How do you downsize from a family home in Scottsdale, and who helps?

How you downsize from a family home in Scottsdale, and who helps, comes down to the order you do things in and who takes each part. Decide what the next home has to do for you, get the house sorted before it's listed, and plan the sale and the purchase together, with a senior move manager, an estate sale company or charity, a tax preparer and your real estate agent each doing their own job.

I'm Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Luxury in Scottsdale, AZ, and I'm the agent people call at every stage of their life. I've been in real estate for more than twenty years, and leaving a long-time family home is the move I built my downsizing service in Scottsdale around. When I'm selling a home like yours, I connect you with a senior move company that walks the house room by room before it goes on the market, and you pay the move company yourself. After the listing is signed, I tour the next place with you in person, whether that's an active adult community, a lock-and-leave home or a larger home with room for the grandkids to visit.

One client wrote afterward, "It's comforting to have just one professional for all your needs." That's why I handle the sale and the next home together.

• A senior move manager plans the move and helps you sort. The National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers (NASMM) and AARP both list planning the move, sorting, arranging sales or donations of what you don't keep, and setting up the new home.
• The movers carry and drive. HomeLight says senior move managers won't physically take your things from one house to the other, and Care.com says they generally don't pack and move items themselves, so the manager usually hires and oversees the movers.
• An estate sale company sells what you're leaving behind. Checkbook says you're paid only for what sells and the company takes a share of it.
• A charity takes what you give away, and the receipt matters if you plan to deduct it.
• A tax preparer answers the questions about donations and the gain on the house.
• An attorney comes in when the home is in a trust or an estate, and here's how I handle probate and trust sales in Scottsdale.
• Your real estate agent prepares, prices and sells the house, and in my case helps you find and buy the next one.

NASMM describes senior move management as the profession that helps older adults, individuals and families downsize, relocate or simplify their homes. Its list of what members do includes a move plan, sorting, customized floor plans for the new home, arranging shipments and storage, overseeing the movers, and unpacking once you arrive. A floor plan shows you which furniture fits the new rooms before anything gets packed, and SmartAsset lists the same space planning.

NASMM suggests asking whether the company is a NASMM member, whether it's fully insured for liability and workers' compensation, whether it'll give you a written contract, and whether it can give you references. Ask how it bills, too. NASMM says some members charge by the hour and others quote one price for the whole job, SmartAsset gives the same two choices, and NASMM says its members give you a written estimate before you're asked to pay.

Start with family. AARP's sorting method labels things Move, Sell, Toss, Donate, Up for Grabs and Pass Along, so the pieces meant for children or grandchildren get a pile of their own.

For an estate sale, compare companies and get everything in writing. A 2017 Better Business Bureau tip, reprinted in The Spokesman-Review, suggests comparing two or three companies, making sure everything you discussed is in the bid and the contract, and asking what records of the sale you'll get and when you'll be paid. Checkbook also says to get a written contract, to ask each company for a written proposal showing how it works out its fees, and to ask for references from its most recent families. Checkbook says staff dispose of unsold items by donating them, throwing them away or putting them in another sale, so ask what happens to yours.

If you plan to deduct what you give away, keep the receipts. The IRS says you can deduct charitable gifts only if you itemize, that a gift of $250 or more needs a written acknowledgment from the charity, and that a noncash gift over $500 means filing Form 8283. Its Publication 526 adds that clothing and household items have to be in good used condition or better. Ask your tax preparer how this applies to you.

Find out before anything goes into a sale or out the door. HomeLight lists getting personal property appraised so it can be sold through an auction, an estate sale, a buy-out or consignment, so raise it with the move manager at the first walk-through.

If you're donating a piece, the appraisal matters for taxes too. The IRS says a noncash gift of an item or group of similar items worth more than $5,000 needs a qualified appraisal, in its Tax Topic 506 and again in Publication 561.

