Becky Ivins specializes in helping seniors on the move
Becky Ivins knows that moving from a lifelong home to a more manageable residence can be confusing and stressful for older adults. That’s why the longtime Oklahoma City Realtor has developed a program that specializes in making the move smoother.
Ivins calls the program “Seniors on the Move.”
“I have a great resource for almost anything a client would need,” Ivins said. “We work with people who can walk through everything with our clients very patiently.”
Her team at Movers Real Estate works with vendors to provide all the services a downsizing client would need — from home repairs, to staging, cleaning, estate sales, legal matters, sorting, packing and moving.
“Most people don’t know what to do with their ‘stuff.’ They want to keep it all, but they just can’t keep everything as they downsize and move into a smaller space,” Ivins said. “It can be challenging.”
After successful careers in engineering and management, Rich and Elizabeth Wadham, of Edmond, were ready to make the transition into retired life. They dreamed of moving to Omaha to be with their family.
“I was in the Air Force for 17 years and moved all around and traveled a lot,” Rich Wadham said. “After I got out of the Air Force, I continued to work under contract, so we kept moving every few years. Because of that, we’ve bought and sold eight homes. We’ve had good and bad experiences, so Elizabeth and I wanted to make sure our last move would be smooth.”
“Becky Ivins is far and away the best Realtor we’ve ever worked with,” he said.
Ivins said about 25 percent of her real estate transactions involve seniors who are downsizing. However, not everyone who uses the senior real estate service is moving into a retirement community. Some move to apartments. Some buy another, smaller house. Some need lots of help. Some just need a little help.
“Trying to sort through a lifetime of memories, you need to make a lot of decisions,” she said. “Making choices about which pieces of furniture you’ll keep, whether to let go of the china, or how many linens or photo albums will fit in the shelves at new place — it’s difficult to do quickly. Decision fatigue can set in.” That’s where the dozens of vendors she works with lend their expertise on all the issues faced when downsizing.
“Everyone starts at a different place,” Ivins said. “I take them from whatever position they are in and am able to coordinate with my trusted partners.”
Two of those partners are Shelley Chappell, owner of Clutter Free, and Amber Bergerson, owner and senior move manager with Senior Transitions. Both have high praise for Ivins and her senior real estate program.
Clutter Free offers cleaning and organization services. “We help clients who are selling their homes with deep cleaning and staging,” Chappell said. “We help them decide what to keep, donate, or give to family. We take the donations for them and return with tax receipts.
“Becky and her team are so wonderful and pleasant to work with. I have the utmost admiration for them. They are fast, they are effective, and they care. They treat their business partners like family.”
Bergerson was equally complimentary. “We love working with Becky. She’s awesome,” she said.
“We provide a complementary assessment on the move and help them figure out what they are going to take and how they are going to repurpose certain things.”
Her team brings supplies, helps sellers pack, and works with professional movers if required. “We can work on an estate sale, donation of goods, whatever is needed,” she said.
Ivins provided this overview of what to expect from her Seniors on the Move program:
? Help create a pre-move plan (where will you move and when)
? Get your house ready to sell (declutter and stage)
? Sort and pack room by room
? Market and sell your property
? Provide a written and pictorial inventory of your items
? Ship or store items intended for family or friends
? Arrange for an estate sale or tag sale
? Arrange for professional movers
? Unpack and set up
? The bed set up and made
? Pictures hung
? Coffee pot working
? Kitchen items in their place and ready for you to use
Ivins began selling real estate in 1977. In 1979, she started her own brokerage, Movers Real Estate. She holds many designations, including Senior Real Estate Specialist and Military Relocation Professional. She is one of a very few who have earned the Certified Senior Housing Professional designation. She is active in coaching other real estate agents. Since 2006, Ivins has hosted a live radio talk show, “Oklahoma Real Estate On The Move,” on News Radio 1000 KTOK. Ivins has been endorsed by national figures Dave Ramsey, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity.
For more information, visit www.beckyivins.com.
This article is sponsored by Becky Ivins Movers Real Estate.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Becky Ivins specializes in helping seniors on the move