Downsizing After 30 Years: Selling Your Wilmington Family Home

0:00Welcome to Real Stories with Buddy Blake. Today's episode features real estate insights from Buddy Blake. Let's dive in. Okay, so today on Real Stories with Buddy Blake, we're talking about something I think a lot of people are quietly dealing with, selling the family home after like 25, 30, even 40 years of living there.

0:26Buddy, you told us this is a call you get a lot. All the time. Kids are grown, the stairs aren't fun anymore, the yard's more work than it used to be. And usually the person calling isn't even sure where to start.

0:40With the house, with all the stuff inside it, or with where they're even going next. So where do you tell them to start? Because I feel like most people would just think, okay, list the house first. Yeah, and that's actually backwards in my experience.

0:55My honest answer is always, figure out where you're going next first. Even a rough idea, one story or two, in town or out toward the water. Once you know that, the sale side of it stops feeling so big. Right.

1:13Because this isn't really just a transaction, is it? Like this is a much bigger decision than just, you know, signing paperwork. Exactly right. It's a decision about the next chapter of your life, timing, location, what you do with a house full of memories and belongings.

1:29I've sat at kitchen tables with folks who were totally ready to sell, but hadn't figured out where they'd land. And that's the piece that stalls people out every time. Okay, so let me ask you this.

1:41I think the biggest fear I'd have is like, what if I sell and can't find my next place in time? Or the opposite, what if I buy and my current house just sits there? That's the number one fear I hear, both directions.

1:54And it's fair, after living somewhere for decades. That's actually why we built a guaranteed sale program. We list your home, and behind it, we line up a guaranteed cash offer. So you can go make an offer on your next home, knowing your current one's going to sell, either on the open market for more, or through that guaranteed offer if it doesn't.

2:16Wait, so you can just cancel the cash offer if the market sale comes through first? Yep, anytime. No two moves, no storage unit for six months, no living out of boxes in a rental. That's the whole point of it.

2:32I love that, honestly. So when people are figuring out what's next, what are they usually telling you they want? One level. Over and over, I hear it.

2:43No more stairs. No more hauling laundry baskets up and down. One story and primary on main homes are one of the most searched things on our site right now, and it makes total sense why.

2:57So is there somewhere people can actually look at that kind of thing before they start touring homes? We put together a guide to one story and primary on main homes along the southeastern North Carolina coast just for this.

3:11Whether you're staying close to Wilmington or looking at somewhere simpler nearby, it's worth a look before you even start touring. Let's talk about the house itself, though. Because a home you've lived in for 30 years, that's got some history to it, right?

3:26Some of it good, some of it stuff you've just gotten used to living with, yeah. So before we ever put a sign in the yard, our team pays for a pre-market inspection. It tells us, and you, exactly what a buyer's inspector is going to find. No surprises mid-contract.

3:45No renegotiating price after everyone thought the deal was done. That seems like it'd save so much stress later on. It really does. From there, we bring in professional photography so the home shows the way it deserves, and we include a seller home warranty while it's listed.

4:04It gives buyers, and you, some peace of mind through the whole process. Okay, now here's something I imagine gets emotional. Pricing. After 30 years in a house, don't people kind of have a number in their head that's more sentimental than realistic?

4:20Oh, all the time, and I get it completely. What I do is show the real sales that matter, not the highest one down the street, the ones that actually closed and actually compare and recommend a price from there. But you make the final call, always your decision.

4:37It just deserves real numbers behind it. And once offers start coming in, how do people know what they'd actually walk away with? Every offer gets run through a net sheet, so you can see what you'd actually walk away with in a few different scenarios before you decide anything.

4:54Now I gotta ask about taxes, because I feel like that's the question everyone's afraid to ask. It's usually the first question, honestly. Capital gains.

5:04Now I'm not a tax professional, so I always point folks to one for their specific situation. But I did write up what's changing with the capital gains exclusion on home sales, and it's worth a read before you talk to your accountant. And you mentioned property taxes, too.

5:22That one surprises people. It does. Property taxes vary a lot town to town along this coast, more than people expect. I put together a guide covering how much property taxes run in Wilmington and along the NC coast.

5:35Worth a look before you fall in love with the place. So when someone's actually out looking at their next home, what should they really be focused on? Is it square footage?

5:44Less about square footage, more about how a home actually functions day to day. A primary bedroom on the main floor. A smaller yard that still gives you a place to sit outside. Storage that makes sense for a household of one or two instead of a household that used to have four.

6:04Look at the home and what it offers, and you'll make a decision that fits your life, not somebody else's idea of it. That's such a good way to put it. So if somebody's sitting on the fence right now about the family home, what do you want them to know?

6:20You don't have to figure it all out today. Give me a call or send a text, 910-395-1000, and we'll talk through what selling looks like, what's out there for your next place, and how to do it without moving twice. Buddy, this was great.

6:38Really practical stuff. And hey, we'll link the full article plus those guides on one-story homes and property taxes in the show notes for anybody who wants to dig deeper. Thanks for having me.

6:48Always happy to talk it through. Thanks for listening to Real Stories with Buddy Blake. For the full article and more, check the show notes.