A house you've lived in for twenty years usually has paint cans in the garage and pool chemicals somewhere. The City of Scottsdale's household hazardous waste page says the city picks these up at your home for residential utility customers, by appointment, with signups opening on the 1st of each month at 8 a.m. and closing when they're full, and up to three free collections a year per address. In 2026 the page lists collections January through May and July through November, so check the current rules before you plan around it.

For furniture and mattresses, the city's brush and bulk collection page says pickup is monthly, by area of the city, and that you can set things out no sooner than three days before the Monday of your collection week. It also says to check your HOA's rules, which may be stricter. Check the city page for your week and the current rules before anything goes to the curb. These are City of Scottsdale services, so a home in Fountain Hills or Phoenix has its own.

That's what the planning is for, and the answer depends on your numbers. On my Legacy Method guide I go through the choices: whether to buy first or sell first, what a contingent offer does to your negotiating position, and whether a short rent-back from your buyer solves the gap.

A contingent offer means your purchase depends on selling the house you have. Chase says a home sale contingency lets the buyer off if they can't sell their current home and that sellers are generally reluctant to accept one, and HomeLight says a seller with a kick-out clause can keep accepting offers from other buyers.

A rent-back means you stay in the house for a while after it closes. Arizona's rule for real estate agents, A.A.C. R4-28-1101, says I have to recommend that you get advice from insurance, legal, tax and accounting professionals regarding the risks of pre-possession or post-possession of a property, which includes staying in the home after closing.

Once you know roughly where you're going, the next number is what your house will sell for, and here's how I work out what your Scottsdale home is worth.

Not always. DC Ranch includes patio homes, townhomes and condominiums alongside its single-family homes, Grayhawk has eight condominium and townhome communities, McDowell Mountain Ranch has condominiums and smaller single-family lots, and McCormick Ranch has patio homes, townhomes and condominiums. A smaller home can still carry a bigger association bill, so I pull the totals for the home you have and the one you're looking at before you choose. Here's my page on downsizing within Scottsdale.

1. Decide what the next home has to do for you. One level or stairs, a place you can lock and leave for a month, or room when family visits. That answer tells you how much furniture is coming.
2. Name the things that matter most. AARP suggests choosing the handful of possessions you care about most, the ones that mean something rather than the most useful or valuable ones.
3. Bring in the move company before the house is listed. That's part of step two of the Legacy Method, home prep, pictures, and pricing.
4. Have the valuable pieces appraised before anything is sold or given away.
5. Sort one room at a time. AARP suggests starting with the rooms you use least and working a few hours at a time with breaks.
6. Book the city pickups for hazardous waste and your brush and bulk week.
7. Prepare and list the home. Here's what you have to disclose when you sell a house in Arizona.
8. Tour the next place. Once the listing is signed, I tour the next home with you in person.
9. Set the move-out date around closing, with the movers, storage and the estate sale or charity pickup lined up so the house is ready to hand over.

The first is listing the house before the contents have a plan. Every room that still needs sorting is a room you're working in between showings, so I bring the move company in before the listing goes live.

The second is hiring an estate sale company on a phone call. The Better Business Bureau and Checkbook both say to put the details in a written contract, so get the fees, the payment date and the records of what sold in writing first.

The third is agreeing to stay after closing without talking to your insurance agent, an attorney and your tax preparer, since Arizona's agent rule has me recommend advice on the risks of post-possession.

If you're helping a parent, AARP says to let them decide what stays and what goes, to mark anything they're unsure about and come back to it within a week, and that a senior move manager can be a big help when you live far away.

If the home is in a trust, the trust document decides who signs, so start there and ask the title company what it needs to see. Here's my post on selling a house held in a trust in Arizona.

This is general information about how downsizing and selling work in Arizona. It isn't legal, tax or financial advice.

If you're thinking about leaving a home you've been in for a long time and you'd like to talk through the sale, the contents and the next place, call me at (480) 203-6605 or send me a message.