COMING OUTOF THE SENIORS' CLOSET IN GEORGETOWN

Whether you have admitted you are a senior or empty nester or almost either one, you are thinking about a change in lifestyle and that means a change in housing. That change usually involves a “less is more” concept so you are considering a smaller home and more modern to reduce utilities costs.

WOW! What about all the belongings you have accumulated? Particularly in the attic, basement or crawl space, which you have not crawled into in years – it is full of stuff.

Where will I move to? They tell me to avoid stairs as I get older. What are my choices? How will this affect my finances? Where do I start? This can be mind boggling. You feel exhausted and say to yourself, maybe I will wait a few more years. However, eventually you have to face it and decide what your alternatives are.

The first step is to know your finances and that means you should know the value of your property and what you could expect to net after expenses. As experienced real estate advisors, we can provide this information and also discuss the price of alternate housing. You should also talk to your financial advisor and make a plan because your income will reduce at some point as you grow older. This plan must show you how much you can spend on alternate housing including purchase, taxes, utilities and maintenance fees/costs.

Now we can help you determine what options are available based on your financial plan. Our previous article described various options. Detached Family Home-->Bungalow-->Townhouse-->Condo/Apartment-->Assisted Living Residence-->Nursing Home.

You might also want to consider location. For example, if most of your family lives in Victoria, BC you might want to put that into the mix. We can refer you to a local Realtor. However, if you decide to stay in the Georgetown area we can serve you in finding your next housing option.

We can help you with everything, including removing all you have accumulated over the years and getting your house ready for sale.  We can do it all!

Call us for a FREE consultation on your housing options and financial factors.

This is the second of a series of articles on Seniors and Downsizing. We encourage you to send us your questions and ideas for future articles to lynn@lynnandjohn.ca  or 905 873-0440.

Lynn is a qualified Accredited Seniors Agent.  John is a Real Estate Broker and Chartered Accountant (FCA). Lynn and John work and live in Georgetown. Lynn is a sales representative and John is a Broker with Re/Max Realty Specialists Inc., Brokerage.