Category: Downsizing

It’s now eight years since we downsized. . . . so what are the advantages?

• The move meant that we released over $100,000 of capital which meant that we became debt free.
• The smaller house meant utility bills dropped.
• Rates reduced.
• As we live in a retirement village there are always people around during the day which makes theft very unlikely.
• Somebody else does the lawnmowing.
• We still have a bedromm where my grandaughter can stop overnight.
• As we have been still active and are now well established, we have friends both inside and outside the retirment village.

Yes we did have to get rid of lots of things before we moved . . . but the truth was they were things like books we weren’t going to read again, and furniture that had hardly been used for years.

 

Don’t leave it too late before you downsize.

It’s not only couple in their 20’s and 30’s buying new houses.

There are a lot of retirees, and people approaching retirement, who are downsizing to a new house built in a retirement village.

Don’t Leave It Too Late?

I have seen a lot of people, including my mother, leave it too late to downsize.

They have a sentimental attachment to their home and hang on until they can’t cope anymore.

They then have to deal with the stress of selling the house, disposing of many possessions,and moving.

Once moved they are away from their friends and with the possibility of reduced mobility have problems making new friends.

When is a Good Age

Well we made the decision to downsize when we were both under 60, and still working.

The children had left home and our dog had recently died.

There was 2 of us in a four bedroom home and only using about about a third of the space.

We decided that we would give downsizing a go while we were young enough to easily adapt.

Try Before You Buy

We weren’t certain about downsizing so we decided we would rent an apartment for a year to try it out.

We decided to sell our house, but if you aren’t sure you could keep your house for the trial period..

We enjoyed our new freedom from gardening and convenience of living near work we actually rented the apartment for 4 years.

After the 4 years retirement was looming for me, and another block of apartment s had been built spoiling out view.

That made the decision to buy a retirement unit easy.

 

Whats your downsizing story?