Q: Marsha, I’m downsizing from my three-bedroom, two-bath house. I found a two-bedroom, two-bath condo that’s 950 square feet and has a one-car garage. It seems great, but I’m trying to anticipate the potential pitfalls of a smaller house. What are some things I might not be thinking of?
A: Good question. Be aware of the most overlooked and underrated feature of houses: storage space. There is a classic tongue-in-cheek real estate ad: “Come see the honeymoon cottage with a peek-a-boo view of the ocean.” The house is tiny and the view is two miles away. This ad also shouts, “There’s no storage!” Once the honeymoon wears off, where do her trunks of clothes go? Where does he store his oversized collection of Grateful Dead records?
Storage is vital for all people, not just collectors or compulsive savers. Evaluate what your current storage is. You live in a bigger place, with closets and probably a two-car garage. Eighty-two percent of Americans use their garage for storage. You might not have this option in the new place.