Unfortunately many elderly people put off selling their family home until it’s too late and the decision to sell is no longer theirs to make, it’s made instead by others. It is sad to see this happen to many of our elderly.

Generally the reason the elderly have to move is because the upkeep and maintenance of their family home becomes too much work, making it difficult and hard to maintain.

My advice is once the kids have moved out and if you are getting on in age, it would be wise to sell up and move into something smaller and more manageable while you are in total control.

When your family home becomes too hard to manage, it can impact your quality of life. The time to act and plan the next stage of your life is while you are both healthy and young enough to enjoy the move and the improvement in lifestyle that will come with the change.

However, selling one’s family home can be a stressful time. Moving house is never easy for most people. Any kind of change generally is difficult, and even harder as we get older. This is because change is usually accompanied by what could be real or imaginary uncertainty and lack of familiarity. This can be emotionally tough and sometimes frightening, particularly as we age.

But change is inevitable. It is part of life. Nothing ever stays the same. The whole universe is constantly changing, and to survive and be happy we must adapt and accept change and not fight it.

If you don’t make the decision to move while you can, you will inevitably reach a stage in your life when you will no longer be well enough to make the decision for yourselves. Due to circumstances that may be beyond your control, others will make the decision for you and they will move you to where they think it’s best for you. It’s usually your family that are left with the burden of stepping in and deciding for you.

Don’t let this happen to you and your loved ones. It’s much better to move at your own will with your partner, rather than wait until you are forced to move because one of you is either seriously ill or departed and you cannot cope any longer.