Buy a Loft in Downtown LA without the Stress

Most LA urban dwellers spend their whole lives in the suburbs. They never expect to move. They never expect to downsize to a downtown loft. The old trend of moving from a starter house to family home to luxury retirement residence is fading. Now, retired people are leaving the suburbs and moving to downtown LA to buy a loft. Once settled into a loft, the benefits far outweigh the loss of a lawn, and weekends spent maintaining a house. Quick access to restaurants and downtown LA, no children in the building, shopping just around the corner, and everything is within walking distance, these are the obvious benefits.

Once you have lived in a loft for several months, you’ll never go back to suburban living. Everything is a short walk or drive away. Medical services are minutes away. A night out is no longer a major event. Just dress up and a few minutes later you are at your favourite restaurant, a movie, or festival. No snow to shovel. Walk to your car in comfort, regardless of the weather.

Moving to downtown LA can be stressful. It is a good idea to let your doctor know about your move and let them monitor your stress levels.

There are several ways to reduce the stress levels after you buy a loft.

1. Are you ready to buy a loft? Spend some time in and around the building. What are the neighbours like? What is parking like? Are the neighbours young or older? Is your building in the middle of Rush Hour Traffic? Is the local government planning on destroying the beautiful park outside your window and replacing it with a shopping mall? What rezoning is planned for the area? Is there a club just down the block? Noise and the close proximity to other people can cause stress, especially if you’ve never lived where you can hear a neighbour arguing, playing music, or smelling what they are cooking for supper.

1. Downsize before moving to your loft. Do not wait until it is time to pack up the house to get rid of extra furniture, and give away items that have accumulated over the years. The task of getting rid of all the extra stuff can be a nightmare in itself. Everyone collects treasures. It can be difficult to give away or sell items that were purchased for self-esteem and social reasons. It is more difficult to give away items with sentimental value.

Organize everything before you start distributing valuables. Make sure that each recipient’s items are listed clearly, outline who is to receive what. Do not just let everyone tell you what you want. There will always be a few disputes, but most families are secure enough to respect your wishes.

Decide what you are going to sell, and the price. One stressful situation is when family believes that they should receive your valuable collection for free. Create a price list and distribute the same list to everyone.

The last tip, clearly outline what you are keeping and write it down. Writing it down and distributing the list makes it easy to stand firm when one family member tries to negotiate and change your mind.

2. Packing and Moving is a very stressful moving task. It is a good idea to put some items into storage. Forget about them until after the move. It is not necessary to deal with everything on moving day.

3. Hire a professional service to help move to your downtown LA loft.  Some services will pack the house prior to moving day. Read the fine print. One of the smartest moves is to move into your loft 2 or 3 days before you move out of your house, even if it means putting your belongings in storage. The moving companies often arrive late, charge high storage fees if they don’t arrive on time. The previous owner’s moving company may not be finished moving out when you arrive. There are a dozen problems that can arrise, most of them come with fees that cost hundreds of dollars.

A little planning can ease the stress and make the entire experience more enjoyable.