Moving out early, painting, cleaning, etc. will probably make you more than it costs to move out early.
While I expect to have about 3 more years in our current house, before moving into the apartments in our CCRC, am already looking ahead to the trauma of making the move. I don' t want to dump the problem of clean up and freshen up to my kids. I don't look for any value from our belongings, and would be okay with dumping it all into a few big trash containers.
The part I'm concerned about is the upgrading with paint, fixing a sinking slab in the driveway, re-carpeting, and some structural repairs... seasoning cracks, caulking etc, etc. I just don't have the ambition to deal with re-sellers and contractors and the aggravation of overseeing the progress. I want it to be over and done with.
The plus side is that none of the (now) 79 homes in our Liberty Village development has ever made it to market, being sold internally for the past 7 or 8 years, with consistently rising values, though in the under $200K range.
My current thinking is to sell at $25 or $30K under the market, and let the buyer use the savings to do their own thing. I'll still be ahead of the game, dollar wise, as I carry the house in my asset calculation at the price we paid back in 2004.
This is also the plan for our Florida mfg home, and our park model complex at Woodhaven. We hold both of these homes at their original purchase price, and are quite sure that even as-is, we'll be able to sell, based on price, rather than condition, and still make a profit.
Ten years ago, I never would have considered this, but there comes a time when peace of mind trumps $$$.
As it stands today, we are totally comfortable with our homes... Not prepared to invite the Queen for tea, not the latest colors or decor, 17 years of normal wear and tear, and different from our standards when we were in our 60's... but clean and comfortable.
So, while I agree with the Senator's suggestion, looks like we'll trade dollars, for peace of mind.