At some time or another, there is a good chance you will consider downsizing your home in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The reasons for downsizing will be unique to each individual and it can often times be a daunting position to be in. This is why we’re asking some of the common questions to help you determine if downsizing is the right thing for you or not.
DO YOU NEED TO RELEASE SOME CASH?
Whether you’re looking to release some funds for your retirement pot to make life all that more relaxing, invest money elsewhere, or you simply want to access more cash, downsizing your property could be the way to go.
The Toronto Real Estate market boomed this summer, and although house prices are starting to level out, they are still high meaning that if you were to sell your property now, your property will no doubt have appreciated during your ownership. This means that if you sold and downsized your property, the cash you release could be substantially more than in previous years.
TOO MUCH UPKEEP?
Having a larger home is great for a growing family and for entertaining. Likewise, if you’re a keen gardener, a large garden to plant your favourite flowers and plants may be the dream. However, having a larger house and larger garden requires a great deal of upkeep; from cleaning and gardening to redecorating and fixing any faults.
You may be lucky enough to able to afford to pay someone to do this for you, but either way you are looking at a great deal of time if you decide to do this yourself, or a great deal of money to pay someone to do this for you. For many people, neither scenario is idea and you might be looking to free up some time or money to do other more important things.
Downsizing to a smaller property in Toronto or GTA could solve this problem for you. There of course will be maintenance required in any property you go to, but with the smaller property, there will likely be less routine upkeep to be carried out, saving you some money and freeing up your downtime.
CHILDREN FLOWN THE NEST?
There will come a time when your children are ready to fly the nest and this can be a very emotional time for the family, but also a good opportunity to re-evaluate your home. Are you excited at the thought of turning your child’s former bedroom into a home office, or will the room just sit there and collect dust? If you’re unable to find a good use for the room year-round (not just the annual get togethers) then perhaps it would be wise to cash in, downsize, and let a new family create new memories in the house.
READY TO DOWNSIZE?
If after weighing up the pros and cons you have decided that you do want to downsize, you should start the process as soon as possible.
Not only is moving houses stressful, downsizing creates an added anxiety that you simply cannot bring all of your belongings with you to the smaller house. This means that you need to start decluttering now. It will be hard, but you will need to be brutal and discard, donate, or sell anything that you do not have a use for now. You will be surprised at how much stuff you have and how much stuff you forgot you had!
Once you’re ready to put your house on the market in Toronto or the GTA, we, at MAC Relocation Services can help guide you the rest of the way! Not only are we able to downsize, we offer many other relocation services:
- Toronto and GTA Area Orientations – we will personally familiarize you with the city and neighbourhood.
- Move Management (Global) – we arrange the mover, survey your home, take care of customs clearance, and all of the other details from origin to destination.
- Destination/Settling in Service – we can help you organize things such as your Social Insurance Number, Health Insurance, Driver’s Licence, Banking, Schools, Cars, Pets, etc.
- Rental and Residential Re-Sale – as experts in rental and home purchases in Toronto and the GTA, our licensed Toronto realtors can help you find the perfect new home.
- Temporary Accommodations – we offer furnished suites and luxury furnished apartments whilst you wait for your permanent real estate accommodation.
- Departure Services – we also help those leaving Canada through home sales, lease terminations, closing of utilities, etc.
If you are considering relocating to Toronto or the GTA, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with someone on our team. All of our real estate agents and brokers are licenced with OREA (Ontario Real Estate Association) and TREB (Toronto Regional Real Estate Board). We can assist in individual relocations, family relocations, and corporate relocations. For more information or to chat about our services, please email info@macsuites.ca or give us a call at 416-222-0025 / 1(877)-239-0025.