Why Empty Nesters Should Consider Homebuilding
The transition from a house full of kids to one without them can be jarring — but it can also be an opportunity to build a home that fits your ideal lifestyle.
When raising children, it’s common for many big decisions to revolve around what’s best for your kids. From choosing a location based on the quality of the school district to upsizing and purchasing a house with the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms for everyone to live comfortably, we make huge and important decisions based on our kids’ welfare.
Once the kids have moved away, it’s time to prioritize the lifestyle you want most, and building your own custom home is a perfect way to do so. Here’s why.
Adapt to new size requirements
Many empty nesters consider downsizing after their kids finish leaving home. In general, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms required for the entire household including kids just doesn’t add up to the necessities of just a couple living in the home after the kids leave the nest. Downsizing the family home and making a new home in an empty nest house can feel scary, but the overall cost savings and the opportunities that come with eventually downsizing your home for retirement ultimately outweigh the initial discomfort. However, it can be tricky to find existing homes that meet your new size requirements and the specifics of what you’re looking for.
While the number of people living in the home full-time has decreased, empty nesting doesn’t always mean you need less space overall — some families simply need different types of spaces than they did before. Parents often prefer to keep a guest room or two available for when kids come home to visit. Some people even end up upsizing their house due to what’s available in their desired area! Empty nesters tend to start dreaming of spending their greater discretionary income on travel, recreation, and at-home luxuries.
In addition, some empty nesters are near retirement age as well. Retirement can be an exciting stage of life full of plenty of time for new hobbies and activities — some of which warrant their own space in the house. For example, activities like painting and pottery generally require an area that can become dirty and house plenty of equipment.
Build equity for your family
Building a custom home is an excellent investment, especially when you make conscious choices around the resale value of your build. In many families, parents don’t see their jobs as being finished when the children move out, but instead they hope to continue to build and leave a legacy for their family to enjoy for generations to come.
Prioritize your tastes
Interior design and decoration are bound to look different in a house full of teenagers than what you might have preferred before having kids. When you build your own custom home, you’ll have the opportunity to tailor each detail to your tastes. With Atmos, you can take as much or as little control as you’d like. That means that if you’ve had big ideas about light fixtures, appliance finishes, and cabinet colors, now is your time to shine!
You’ll also get to reevaluate the best layout for your new reality. Would an open-concept floor plan work well now that there are fewer people working and learning in your home at once? Would you prefer a transition to single-level living? Do you want a formal dining space to keep up with your social life? This time in your life and your new home can be all about you and the lifestyle you’d like to build!
Get a clean slate
Watching kids move on and move out of the home can be an extremely emotional process, and one that will take some time and adjusting. Everyone will need something different in order to process this sort of change. For some, moving into a new space and building a house from the ground up can help in solidifying the positive nature of this change and welcoming the new phase. It can also be powerful to sort through belongings with kids as they move out. Even though students moving into dorms are unlikely to have enough space to store all of their belongings, working with them to pack up memory boxes and decide what to donate can be a cathartic experience as well as a helpful step in clearing space for this new phase of life.
Relocate
Without the pull of the best school districts, where do you truly want to live? Have you developed an affinity for the ocean? The mountains? Any particular city? Especially for those whose kids have moved away from their hometown completely, there’s a new level of freedom in the idea of moving. Add onto that the fact that many employers are allowing remote work for the foreseeable future, and the opportunities are endless!
This is the time to live out any dreams and goals you’ve put aside. Whether you’ve yearned for your own huge backyard with a garden, or a private painting studio, or just a small home base near your favorite restaurants, custom building can help you make it happen. And with Atmos, the process has never been easier.
Ready to make the most of this next phase of life? Get in touch with Atmos today.
