold versus freehold homes.

Surveying a property: Conducting a house survey can often be a very expensive step involved with searching for your next ideal property. The exact cost of a house survey might be just a few hundred pounds or over £1,000, and it will be specific based on your unique situation. But it’s yet another expense that you might have to account for when downsizing to your next home.

Discarding belongings: Because downsizing involves moving from one house or flat to a property that is smaller, this usually means you will have a reduced amount of space both within the various rooms of the home and also for storage. That’s why many homeowners who are downsizing find that they need to get rid of a number of belongings, such as furniture for which they either have no use or no space in the new home. Your local authority might offer some free pickup services for these items, but you may also have to pay to have them removed.

Moving expenses: Moving house can be a stressful and time-consuming process, and many people use removal companies to take their household items, furniture and other belongings from the property that they’re selling to their next flat or house. You will need to factor these costs into your downsizing budget, and the typical cost can quickly add up to at least £1,000.

Stamp duty: Once the sale of your current property is completed, you might find that you have to pay the UK government what is known as stamp duty – although it will not apply in every selling situation. Generally, you will pay this fee when selling a property in England or Northern Ireland for more than £250,000, and anything below that threshold is exempt from the fee. Check with a financial professional to find out how much, if anything, you might owe as part of the selling and buying process when you are looking to downsize to your next home.

What are the potential pros of downsizing your home?

There are several different ways that you can prepare your property for sale and some can be either no-cost or low-cost, as a recent blog post by Savills explains. Deciding on which steps are suitable for your situation will depend on a range of factors such as the condition of your home, your funds, free time and more.
You’ll find that there are a wide range of benefits if you decide to downsize your home, including the fact that moving into a smaller property means less maintenance. Your energy, water and other bills should be much lower, and the time involved in keeping the property in good condition will likely be a lot less than in a significantly bigger property.

It can also be a great way to cash in if your home has suddenly increased in value, making a good profit. This could help you to pay off any mortgage you might still have, or give you the cash you need for purchasing your smaller home with money left over. Property websites like Zoopla can be useful to obtain an instant idea of the price at which houses in your neighbourhood are currently valued, although you should use online estimates as only a rough guideline because they are sometimes based on outdated information and might not reflect more recent changes to local property values.

Because downsizing typically means you’ll be moving into a home that costs less to buy than the value at which your current home might sell, you could also end up with leftover extra cash in your bank account. You can then use these funds for other expenditures such as holidays, buying new furniture, or even putting the money in a savings account to earn interest.

When you downsize you also have the luxury of waiting to find the house or flat that gets you what you want from a smaller home. If you need less space in your next home you can take your time to find a house that fits your various requirements. Or if you’re looking to move to a retirement estate you can spend time visiting various options before buying.

And what are the possible cons of downsizing your home?

The ever-fluctuating property market can be a primary reason for staying in your existing house or flat because there’s always the potential that its value could rise significantly in future years. If you downsize and move you run the risk of losing out on making more money on your home.

Another con of downsizing is that house hunting can be a long and tiring process, and you might struggle to find a smaller home that fulfils all of your various needs.

Even if you find a new home that you like and make an offer to buy it, there’s no guarantee that the sale will actually go all the way through to completion. There are many reasons why home sales fall through, and if this happens when you are trying to downsize it will simply put you back to square one in searching for your next property, costing you more time and stress.

Your four top choices for how to find a buyer for your property

Trying to decide which of four typical methods to use for selling your house or flat can seem overwhelming but it doesn’t need to be. You can select from selling using the help of an estate agent, selling to a quick buyer like LDN Properties, selling at an auction or selling on your own.
You will see from the specifics about all of the options below that they have their own advantages and disadvantages based on factors like their cost and time taken. For example, it might take many months to sell your property through an auction and you will also have to pay fees, whereas a quick buyer could take just a few weeks and charge zero commission.
One way to narrow down the choices to your most suitable match is by deciding on your main aims with selling, including your goal sale price, whether or not you are open to paying fees, and how long you can wait before selling. Comparing these factors against the details of the various selling methods should make it clear which one is likeliest to suit your needs.

Selling your home with an estate agent

Estate agents are known for putting in most of the work needed to find a buyer for properties, beginning with producing a listing that features photographs of the interior and exterior of your home and describes its main elements, which they then advertise to get buyers interested. They will also hear offers from potential buyers and aim to get one to the exchange of contracts.
The typical estate agent will charge a seller commission within a range of 1.15 percent to 1.40 percent of a home’s sale price, if they are able to find a buyer for it. This will increase your overall expenses and the fee will be immediately deducted from the property sale proceeds. If you want to keep your selling costs low then you should assess some of the other choices.
Selling with an estate agent can also be quite a long process that takes many months or even more than a full year. Even if you get an offer, the person that made it could eventually change their mind and withdraw it, prompting the sale to fall apart. This would extend your selling timeline even longer because you will then have to start over with looking for a buyer.
And when you sell with an estate agent you will also have to agree to viewings where anyone interested in your home can have the chance to tour the inside and outside. Many sellers find these viewings to be quite intrusive and time consuming, and other selling options – such as getting in contact with a quick buyer like LDN Properties – can help minimise such viewings.
One complication you might find with selling using the services of an estate agent is that they tell you a promisingly high price that buyers might be willing to offer, but they secretly know that your home will only attract offers a much lower value. The reason they do this is to convince you to sell with them, so that they can profit from charging you commission if they find a buyer.

