Downsizing
Duncan & Cowichan Valley Housing Market Update – August 2022
September 1, 2022
Duncan & Cowichan Valley Housing Market Update – September 2022
October 3, 2022
By David Lowes, Duncan Realtor
- Do you find yourself struggling to upkeep your current home?
- Are you finding you don’t use the extra rooms in your home or finding the costs of a bigger home are becoming a bit too much to manage?
- Do you simply want a low-maintenance home and yard that you don’t have to worry about leaving for weeks at a time?
- Do you want to move closer to family who have moved away from home?
If you answered yes to any of these, it may be the time to start looking at downsizing to a smaller, more manageable home.
Advantages
- Firstly, if you’ve been in your current home a while, it’s likely to have increased in value, and you may be near to paying off your mortgage, if not having paid it off completely.
Buying a smaller, less expensive property will give you equity left over, to use for whatever you wish. Will this allow you to be mortgage free? To travel? To retire earlier?
- Secondly, downsizing to a smaller home means less upkeep, lower bills and more time to do the things you love.
It’s an exercise in saving both money and time.
- Thirdly, if you are downsizing later in life, it might mean you can decide on where you want to live as you age, taking into consideration mobility and accessibility concerns.
Downsizing Checklist
- Consider your reasons for downsizing? Is it necessary?
Can you suite your house? Can you bring in a cleaner or gardener to ease the maintenance load?
- If you’re excited to downsize, consider where you want to live.
Do you want to stay in the same area, move to the seaside, or buy a low-maintenance condo in the center of town, walking distance to shopping?
- Look at the type of properties that would work for you, and whether you can afford them.
Will you have to make a significant compromise or is there a lot for you to choose from?
- Start sorting belongings - this is always a very difficult discussion, but taking time to go through items and donating, giving to family, hosting garage sales and separating out the items that you really love and feel strongly about from those you don’t really need is important. It’s an opportunity to go through things to make future downsizing easier.
People downsize for many reasons; while for some it may be an empty nest where they feel they rattle around in the house by themselves. Perhaps the house and yard require too much upkeep. For some, it may be a change in their relationship or a lifestyle change.
You can downsize at any point, but it’s worth doing some research into where you want to live, what kind of property you’d be happy with, the sort of lifestyle you want, and being realistic about how much you own.
If you have further questions on this topic, please contact our team today.
If you are looking at purchasing a new build, give our team a call to discuss your Cowichan Valley real estate needs. We can work with you to help you determine what is best suited for you and your family.
Office: 250-748-7200
