The downsizing journey
Ready to start your journey? Here are the basic steps.
Steps to finding the right home
Research
Like any big decision getting your downsizing decision right is going to require research. Understanding why you want to downsize (the things you want to leave behind, those you want to keep and those you want to change) is a crucial first step. To help you work out which downsizing decision will best suit you will also need to think about Where you want to live and Who and What you want to be close to (or far from).
- Why move?
- Location, location, location
Consider
Few people plan to spend their lives in a recliner in watching the television, but if you don’t plan anything else that’s what you can find yourself doing! It’s easy to say what sort of lifestyle do you want? And if you are looking at retirement communities almost every brochure will have the word “Lifestyle” in it, yet every community is different. To consider which of the downsizing options you have identified you will need to think about how do I want to spend my time, who do I want to spend my time with – this part of the journey is more about the “How do I want to live?” considerations.
- Lifestyle choices
Assess
Once you have narrowed down your options to those that fit the Where, Who, What and How it’s time to assess what the options mean for you, financially speaking.
Making sure you understand what it is going to cost when you move in, while you live there and after you leave is a critical step in your financial analysis. Likewise, making sure that you understand the rights and responsibilities of your contract is just as important. As part of your financial analysis you may also need to work out what the implications are for your Age pension (and other benefits) and if you receive a Home Care Package then making sure you understand the impact on your fees is important too.
- Ingoing, ongoing, outgoing
- Accommodation contract comparison
- Deemed income
- Pension estimator
- Granny flat reasonableness test
- Granny flat checklist
- Moving costs
Prepare
Getting ready to move to your new home is exciting but leaving a home full of memories (and the things that have accumulated) can be hard. A good agent doesn’t just sell your house, they can also guide you on improvements that may be worth making, how best to present your property and connect you with other services that can help. What to do with all the “stuff” is a common issue that many downsizers face, fortunately there are some simple but effective strategies for helping you (including asking the kids to take their things!). Having a sketch or floorplan and some photos of your new home can really help you to work out if what you’re planning to take will fit and how it will look in your new home.
- Moving costs
- Moving checklist
Move
Packing up your belongings and moving them to your new house is an arduous but exciting task. There are the less exciting jobs like arranging removalists, redirecting mail, disconnecting and reconnecting utilities (don’t forget your internet and entertainment subscriptions like Foxtel) and you will need to clean your home ready for its new (equally excited) owners. There are a range of different companies that can help you do one, some or even all of these things, which can take at least some of the stress out of moving.
- Moving checklist
Ready to make
the move to a
village?
Start your search for a retirement community in your ideal location.
