Downgrading Your House When You Can't Sell Itby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 11 Dec 2008 07:50 AM
One way to downgrade your home is to reduce the amount of the home that you are using. You can rent out your garage or your basement for storage purposes. This would in essence make your home smaller, as you won't be able to use that space for your own use. But the money coming in could cover a nice portion of the mortgage and utilities in your home, making this a way to downgrade your house. Another way to downgrade is to take on a boarder. Decide whether you will be renting a room only or including kitchen privileges, parking, etc. Again, you are shrinking your home and reducing the cost to run it. You may wish to start with a boarder who is a relative or well-known to you, and try it on a trial basis. Another way to temporarily downgrade your home is to close off areas in the winter. This can be done by sealing doors tightly or hanging up thick quilts in doorways. Don't heat those unused areas, and you may save some money. if your home is zoned for heating, this strategy may work well for you. Finally, if you really want to move to a new home, try to arrange for a house swap. It may take some effort, but the rewards will be worth it. Basically, you buy someone else's home and they buy yours. A family that is growing but in a smaller home would be idea. This way you can downgrade and get your home sold. In general, the usually is a difference in price that will be made up at settlement, depending on how equal the two home values are. Click here for more articles by Mary Ann Romans. Home Swapping Instead of Home Selling Don't Do These Things Before Buying a Home!
Just look to the right of this blog and find the subscription center (it looks just like this picture, although you'll have to find the "real" one just above the category listing ). Click on "Subscribe via Email". You'll be instantly subscribed and the email address that you registered at Families.com with will receive an instant notification whenever we post a new Frugal Living Blog! Don't miss a thing - subscribe now! Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments MegfromAllAboutAppearances (330) 11 Dec 2008 10:06 AMGood advice! My husband and I have a 1800 sq. ft, 3 bedroom house, but we live in a good bit less. About 500 sq. ft. of that is what used to be our den and one day will hopefully be our kitchen (if we can salvage any of what was a poorly built add-on done by the previous owner). We've halted work on it and are using it just for storage. Long term, it's still a money pit, but our electric bill has never been lower -- especially since the back never had insulation! Also, we've been renting out a spare bedroom to friends. Renting can be an exercise in patience, but right now it pays for about half our mortgage (including taxes and home insurance). Plus, I enjoy the extra company.  Andrea Hermitt (5512) 11 Dec 2008 10:36 AMExcellent examples... actually my brother is planning to move into what used to be our exercise room. A gym membership is far cheaper than what he will be paying us, and it will also cover the electric bill and cost of extra food. The rest of our basement is only used for parties, so I need to figure out how to cut off the heat to those areas. Community Tags downgrading, energy savings, renting a room Discuss this article
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