Downsizing Into A Smaller ResidencE

In retirement terms, downsizing is the act of moving out of your current, larger home into something smaller and easier to manage, whether it's an apartment, retirement home, or simply a smaller house. As one gets older, mobility becomes more difficult, and large homes can become a burden. Additionally, as children grow up and move out, you're left with unused rooms and all of that extra space is unnecessary.

Selling your home and moving into something smaller offers several benefits. Living in a smaller space can make everyday tasks easier. The sale of the home can provide a nice financial cushion to fall back on. It would be wise to speak with your financial adviser as the act of downsizing is much more than just a simple move. 

In addition to selling your home, you'll be selling plenty of your possessions, too. When you're moving into a smaller space, you're not going to have enough room for everything that you currently own, namely a lot of household contents. Before you begin this lengthy process, you need to take stock of everything that you own and decide what you're taking with you, what you will give to family, friends and what to sell.

This would be a great time to take stock of all your personal assets, everyday household items, valuable and items you have been collecting over the years.

Doing an inventory list of all your personal assets and keeping it in a safe place such as a bank deposit box comes in very handy if you have to make a claim against the insurance if any of the item(s) are broken, lost or stolen.  Another benefit of having an inventory of your possessions, especially for jewelry, art, coins or collectibles is that you can easily state on the list who you would like to inherit specific items to. This can eliminate any confusion for estate executors and make their job much easier when they are settling an estate.

West Coast Downsizing Solution offers certified Inventory Specialists that can come to your home and prepare a professional written report documenting all the contents in your home or you can have one prepared for just your Collectibles. 

We also offer Personal Property Appraisals for insurance and asset divisions.

West Coast Downsizing Solution & Auctions West Coast, can really be a lifesaver. Not only will we get your new home ready for you and help you settle in, we'll also Auction off all of your un-needed gently used items and help you get fair market value for everything. We perform a discreet, online auction for the items that you decide to part with. For safety reasons, we only give out your address to the winning bidders, and only once they've paid we then arrange to meet them to pickup their purchases in a secured, timely manner under our supervision.

Our auctions are offered to potential buyers all across North America. The winning bidders either pickup their  purchases in person or pay for their items to be shipped to them.

If needed, we can even help you decide what to take with you, based on your new space and what furniture will fit. Our job is to make the transition as smooth as possible, whether we're dealing directly with the retiree, a family member, or another form of caretaker. We've moved clients into houses, apartments, condos, and even retirement homes. You decide what's best for you or your loved one and we'll handle the heavy lifting, both literally and figuratively.

To get an idea of our auctioning process, feel free to visit our Auction Page and see all of our live and completed auctions.

There is no universal timeline when it comes to downsizing. Everyone's life unfolds at its own pace. Some may love the idea of a smaller living space, while others may stick it out as long as they can, until it just becomes too much to get around such a large home. 

A multi-story home becomes especially difficult to navigate once mobility issues begin to set in.

In some case the person in question may not be in a position to make that decision for themselves. In these case, we happily work with family members, (or caretakers) to move their loved one into a situation that greatly improves their quality of life. It is a big decision, so we are happy to provide any insight or assistance in the situation.

While declining health is generally the primary reason to downsize, there are other factors as well. It can be financially beneficial, not only because of the money you stand to make by selling your home and a portion of your possessions, but also thanks to the reduced costs associated with maintaining a smaller living space. That's not even considering the unexpected costs of outfitting your current home to accommodate your situation, such as installing staircase lifts or walk-in tubs. It's much more affordable to move into a home that either has these features or simply doesn't need them.

There is also the matter of family. Earlier in this article, we mentioned children moving out. If those children or any family live far away, downsizing gives you an opportunity to move closer to them. Living near family is always preferable and, in this case, could come in handy if you're facing health issues.