Are You Ready To Downsize? Consider Your Options
Are You Ready to Downsize Physically & Emotionally
Whether or not you are ready to downsize is a tough decision.
Life situations often lead you to consider selling your current home and moving into a smaller one, such as your children leaving for university or job or your own retirement plan. You need to make sure you’ve done your homework before making any decisions.
If you don’t want to leave your Mississauga neighbourhood, then moving to a smaller, more manageable accommodation may be your best bet, like a condo townhouse or a condo apartment.
As we get older, a big backyard for socializing or relaxing is no longer as important as being able to walk to a nearby community centre or local coffee shop. Downsizing lets you select a property that’s closer to the amenities that matter to you. For this reason, many retirees prefer to live in the downtown Mississauga core at one of the Square One Condos, which provide close proximity to many amenities.
Some Important Downsizing Considerations
Financial needs: If your savings aren’t substantial enough to make a comfortable “nest egg,” then saving the profits from the sale of the property might be the right thing to do.
Your connections: Consider if downsizing takes you away from your emotional network of family, friends & community and if you can take care of your well-being in new surroundings.
Real estate market: Be practical. Consider what can get from the sale of your property in the given market conditions. Consult with Realtors to get their opinion, and working with one you feel most comfortable with. Someone who also helps seniors with their downsizing exercise.
Plan ahead: It’s best to downsize while you are physically able to handle the challenge rather than wait till the move becomes an absolute must.
Adaptability: You Must be prepared to give up certain aspects of your current lifestyle and adapt to new ones.
Your new domain: Based on your extended family needs, consider if a town home, a condo apartment or a seniors luxury living is best suited for you and your partner. Regular associated payments can take a chunk out of your budget. Would those expenses be less if you lived in a different neighbourhood? And equally importantly, is your immediate family OK with this decision.
Why do people consider downsizing
There are many reasons you may want to downsize your home.
Empty nest: When the children move out, a big house with its upkeep can become a burden.
Health: As we age, access to hospital, community centre, shopping centre become a priority. Even within the house, fewer stairs, accessibility, ensuite laundry, basically just a smaller home might be a necessity.
Financial goals: Retirement, divorce or death of a spouse can force readjustment to financial goals prompting the decision to downsize.
Easy access to amenities: As we said before proximity to amenities is way more important than curb appeal or backyard, or simply a larger home. These could be amenities offered in a condo apartment building or area amenities.
Amit Kalia is qualified to assist seniors in the sale and purchase of housing after successfully completing a series of educational courses on helping seniors and their families with real estate transactions. Team Kalia also has access to a network of senior specialists, such as estate planners, CPAs and eldercare lawyers.
What else can be done instead of downsizing?
You could consider leasing, which means to partially rent out your home. This can help financially and help you feel less isolated. A well detailed lease agreement should be considered. Alternatively you could consider something like AirBnB or renting out rooms on a short-term rental basis.
You can reach out to your lender and see if there is any provision to re-negotiate your mortgage terms. You could also consider refinancing to get a better mortgage rate. Another option is to increase the amortization length of your mortgage. However, this measure is helpful only to address a short-term financial crisis.
Are You Ready for Downsizing in next 10 years or so?
You might like to explore what some of our baby boomer clients have done in order to gain more wealth when downsizing.
