Woman’s Day Australia – July 08, 2019

Homes

STARTTHE DOWNSIZING

PROCESS EARLY

“Ifyou’velivedinthesamehousefor 30

years,thereis suretobeplentyof‘stuff’

breedinginthecupboardsthatyoudon’t

needanylonger– startdeclutteringand

recyclingearly,”saysRich.

SEEK PROFESSIONAL OPINION

“Appraisethevalueofyourchosenpropertycarefullybefore

makinganyoffers,”saysRich.“Researchrecentcomparable

salesandkeepa closewatchonthemarketandauction

results.”Afterall,youdon’twanttoendupforkingoutmore

thanyoureallyhaveto!

DOWNSIZING YOU

E

mpty-nesterswillknowthe

feeling– yourkidshave

movedoutandyou’rekeen

forsomethingsmaller,with

justenoughspaceforyourself,

oryouanda partner.Perhaps

youwanttocutdownyour

mortgage,finallyliveinyour

dreamsuburborjusthaveless

spacetotakecareof.

It’simportanttoremember

downsizingyourhome

doesn’thavetomeanyou’re

downgrading– most peoplejust

wanttomovetoa nicerarea

orpropertytoenjoytheir

retirementyears.

Buyer’sagentandCEO

ofpropertybuyer.com.au,

RichHarvey,hasyears

ofexperiencehelping

Australiansmakethe

transitiontotheirdreamhome.

Hereheshareshistopdosand

don’tsfordownsizingyour

familyhome.

LIST YOURWANTS & NEEDS

AccordingtoresearchbyING, 37 percentofover40smove

toa newareathatoffersmoretodointhewayofactivities

andshops.“Createa listofthemostimportantaspectsofyour

newhome,”Richadvises.“Consideraccesstoshops,transport,

medicalfacilities,friendsandrecreationalamenitiesaswell

asthefeaturesofthehomeyoumostdesire.”

ea

DO!

DON’T!

LET EMOTIONSGET INTHE WAY

Ofcourseyoumightabsolutelyadorea propertyandbe

emotionallyinvested,butit’simportanttoremainaslevel-

headedaspossibleduringthedownsizingpurchaseprocess.

“Don’tmakea rushedandemotionaldecisionandthen

paytoomuch,”insistsRich.“Seekindependentadviceand

workwitha buyer’sagent,whocanhelpyoursearchand

negotiate,andwillremovetheemotionfromtheprocess.”

Australian real estate expert RICH

the right way to swap to a sm