Selling your home and moving into a Care Home

Sometimes, moving into care can involve having to sell your home. Robert Dolbear from Bridgefast Property Services writes for yourcarehome.co.uk about the practicalities involved...

There comes a time as we age when we have to make decisions about where and how we are going to live in the future. Sometimes ill health or an accident can force our hand and make us realise that coping at home is no longer an option and what we really need is the care and support that can be provided by a Care Home. In other circumstances it can be a gradual realisation that the move needs to be made and this allows time for it to be carefully planned.

Either way the decision to move in to care will normally involve selling your home. Unfortunately this can be a fairly stressful and emotional process under any circumstances but even more so when combined with a move in to a Care Home, particularly if ill health is the issue. It is perhaps something that you have not undertaken for many years and sons or daughters live a distance away, which makes it difficult to help as much as you or they would like.

There are lots of issues to be thought about and taken care of including appointing estate agents and solicitors but more importantly managing both of these parties to ensure your property is correctly marketed, negotiation of offers professionally undertaken and the legal sale process completed in an efficient manner. In the current climate particularly it is essential that all the elements involved in selling your home are professionally managed and momentum is maintained.

If you need to move in to care before your property is sold there are additional considerations such as being able to fund the care costs, ensuring your property is correctly insured and secured when vacant, the plumbing system has been drained down and the garden maintained.

And then finally your possessions will need to be dealt with; some will come with you to your new home, others will go to family members, some will need to go to auction and house clearance will need to be arranged for the remaining items.

Robert Dolbear, Bridgefast Property Services