Why Senior Move Managers Are Worth Every Penny
Who do you turn to when it's time to move Mom out of the family home?
Have you heard of Downsizing & Move Managers, specifically Senior Move Managers?
Most often the answer is “Is that a thing”?
I’m here to tell you it is.
Not many people are aware of the Senior Move Management Industry. This industry has exploded over the past several years given how our population is aging. Over 20% of our population will be over the age of 65 years old by 2040. This includes older adults as well as their adult kids.
Adult children of aging parents stay quite busy with their own families & careers therefore having limited time to help their parents especially when it comes time to take on a significant move. Given a long-distance between adult kids and their parents, supporting them becomes a bit more challenging.
Senior Move Managers work with older adults when the time comes for a downsize or move to a new home environment that can better suit their needs at this stage in life. Many times, Senior Move Managers come in to help the adult child who has lost a parent and now needs to clean out the family home.
Many older adults haven’t moved in 30-40+ years. The decades worth of accumulated things and memories makes the task of moving or clearing out a daunting experience.
I recently connected with Melanie Stevens, owner of WayMaker Downsizing & Move Management.
WayMaker is based in Roswell, GA, and serves the North Metro Atlanta area as well as North Georgia. While they work with a wide variety of clients, their main mission is to support the community through their work as Senior Move Managers.
Melanie explains that the value of WayMaker lies in:
Their profound understanding of the stress and emotions surrounding turning points along life’s journey.
Their people-centric approach and creative abilities, drawing upon their local talent contributors & vetted supplier partners regionally & nationally, ensuring a seamless transition for their clients and loved ones from Start to Settled.
Being good stewards of the financial investment their clients make in WayMaker’s services.
And in their respect for client’s belongings throughout their work with WayMaker. They recognize that belongings are financial assets that are emotionally centered, representing important times in your life.
Melanie shared some examples of two clients WayMaker supported this summer, both at different stages in their lives. One of the things that became apparent in listening to how WayMaker served their clients was that making a financial investment in a Senior Move Manager can often pay for itself or at least help families or individuals minimize their out-of-pocket expenses when it comes to a move or estate clear out.
Her first example was a widower moving out of 4,800 square-foot family home after 35+ years (3 floors plus an attic – all full and many spaces overflowing). This was the home where he raised 4 children with his now deceased wife. As this client was embracing a new future and a move out of state, he engaged WayMaker’s support to handle the task of supporting his move while mostly focused on selling as much of the contents of the home as possible.
WayMaker supported by coordinating:
an Online Auction which sold over 96% of the items for sale
Junk hauling to clear out space prior to the auction, emptying out the attic and post-auction, final clear out
Donation drops including medical equipment and clothing
Mover labor to help client load his U-haul rental
WayMaker and 3rd party expenses totaled $10,650
Client received $9,898.40 from the online auction
Client’s “net” out of pocket expenses for WayMaker & 3rd party services totaled $751.60 plus the cost of his U-haul rental and some minor travel expenses.
While this client was emotionally detached from everything in the home and would have been happy to just throw it away or donate it, the massive amount of belongings would have costs thousands to dispose of as there were many items that non-profits would not have accepted for donations.
This client move and clear out took a total of 7 weeks. At the end of 7 weeks, the house was ready for final move out clean, professional photos, and listing by their realtor.
Melanie’s next example was an adult son now serving as Executor for his parents’ estate. His Mom & Dad lived in the home over 20 years. The home was 3,336 square-feet with 3 levels, a full attic, and an outdoor shed.
It was time now to address all the things in the house while getting the home cleared out so it could be listed. Every inch was full of things that his Dad had accumulated. He had a career post-retirement and had worked from home. Not one to throw anything away, when their basement flooded, things were packed up in 100+ boxes and set aside.
WayMaker came in to support the Executor in clearing out the home. While it’s easy to get a dumpster and just throw everything away, this house and the belongings warranted careful sorting as there were a few things the family was searching for. In all of the clearing and organizing, the WayMaker team found many things they knew could be sold. For instance, they discovered over $10K in just loose coins and cash alone throughout the house, hidden in all sorts of places. As they found personal items and money, they would set it aside for the family to decide to keep it or sell it.
WayMaker supported by coordinating:
an Online Auction which sold over 96% of the items for sale
Junk hauling to clear out space prior to the auction, emptying out the attic and post-auction, final clear out
Donation drops including medical equipment and clothing
Onsite document shredding
Final move out house cleaning
Selling off scrap metal
Selling off a variety of silver coins, bullion, and even a gold note.
WayMaker and 3rd party expenses totaled $17,491.25
Client netted $12,624.98 from the online auction
Client earned $234.74 from scrap metal sales
Client earned $6,066.58 from the sale of coins, etc.
After all WayMaker and 3rd party expenses were paid, as a result of all the sales of possessions, the client walked away with $1,435.05 in his pocket. This doesn’t account for about $3K-$4K in loose coins that had face value and the family was able to keep.
This client move and clear out took a total of 8 weeks. At the end of 8 weeks, the house was ready for professional photos and listing by their realtor.
If you have any questions about Senior Move Managers or how a company like WayMaker could help you and your loved ones, please reach out directly to Melanie.
Or get in touch with me and I’ll be happy to make an introduction.