HomeBlogReasons to SellDownsizing a House in St. Louis: What Seniors Should Know Share on Like what you see? Share with a friend. Downsizing a House in St. Louis: What Seniors Should Know Chris Kirshenboim | October 20, 2022 Last updated August 10, 2026 Downsizing a house is rarely about square footage. It is about stairs, upkeep, a tax bill that keeps climbing, and how far away the nearest grandchild lives. Once the decision is made, what surprises people is the cost of getting out of the old place. A traditional listing here means commission, the repairs an agent will ask for before the photographs, a run of showings, and keeping a house you have lived in for forty years looking as though nobody lives there. Seniors downsizing their homes also face something no spreadsheet captures, which is that sorting the contents takes months and the contents matter more than the walls do. Give yourself a room a week and one rule for what goes. If the house needs work you have no interest in managing from a new address, a direct sale skips the repairs and the showings altogether, and whatever you do not want to move can simply stay. Our page on downsizing in St. Louis lays the tradeoffs out side by side, how we buy houses explains the direct route, and the 368 Google reviews are there if you would rather hear it from other families first. Inconvenient Especially during your golden years, when you are ready to begin downsizing your home in St. Louis, the thought of a traditional listing may seem too complicated to take on by yourself. Most especially since the internet is where most buyers search for housing on today’s market. The other option for listing means paying outrageous commissions and fees, so that someone else can handle all of the legal paperwork, marketing, and showing appointments. In either event, the thought of strangers touring your home and personal possessions is disquieting at best. And let’s face it, keeping everything picture perfect at all times is not easy on the best of days. Not to mention sitting at the bargaining table while buyer after buyer makes insultingly low offers. Clean Out Cleaning out a house can be both physically and emotionally difficult when seniors are downsizing their homes in St. Louis, especially if they have lived there for a long time. Part of the very reason you may be selling is the fact that your home is already too much for you to maintain, add in clearing and packing and you may find yourself exhausted. If you are not able to do the work yourself, it is likely you will need to hire someone to help you, which can be costly, depending on how large your home is and how many possessions you own. Because every corner is filled with happy memories that you are leaving behind you may become emotionally drained as well. When you know you are letting go of these things, it is very easy for valuable time to slip away as you go back in time, looking through each room, emptying closets, and sorting through boxes full of belongings. Expensive Repairs Inspections and appraisals are an integral part of the traditional home selling process, leading many to spend thousands of dollars when they are ready to begin downsizing their homes in St. Louis. In order to pass inspections, it is entirely possible that you could end up facing overwhelming repair bills for an issue you were not even aware of previously. Real estate professionals know that many buyers lack the imagination required to realize the potential you may feel your property possesses, with no ability to see past anything that is in a state of disrepair, simply worn or even outdated. The upgrades required to modernize and refresh a home can be anything from replacing aging cabinetry to installing new flooring in part or all of the property. You may need to replace woodwork or paint the interior and exterior of the home. All of these costs can add up very quickly and must be met prior to ever realizing a profit on the home. For that matter, it must be complete before ever listing the home for sale. As time passes, your bills only continue to rise as more and more of your potential profits slip away. Another Option Consider a direct sale to Chris Buys Homes in St. Louis, which can be a much better option for you! We take the time to listen to your situation and understand your goals for now and the future. At Chris Buys Homes in St. Louis we are happy to help you with this decision, if listing with an agent is a better option for you, we will tell you so. Should you choose to work with Chris Buys Homes in St. Louis you can just pack what you want to keep when you are downsizing, by selling your home in St. Louis directly, without any more showings to worry about. You can also save all the time and costs involved in a deep clean of your larger home when you sell directly. In many cases you can just leave behind any items you would rather not take along to your new residence. You can leave the monthly payments behind too. Working with Chris Buys Homes in St. Louis means eliminating most of the normal fees associated with traditional closings. The price Chris Buys Homes in St. Louis offers is the price you get. You will also forego the fees normally associated with the required reports from appraisals and inspections in most cases. Especially on newer or more recently renovated properties. Send us a message or call Chris Buys Homes in St. Louis today at (314) 334-1481 to learn just how quickly we can help you start saving money! FAQs Frequently Asked Questions Should I sell the old house before or after I move into the smaller one? + Whichever your budget allows. Selling first avoids carrying two properties, though it can mean a short rental. A direct sale lets you name the closing date and move only once. What do I do with everything that will not fit? + An estate sale company handles the pieces with resale value and a charity pickup takes the rest. If you sell directly, anything still in the house at closing can stay. Is it worth renovating a home I have owned for thirty years before selling? + Usually not all of it. Fresh paint and a tidy yard pay for themselves. Kitchens and baths rarely return their cost when the buyer intends to redo them anyway.
