What to do with all that house?

It has finally happened – all your children are out of the house and now you find yourself with more rooms than people to occupy them. So what’s next? Should you move to a smaller home with fewer rooms, or does it make sense to redesign and repurpose the children's bedrooms? The professionals at Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation offer you the following tips on how to make your house more homey in this next stage of your life:

If You Choose to Downsize

• If you decide to move to a smaller house, a condominium or an apartment, meet with your insurance company as your home insurance needs will change dramatically.
• Before moving, organize a big garage sale with all the furniture and other items you will not need anymore. Use the proceeds to pay the movers.
• If you are on track to meet your retirement savings goals or if your children have graduated, you may have newly available disposable income. You may now be in a better position to spend more on housing since you are no longer supporting your offspring. With that in mind, you might consider moving to an active-adult community. Many feature recreation centers, amphitheatres, pools and tennis, as well as hiking and biking trails.

If You Choose to Remodel

If you want the emotional comfort of staying in your home, you are a good candidate for remodeling. Now that the nest is empty, you can:

• Create your own private office space, a library or an exercise room by combining the kids' bedrooms. However, before you make any big changes, make sure you don't have boomerang kids who expect to come back for a few years!
• Increase the value of the property by reorganizing the empty space – expand your bathroom to install a Jacuzzi for example, or build a bathroom spa.
• Overhaul a guest room or a den into a media room / entertainment center with a high end plasma TV, sound system and comfortable seating.
• For the more adventuresome, consider converting your home into an owner-operated bed & breakfast and use the money to cover education loan payments, or pay into your retirement plans.

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