Is Your Home Still Working for You? 5 Questions Broward Homeowners Should Ask

If you have lived in your home for a number of years, it is easy to assume that staying where you are is automatically the best option.

Maybe it is.

But a home that worked beautifully for you 10 or 15 years ago may not necessarily fit your life today.

Your family may have changed. Your expenses may be different. You may be thinking more about retirement, maintenance, accessibility, travel, or simply what you want the next chapter of your life to look like.

That does not automatically mean it is time to sell. It does mean it may be time to ask a few questions.

1. Does the size of the home still make sense?

Many homeowners in Lauderhill, Sunrise, Plantation and throughout Broward County are living in homes they purchased when their households looked very different.

Perhaps the children have moved out. Maybe bedrooms are rarely used. Or you may have discovered that maintaining a larger home is taking more time and money than you would like.

Extra space is not necessarily a problem. The question is whether you are still receiving enough benefit from that space to justify the cost and responsibility.

2. How much is the home costing you to maintain?

Your mortgage payment is only one part of the cost of homeownership. Consider:

• Property taxes

• Homeowners insurance

• Association fees, if applicable

• Repairs and maintenance

• Landscaping and pool expenses

• Utilities

• Upcoming major replacements such as the roof, air conditioner or plumbing

A home can be completely paid off and still be expensive to own.

Understanding the true annual cost of your property can help you determine whether staying makes financial sense.

3. Does the home still fit the way you live?

Sometimes the issue has nothing to do with money.

You may want to travel more and worry less about maintaining a property.

You may want to live closer to family.

You might prefer a one-story home instead of stairs.

Or you may love your neighborhood and have absolutely no interest in moving.

All of those are legitimate considerations.

Real estate decisions should support your life—not the other way around.

4. Do you know how much equity you have?

If you have owned your home for many years, there is a good chance that you have accumulated significant equity.

Equity is simply the difference between what your home is worth and what you still owe against it.

For example, if your home could sell for approximately $450,000 and you owe $100,000, you have roughly $350,000 in gross equity before selling expenses or other obligations.

That equity gives you options.

Selling is one possibility, but it is not the only one.

Depending on your circumstances, homeowners may be able to access equity through financing, use the property as part of an investment strategy, keep the home as a rental, or simply continue allowing the equity to grow.

The important thing is understanding what you have before deciding what to do with it.

5. If you did move, what would you move TO?

This is one of the questions I encourage homeowners to answer before becoming overly focused on selling.

Selling the house is only half of the decision.

Where would you go?

Would you purchase something smaller?

Move into a condominium?

Rent?

Relocate?

Move closer to family?

Keep the property and purchase somewhere else?

Sometimes homeowners discover that staying exactly where they are makes the most sense. Others realize that they have more choices than they originally thought.

Both outcomes are perfectly reasonable.

You Do Not Have to Start With “Should I Sell?”

A better starting question may be:

“Is my home still helping me live the life I want?”

Once you understand your home's value, your equity, your expenses and the alternatives available to you, the decision usually becomes much clearer.

There is no prize for selling a home that you should keep and,  there is no prize for staying in a property that no longer makes sense simply because you have lived there for a long time.

The goal is to understand your options.

If you own a home in Lauderhill, Sunrise, Plantation or elsewhere in Central Broward and you are trying to figure out what makes sense next, start with the numbers and the possibilities before making a decision.

Do what makes sense for you. If you're trying to figure it out, do it the easy way, Simply Ask Sharon.