Timing… getting from here to there

Recently, while listening to some friends talk about their real estate goals, the question of timing came up.  When does one downsize?  Alas, that depends upon your goals.  Do you want to move from your Cupertino home to be close to the ocean? close to your kids? away from your kids?!  How quickly would you like to make that happen?  Everyone’s answer varies.  As a friend, we recommend stepping back from your life for a quick second (very likely, that’s about all the time you have anyway) and make a list.  The reason we start out this way is because it seems that almost all of the initial considerations boil down to time.  Once you have that list, you can then decide how much time needs to be allotted for each item.  Even financial implications are often a question of time.  Here are some of the things we suggest thinking about:

• Do you have children that are still at home and, if so, for how long?
• Do you ultimately want to be close to them, and if so, are they at a point of their lives where they seem to be settled?  No need to move from Mountain View to Seattle if in a few months your kids could move to Chicago!
• How much money do you need?  We suggest talking to your CPA, Realtor and financial planners to help you with this one.  Financial planners are trained to help determine the amount of money needed.   If you are planning on using any of the equity in your home, your Realtor can help you figure out the timing, costs, etc. of realizing that equity.  And finally, your CPA will of course be the best resource for planning the tax consequences of all this “downsizing” in the first place.
• How much space will you actually need?  Your house in Saratoga has four bedrooms, but will two bedrooms suffice in that Palo Alto development that you have had your eye on?
• If you currently have a parent living with you at home, do you plan to have them live in the same community with you? live in the same home with you? move in with another relative?

These are the main considerations that we have seen to date regarding the question of timing your downsize.  There are many other things to keep in mind and we would love to hear your thoughts on what you think would be helpful to consider as well.

Caroline  &  Darlene