Downsizing To A Smaller Home?

When it comes to assisting mature and senior clients with their move, there are a number of important questions that must be asked. In order to help you prepare for our meeting, I offer these 8 questions as a starting point for our conversation when we get together. As an example, the first question is:

Do you WANT to move, or do you feel you HAVE to move?

When a senior contacts me about making a move, there are only 2 broad reasons that they are considering a move: they WANT to move to be closer to family, shopping, or to downsize. The other broad reason is because they feel they HAVE to move due to health, financial, or other reasons. Discovering the broader reason for your upcoming move will allow me to help you the best I can.

Your next move should be full of joy and anticipation of the next phase of your life.
But for some people, their next move will be filled with stress, emotional turmoil, and often depression, or even anger, at being forced to make a move that they don’t want to make, or aren’t ready for.

As we age, we come to a point where we can no longer easily take care of our home. We all know this time will arrive, yet we put off making the basic decisions about where we will live for as long as we possibly can.
For some, a sudden change in health, either their own or that of a loved one, conspires to necessitate a hasty move. They suddenly find themselves contemplating a move due to the circumstance they find themselves in. And that’s never the time when the best long-term decisions are made.

Others start making plans early, when they have time to discover what their future options might be, and what might be the best situation for their specific wants or needs. They leave time to make the best long-term decisions for themselves.

Moving for seniors is often accompanied by feelings of excitement, guilt, and anxiety. Just the thought of going through years of accumulated treasures, downsizing and getting organized, causes people to become overwhelmed.

Enter the Transition (AKA Senior Move Manager) Manager . . . .

When someone has been living in their home for a long time, or they are unable to take on the multitude of things needing to be done to make a move, there is a new breed of professional on the scene to help them – the Transition Manager.

The role of a transition manager is to take care of the details of a move – as much as you want or need them to take on. A transition manager is ready to take the stress out of your move. Working under our direction, they will handle the big-ticket things and the minutiae, all in the name of making your move as easy as possible for you and your family.

If you’re like most people, you’ve accumulated a lot of ‘stuff’ over the course of a lifetime. And, like most people, you don’t know what to do with it. In fact, for the majority of senior clients I work with, this is the most difficult part of the process for them. Quite often, with the exception of a few family heirlooms, neither your adult kids nor your grandchildren will be interested in these items. This report has a few ideas on what to do with your ‘stuff’:

Decide what things you will take with you to your next home. Sometimes this is a very difficult process to go through. Maybe you’re downsizing, and only a fraction of your things will fit where you are moving to.

If you’re like most people, you really don’t think too much about your various insurance coverages. In this free report, you’ll discover some things that your insurance agent may not have thought to tell you. You’ll also learn a few things to consider regarding your Provincial health coverage, and some good news about life insurance. As you read this report, remember the information is provided for thought-provocation only; you need to speak with your insurance expert for advice specific to your situation.

This report brings you information on home, life, health, and auto insurance matters.

If you’re like many seniors, you’re planning on spending at least part of your year somewhere outside Canada. For some, it’s heading to warmer climes during the cold Canadian Winter. For other’s, it could be spending a number of months in ‘the old country’. If time beyond ‘a vacation’ is in your plans, there a number of things to be aware of. The items listed in this report by no means form an exhaustive list; they’re a guideline to get you thinking.

Our research shows us that oftentimes, people might be less than forthcoming with either the people who are trying to get them to make a move, or even themselves. Yes, we deceive ourself, out of our desire to retain control over where we live, and a need to not look weak to our loved ones.

The Move or Stay Survey is a very short questionnaire that is designed for your eyes only. You don’t need to show your answers to anyone at all. In fact, that is the joy of this questionnaire – if you know no-one else will ever see it, you may well find yourself answering differently.

A new branch of the ASA, the Master-ASA is someone who has an extended history work with seniors, has a higher level of education in this area, and brings a lot of unique skills to the table for you. Read this report to find out more.