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The Home Downsizer

Real Estate and Living Advice For the Active Boomer

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If you’ve been thinking about downsizing your home, I’m glad you’re here. I have a lot I want to share. And I can help.

Just the thought of downsizing can be terrifying. Maybe you’re an Empty Nester or Retiree who wants to cut back on domestic expenses or spend your dollars in other ways.

Or you’re a Boomer who wants some change in your life and defiantly declare you’re “Not Dead Yet”.

But it’s complicated, and not just about the logistics and hard work of planning, packing and moving. There are the emotional ties of your HOME, memories of events that took place there. And you might have qualms about your self worth. What do you say to your friends and family? Are you a failure? Why does the word “downsizing” sound so darn negative?

This is where I hope this website can be of value.

I sold the home I’d lived in for 20 years exactly one year ago. We had raised three children there. I am a major gardener and had built massive perennial beds all over the one acre property.

Flowers

And we had acquired tons of “stuff”—you know the stuff I’m talking about – kids’ school work, old clothes and furniture, the broken vase with sentimental value. Stuffed closets and basement. I didn’t need all the bedrooms, and I certainly didn’t want to be paying all those high taxes. We decided to sell while the market was on the upswing, and it took me six months to go through all the belongings and pack up. It was a pain.

We bought a new home with the exact same feel but a third the size. I had fun creating another smaller garden.

I thought I’d be sadder. Instead, what I feel is relief from responsibilities, less financial pressure, and more freedom to try new experiences, especially travel.

eileen-travel

I’d actually prefer to call this website “The Rightsizer,” but I figure you’d probably not find me that way.

I’m a real estate agent (here’s my agency website) and my specialty has become helping people downsize. It’s a very specialized kind of work because it involves so much more than the usual sale or purchase of a house. I provide tons of information and advice, I listen to my clients and help them choose their priorities and decide what’s right for them. I do a little handholding. It’s kind of like being a real estate organizer/cheerleader/therapist. I do my job very well and have established a reputation for making the process easy (well, at least not so hard) and even fun. I’ve helped with dozens of transitions like this, and there’s always a happy ending. One of my clients was even written up in the NY Times!

This website will be filled with stories of successful Rightsizing. It will be filled with options, opinion, how-to information. Serious stuff with a sense of humor. We will talk about things like:

  • Reasons to move
  • The best ways to sell your home
  • Where (the heck) to go
  • Ways to save money
  • How to make your new house a home

And it may give you a chance to ask questions and do a little bit of your own venting.

If all of this sounds petrifying and you don’t know what to do next, step right up and join me. I can walk you through all the steps, and even have a little fun in the process. I promise to free you up to new opportunities and to turn downsizing from a Negative Necessity into a Optimistic Opportunity.

Next Steps

If this website sounds like your cup of tea, here’s what you should do next…

1) Please subscribe to my newsletter. That way, I can send you new information when it’s written.

2) Let me tell you my own downsizing story and explain why I decided to create this website.

Thinking About Downsizing?

This site is a resource for empty nesters and Boomers who are ready for a new perspective on life.

Not sure where to begin? Here's my downsizing story.

My Appearance on America Weekend

I had a great time being interviewed by Valerie Smaldone for this podcast. It's all about home downsizing, my favorite subject. Listen and learn.

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About Eileen Opatut

Eileen Opatut is a blogger and real estate agent. She’s also a Boomer and empty nester with three college age kids. In 2014, Eileen sold the home she’d lived in for 20 years and became a downsizer. The experience was a lot tougher than she ever imagined and there just wasn’t a lot of helpful information anywhere. Eileen created this blog to share what she learned -- the tips and tricks she wishes somebody had told her when she first considered downsizing. Learn More...

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We help you downsize your home, not downgrade

While we are located in Northern Jersey, we can refer you to downsizing specialists all over the United States. And if you live in the tri-state area we can work together directly.

Office Location
15 Bloomfield Ave.
Montclair, NJ 07042
(973) 449-1930
eopatut@gmail.com

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