Guide · November 9, 2026
Downsizing: selling the family home and leaving the furniture behind
Moving to a smaller home, a 55+ community or near family is a big step after many years in one house. Time the move, sort the furniture, and check the tax rules that can help.
Key points
- Plan the move from the new home backward: when it is ready, then the sale date, then the sorting.
- Sort belongings into keep, give to family, donate or sell, and leave behind. With BIMINIO, you leave behind what you do not want.
- The IRS lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain on a main home, or $500,000 on a joint return, if you owned and lived in it 2 of the last 5 years.
- Florida homestead portability can move up to $500,000 of your assessment savings to a new Florida homestead, within the time the law sets.
- If the owner cannot sign, a power of attorney signed with the right witnesses and a notary lets someone sign for them.
- A cash sale gives one closing date that fits the move, with no showings while you pack.
Planning the move from the new home backward
Downsizing after many years in one house is a lot of decisions at once: where to live, what to keep, when to sell and how to move. Start from the date the new home will be ready, whether it is a smaller house, an apartment, a 55+ community, a room with family, or a place with care. Then pick the sale date, and give the sorting the weeks before it.
This guide is for owners and the families who help them, in Florida and Arizona. It gives no legal, tax or financial advice, so speak with a tax adviser and a lawyer about your own case.
| Weeks before closing | What to do |
|---|---|
| 8 or more | Choose the new home and its move-in date |
| 6 to 8 | Get an offer on the house, and pick a closing date that fits |
| 4 to 6 | Sort the belongings: keep, family, donate or sell, leave behind |
| 2 to 4 | Book movers for what you keep, and send family their items |
| The last week | Move, and leave behind what you do not want |
Choosing where to live next
The next home shapes every other choice: the size of the move, what furniture fits, and the date the old house must be empty. Visit each option more than once, and ask about the monthly cost, what it includes, and the move-in date in writing.
| Next home | Ask about |
|---|---|
| A smaller house or condo | Stairs, upkeep, HOA rules and dues |
| An apartment | The lease length, the yearly rent rise, parking |
| A 55+ community | Age rules, monthly fees, and what the fees cover |
| Living with family | Space, privacy and who pays what |
| A place with care | The level of care, the contract and the cost each month |
Sorting a lifetime of belongings
A house lived in for decades holds more than any new home can. Sort room by room, and start with the rooms you use least. Use four labels: keep, give to family, donate or sell, and leave behind. Measure the new home first, so you know which furniture fits before you decide.
Ask family members to name the items they want, in writing, by a set date. Photos and papers take the longest, so start them early. Keep important papers in one box that travels with you: the deed, insurance, tax bills, medical records and IDs.
- Keep: what fits and is used in the new home
- Family: items relatives asked for, with a pickup date
- Donate or sell: things in good shape that nobody needs
- Leave behind: everything else, when the buyer allows it
Leaving the furniture behind
In a listing, the contract with the buyer decides what must be removed before closing, and the house may need to be staged for showings before that.
When you sell to BIMINIO, you take what you want and leave behind what you do not want. Agree in writing on what stays, so every family member knows before the closing day.
The tax rule on a home sale
IRS Publication 523 (2025) says you may exclude up to $250,000 of gain from the sale of your main home, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, if you owned and lived in it for 2 of the 5 years before the sale. The 2 years do not have to be in a row. For a couple filing jointly, each spouse must meet the use test.
If you owned the house for many years, check how your gain compares with the exclusion. Ask a tax adviser before you sign, because BIMINIO gives no tax advice.
Florida homestead portability
A Florida homestead's assessed value grows under a yearly cap, so after many years it can sit below the house's just value. Florida Statutes section 193.155(8) lets you carry part of that difference to a new Florida homestead. The reduction is the lesser of $500,000 or the difference between the just value and the assessed value of the old homestead.
It applies when you received a homestead exemption as of January 1 of any of the 3 years before you establish the new homestead. You must file the state's form with your homestead application for the new home. Ask the property appraiser in your new county how to apply.
Property taxes when you sell →
When the owner needs help to sign
Sometimes an older owner cannot easily travel or sign. A power of attorney lets someone they trust sign for them, and it must be made while the owner can understand what it does. Florida Statutes section 709.2105 says a Florida power of attorney is signed by the owner with two witnesses and acknowledged before a notary.
Arizona Revised Statutes section 14-5501(D) says an Arizona financial power of attorney is signed by the owner, witnessed by one person who is not the agent, the agent's spouse or child, or the notary, and acknowledged before a notary. Section 14-5506 says a power of attorney signed by an adult who lacks capacity is invalid. Ask the title company to review any power of attorney early.
A mortgage or reverse mortgage on the house
Any loan on the house is paid from the sale. The title company asks the lender for a payoff statement, pays it at closing and sends you the rest. If the house has a reverse mortgage, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it typically must be repaid when you move out of the home or when you die, so a move to a new home is the time to plan the payoff.
Ask the lender for the payoff figure early, so you know what the sale must cover before you choose the next home.
Keep the sale safe
Any owner can be a target for people who promise a fast deal and ask for something a real buyer never would. The Federal Trade Commission warns that scammers ask for money upfront and try to get owners to sign over the deed, and that a deed signed over is hard to get back. A real buyer puts the price in writing, uses a licensed title company, and has you sign the deed only at closing.
Have a family member or a trusted friend read every paper before it is signed, and sit in on the calls if the owner wants.
Selling while you still live there
You may want to stay in the house until the new home is ready. A listing asks you to keep the house ready for showings while you pack, and to leave each time a buyer visits. A sale to a cash buyer has one visit, so you can pack at your own pace and close on the date that matches your move.
Compare what you would keep from each. A listing can bring a higher price, and it brings commission, repairs and months of bills. A cash offer is below full market value, with no repairs, no showings and a date you choose.
Cash offer vs listing: the costs →
Selling the family home to BIMINIO
BIMINIO buys houses from owners who are downsizing in Tampa, Miami, Orlando, Lakeland, Phoenix and Glendale, as is. You get a written cash offer within 24 hours, with the comparable sales we used, so the whole family sees the same numbers. After you accept, one building inspection of under 30 minutes follows, at a time you choose.
You pick a closing date from 7 to 35 days out, to match the new home, and we pay the closing costs. Take what you want, and leave behind what you do not want.
Want a number for your house? BIMINIO buys in Florida and Arizona, as is. A written offer comes within 24 hours.