It's Not Over
Should there be stress in your Golden Years? Well, hopefully not work-related stress, but downsizing carries with it a whole new set of emotions and challenges.
When it comes to your home, if you're still relatively mobile, there should be no excuse for feeling stuck where you are. The Watty Way can help.
While you might not feel like a spring chicken, there's still lots you can do. Plus, what you do most likely have if you've been owning your home for a good while is some money saved up, or a least a good chunk of equity. If you're wondering what your home is worth to calculate your equity, I will give you a simple, safe calculation (if you are in Waterloo Region). Assuming you have simply been maintaining your home, and staying on top of the necessities, like HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning), your exterior windows and doors, plus roof, then take your property taxes and multiply them by 115. Wow, that's a fair chunk of change!
Don't Wait Too Long
So, when it comes to downsizing, the big problems arise when you either wait too long and the workload of regular maintenance becomes insurmountable, or if you make a move that's just so far outside of your comfort zone that you stick to where you are; labouring to do the yard work while your friends are galivanting around the globe, visiting distant relatives and enjoying life.
At this point, you know who your friends are, status symbols have been achieved, and now it's time to live – so the question becomes what do you really want for yourself? If it helps, I'll let you know that based upon feedback from folks I know, I can tell you that the rush of cruising in a Porsche with the top down is worth a little pain in the knees upon an embark and disembarkation – but you can make your own call on that.
A New Lifestyle Awaits
You are where you are now, but you know perfectly well that your lifestyle has changed. The kids are doing great on their own, and you know they likely aren't coming back home to live at this stage in the game. Plus, the kids should at least be apt enough to figure out how to put a frozen stuffed Butterball turkey in the oven six hours before you and the rest of the family arrive, leaving you to just bring the cranberry sauce. You're beginning to come to terms with the fact that Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas Dinners don't need to be at your house anymore. The kids would probably prefer one less destination over the holidays, plus they still have extra rooms for you, not to mention this great app called Airbnb.
If you're ready to admit that you don't need to be running around cleaning and maintaining that quarter acre four-plus bedroom house, only for your grandchildren to come over and swipe the screens on their tablet, then I need to help you understand how to get across the gap to your next chapter of lifestyle (with as much money in your pocket, while also not being as stressed as you are thinking about this). How we get across that "gap" is via the "bridge" – what I affectionately call the Downsizer's Bridge.
Bridge The Gaps
There are two “gaps” to be traversed correctly that will result in the least stress in your head, and the most money in your pocket when all is said and done. There's a marketing gap in how you connect with your home’s future owners vs how you bought the home, and how to smoothly transition across the gap from a family home to an easy-living home.