But you can easily avoid falling for this particular manoeuvre with some quick, free and simple research. The first step is to ask a number of individual estate agents to give you a no-cost, zero-obligation quote for the price at which they thin your property could sell. Next, visit home sales websites such as Rightmove or Zoopla and make a note of the current and historic sale prices of properties similar to yours and in the same area as the home you’re trying to sell. Finally, calculate the average of all these values and this should produce a better rough estimate of the price at which you might be able to attract offers from buyers.

Selling your home to a quick buyer

Quick buyers are known as such as they take just a few weeks to complete the purchase of a home, including the exchange of contracts any paying the full proceeds to the seller. They can move so fast as they don’t need to first get a mortgage, which can be a very slow process.
LDN Properties also makes fair and fast offers to buy almost any leasehold or freehold home regardless of its age, condition, location, shape, size or type, and no matter what problems it might have. Since launching in 2003, we’ve bought a wide range of properties throughout the UK including vandalised houses, hoarder’s properties, flats that have a mansard roof, homes that are close to mobile telephone masts, houses of multiple occupancy, properties with an absent freeholder, flats that have a leak, homes located near to a busy traffic junction and many other scenarios.
Yet another advantage of selling to a quick home buyer is that the honest companies such as LDN Properties will never charge you any commission, so you can count on receiving the entire proceeds from the sale of your flat or house. But if you sell through an auctioneer or estate agent then they will charge fees that will add to your costs and will be taken from the proceeds.
Selling this way is streamlined, no-hassle and straightforward and it starts when you contact LDN Properties. Within the first hour of talking, we should be able to provide you with an initial price offer for your home, and you will have at least a week to think about whether to accept it.
If you do accept our initial offer, we will next have a friendly representative come to your property to assess the inside and outside ahead of us making a final offer. This is the only viewing you will need to have, compared to possibly dozens when selling other ways.
And if you then accept our final offer, we will move speedily to work with your solicitor or other legal representative to sign all of the required documents and complete the other tasks needed to finalise the purchase of your property – all within weeks after you first get in touch.

Selling your home at an auction

Auctioning your property can be a relatively slow process with plenty of waiting involved, including a space of many weeks or even months between when you decide to sell using this method and when the auction takes place. And if your home sells on the day of the auction, the buyer then has an average of 28 days to finish their tasks need to complete the purchase.
But you may get zero bids on your home at the auction, which means that it does not sell and you have to begin again with seeking a buyer, delaying your sale timeline further.
Or you could get a single bid at the lowest price at which you are comfortable selling your property, which is known as the reserve price. This bid is a binding legal agreement for you to sell your home and the buyer can sue to force it through if you try to walk away from it. For that reason, pick a sale price that should generate a profit even after paying your expenses.
Your main cost when selling at an auction will be the commission that you’ll be charge if your property sells. Usually, this is charged at a rate of 2.5 percent of the final auction sale price for the house or flat, although it might be higher or lower depending on specific auctioneers. Some auctioneers could be willing to also have the winning top bidder pay a share of your fees, and it’s worth asking about this because it can be a simple way to lower your overall expenses.
The auctioneer charges this commission for all of their work involved with selling your property, which includes putting together and advertising a listing, potentially organising viewings at your home, hosting the auction itself and then overseeing the successful auction of a property.
One additional choice you could be asked to make when selling your home this way is whether you would like to use the traditional method of auction or the modern method.

If you instead choose the modern method of auction, your listing will be advertised for an agreed-upon number of weeks or months, and as soon as it is live people can place bids on the house or flat 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At the precise moment that the listing expires, the highest value bid is announced as the winner and therefore the person buying the property.

Selling your home without any help

Another option to sell your flat or house when getting ready to downsize is by doing so on your own, without the assistance of a fee-charging auctioneer or estate agent.
This approach is often only suitable for people that have previous experience with selling a property, or that have a skilled family member or friend who is willing to assist at no cost with the selling process. Without such knowledge, it could take more than a year before you are able to find a buyer for your property, and it can be a very lengthy and stressful scenario.
That’s due to the fact that you will have the burden of handling all of the steps involved with finding a buyer, starting with the initial creation of a listing, marketing it, scheduling viewings, hearing offers and trying to get a serious offer through to the final step of exchanging contracts.
One clear benefit of selling without any help is that you will not need to pay commission to an estate agent or an auctioneer, which reduces your upfront expenses. Yet the money that you have to spend on advertising your listing and other steps could easily wipe out this saving.
If you are committed to avoiding fees when selling, think about contacting LDN Properties, as we promise to never charge you commission when purchasing your house or flat. And you will get an additional benefit of securing a much more rapid sale of your property because it should only take us a few short weeks to exchange contracts and pay you the full proceeds.
Selling on your own also shares a problem with using an estate agent, in that someone could make an honest offer to buy your existing property but then later rescind it. This would lead to the sale collapsing and it would require that you begin again with looking for a buyer, possibly adding many more weeks or even months to your overall selling timeline.

Our top seven most-asked questions about downsizing your home

Curious about downsizing or indeed the opposite – upsizing? We’ve helped many homeowners make the switch. Here are just seven of the questions that people ask us the most often when they’re thinking about downsizing:

If you’re looking to downsize, LDN Properties is ready to buy your house or flat