Should I keep my inherited family home or downsize?
Keeping a paid-off, large inherited house means dealing with high maintenance costs, intense anxiety over unexpected repairs, and ongoing upkeep despite knowing all its quirks. Deciding whether to stay or downsize requires weighing those financial and practical burdens against the potential savings and stress of moving into a smaller home.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Should I keep my inherited family home or downsize?
- 1Running financial comparisons on taxes, utility bills, and maintenance costsDid this help you?
- 2Considering renting out a spare room for extra incomeDid this help you?
- 3Setting aside money specifically for ongoing house maintenanceDid this help you?
- 4Seeking counseling or therapy to manage anxiety and sort through emotional choicesDid this help you?
- 5Running the financial numbers to see if maintenance and purchase costs are affordableDid this help you?
- 6Deciding not to buy the house to let parents use the retirement funds freelyDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Does it make financial and practical sense to eventually downsize, or would it be wiser to keep the paid-off house despite its size and maintenance costs and the fact I know what's been done as well as all the quirks?”source ↗
“Well my goal would be to find a home that is at least 80-100k cheaper than what I'd sell for. But then I'd probably use that to upgrade the smaller home some.”source ↗
“I feel overwhelmed with so many things and I'm at a point where I have intense anxiety.”source ↗
“My parents want to sell their house, my childhood home and move somewhere else.”source ↗
“I *could* buy the house for way less, and maybe rent it out”source ↗
“I don't know if I can do it in terms of ability and kind of scared of extras that the house would bring in costs, like changing heater etc.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 11How to decide if we should sell our house first?
- 2Is paying for a home reappraisal worth it if you aren't selling?
- 9Should we renovate our aging home or buy a new construction house?
- 9Is a luxury home upgrade worth giving up financial flexibility?
- 3Should I take a pay cut for a new career?
- 13Should I sell my farmland or keep renting it out?