Michael Brisbois knew it was time to look for a new house when he started thinking about remodeling his 45-year-old trilevel in Centennial — and then realized he had already done that three times before.
At age 72, Brisbois is at the leading edge of the baby-boom wave that real estate agents are encountering now, wanting to downsize or “right-size.”
But Brisbois isn’t ready to retire.
“I feel like I’m working-age,” he says. After a career that began as an architect and moved into construction management, he has now launched a startup with his brother living in Texas.
The new company is taking shape in his home office on the walk-out level of an eye-catching 3,600-square-foot Craftsman ranch that Brisbois purchased in Castle Pines, while agents with The Steller Group’s Senior Solutions Division were arranging a rapid and rewarding resale of his Centennial place.
Brisbois got Steller involved in his senior move early, after he attended a free seminar that Steller offers (four are coming up in January); he then returned for two more. He met Conrad Steller, managing broker of The Steller Group, and chatted with him about his ideas for a right-size move.
“You want to find the new place first,” advises Brisbois.
That starts with having an established plan outlining what you want to get from the new house — in his case, a nice place to entertain, a pretty setting and better energy performance.
His new ranch in Castle Pines’ Forest Park is a perfect match: not too large, but plenty big enough to have family in for the holidays, and with a head-turning interior designed by architect Arlo Braun. Pines and scrub-oak forest come right up to the back deck, where Brisbois recently saw two bobcat kittens and their mama passing through.
While Brisbois remodeled the newer place, Steller agents set to work to bring the old home in Centennial’s Heritage Village to the market.
Steller’s chief designer recommended some cost-effective updating prior to sale: opening up the interior, stripping dated wallpaper and repainting. Total cost of the improvements, Brisbois says, was $5,000, paid out of the closing.
Brisbois says that when the house came on the market at Steller’s recommended price, 25 people passed through on the first day, two of them making offers, one at $10,000 over asking price.
Steller helped on both the buyer’s side and on the seller’s side, says Brisbois. He’s now getting to know the neighbors in Forest Park — lots of them empty nesters but also some families with kids.
“Along with the wave of buyers who really need to downsize, we’re seeing many more who are choosing to make a move when they’re not really ready to retire,” says Conrad Steller. “Itap less about having to move than wanting to get the place they dream about having.”
Steller offers a team of specialists adept at both sides of that move — helping downsize, making improvements for sale, and finding homes well suited for senior buyers in a market where ranch and low-maintenance homes are hard to find.
Steller has four seminars in January: “Blueprint for Success,” Jan. 9 and Jan. 28; “Downsizing Options,” Jan. 17; and “Dealing With All the Stuff,” Jan. 23.
RSVP at DenverSeniorSeminars.com.
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this postap preparation.