Posts Tagged “fund retirement plans”
If you are a baby boomer with retirement insight, you may be grappling with whether to downsize to another home, condo, or apartment that you buy or rent or stay put. In Canada, wherein many areas housing inventory is low, many of your contemporaries are deciding to upgrade their homes so that they can age in place, rather than putting them on the market.
The 2011 Canadian census identified 3,900,000 empty nesters or one-person households that are retaining their homes at a point in their lives where selling might make sense. What does this mean for you, as the owner of a home desirable to a new generation of buyers?
Low Inventory Impacts Asking Prices
First, this situation is causing a shortage of homes, especially for younger families of the Millennial generation who find themselves having to bid on several houses before they secure one. If you are interested in selling your home, you stand to get a great price for it in view of the demand.
While rising prices lead some people to hang on to their homes to see how high housing prices will go, many real estate analysts point out that the market is poised for the housing bubble to burst. As evidenced by the 2008 housing crisis in the US, homeowners might find themselves stuck with a property that they are unable to sell because they waited too long.
In addition, a dearth of homes on the market makes it difficult for downsizers to find new homes. Mobile Boomers may find themselves in bidding wars with Millennials for smaller, more affordable single-family homes. What has once considered a starter home is often a rancher style that accommodates older buyers who want or need one-floor living.
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Problems With New Housing
A lack of housing in some areas is causing many potential buyers to look at new housing, which is costly. More affluent older homeowners may be sitting on substantial equity in their homes, which puts them in a better position to buy new condos and single-family homes, but many younger families can only afford new real estate by getting loans from their Boomer parents.
Ironically, even for more established homeowners, single-story housing is often not available. Many governmental entities prefer to zone areas for high-concentration properties rather than low-slung single-family homes.
Looking to sell your home? Give me a call today. When you are buying or selling a home, don’t waste time. Give me a call for experience, market knowledge, correct pricing, and a sincere interest in helping you fulfill your real estate goals. If you are ready to sell your home for maximum value, the best place to start is by clicking here and scheduling an appointment.
Roy Thomas SRES® (Senior’s Real Estate Specialist) is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group Professional Realty. Since 1991, Roy specializes in helping retirees with their later in life real estate transactions. Call Roy at 902-497-3031 or contact Roy here
Are you a baby boomer or senior ready to make a housing change? You might be interested to know that you are part of a growing trend in Canada. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), nearly half of all Canadians are retirees or baby boomers approaching retirement.
Among real estate agents in Canada and the US, Senior Real Estate Specialists (SRES) are a growing category of professionals that I am proud to count myself among.
Whether you realize it or not, handling real estate transactions requires unique expertise, as not all listings and purchases are one-size-fits-all. People move in and out of different types of housing based on their need for size, space, amenities, convenience, and a host of other factors.
Just as a young couple or a young, growing family just starting out have certain housing needs, older homeowners do as well. An agent with the SRES designation is equipped to serve this niche market.
Understanding The Senior Housing Market
What’s different about the senior market? While some seniors continually seek single-family housing, a growing number of sellers in this demographic want to downsize to a condo that they buy or even an apartment, senior housing community or assisted living facility that they rent.
An agent who works with seniors is happy to serve as a counselor who offers guidance about preparing the house for sale and then listing it, even if the client may not want assistance with an additional purchase.
Many senior clients seek assistance because they have no family or friends available to help them evaluate the best housing choice for them or to assist in developing a plan for decluttering, repairing, and selling their home.
Taking this step is hard for most people, as moving on can be hard to cope with. An SRES understands the psychological toll that seniors pay when they divest themselves of the family home or surrender their independence to move into assisted living. While a real estate agent can’t give legal or detailed financial advice, he or she can offer a few basics, along with referrals to the experts they need.
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“Preparing to Downsize” Report
Why Work With An SRES?
Senior real estate specialists offer several benefits to their clients. These include:
Clear communication
An SRES will demystify industry terms and current practices so that a senior client who may not have bought or sold real estate for decades can understand how it’s done these days.
Great listening skills
Going back to the psychology mentioned above, an SRES is attuned to our clients’ needs, desires, and future plans so that he or she can make appropriate recommendations.
Professional connections
Seniors often need estate planners, attorneys, insurance agents, accountants, and social workers to offer the special expertise that a real estate professional cannot offer. Your SRES knows who to call.
Understand Seniors Needs
Real estate transactions can be tedious and stressful to clients, but an SRES is prepared to listen with understanding and patience from the initial consultation to the completion of the sale.
Market knowledge
Whether the next step for a baby boomer or retired client is a downsized single-family home, a condo, or various rental options, the SRES knows the local market. Based on the knowledge of a client’s situation, he will present a range of alternatives.
The goal of any real estate transaction is to help a client move onto the next stage of housing in their life. An SRES will help this come to pass in a manner that is kind, efficient, and timely.
Roy Thomas SRES® (Senior’s Real Estate Specialist) is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group Professional Realty. Since 1991, Roy specializes in helping retirees with their later in life real estate transactions. Call Roy at 902-497-3031 or contact Roy here
For many families, the death of a loved one is followed by family squabbling over possessions. In a previous blog, we discussed the importance of having a will, which should designate who inherits certain possessions. Today we will discuss ways to simplify the distribution of your property.
What Happens To Your Property When You Pass Away
When you die, your estate goes through the legal process known as probate, which may assess probate taxes and accrue legal fees. Having a will, with an executor in place, helps the process go smoothly. if you die intestate, without a will, the court appoints an executor, at greater cost to your estate.
With careful estate planning, you can get around most probate fees by designating beneficiaries on life insurance policies and registered investments, or holding your assets jointly with someone else, so that full ownership passes to them upon death.
If you specified how you want your property distributed, a court-appointed executor gives it to the next of kin after subtracting debts and fees owed to the court. A same-sex partner or significant other has no legal standing to receive your property.
A Will makes sure that your property goes to those you want to receive it. You can even specify that money goes to a favorite charity.
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If you own a considerable amount of property or other assets, you should hire a lawyer to ensure that your estate passes to your heirs with minimal taxes. For a simple estate, use a Will kit.
Simplifying Property Distribution
Your heirs may not like how things get distributed. If you own a large estate, families can argue over who gets small items that you own. Few Wills list every possession someone has.
Grieving family members may argue over a box of recipes, family photos, or a special vase you did not specifically bequeath to a child or other family member. How can you simplify your estate to prevent family drama after your death?
How can you simplify your estate to prevent family drama after your death? Below find a few tips to keep in mind.
– Routinely declutter your home, so that you own fewer possessions for your heirs to worry about. Before you donate or sell furnishings, ask your children or other family members if they want your items.
– Considering that many items in your home do not interest your kids or other heirs, do not hold on to things you don’t use.
– For other items of value, consider passing them along now so you can see them enjoying something that you love.
– To prevent arguments over heirlooms or other sentimental items, label them or at least make a list of who gets what.
– Keep your Will, power of attorney, and final wishes current.
Looking to sell your home? Give me a call today. Give me a call for experience, market knowledge, correct pricing, and a sincere interest in helping you fulfill your real estate goals.
Ready to sell your home for maximum value? Click here and schedule an appointment.
Roy Thomas SRES® (Senior’s Real Estate Specialist) is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group Professional Realty. Since 1991, Roy specializes in helping retirees with their later in life real estate transactions. Call Roy at 902-497-3031 or contact Roy here
Few people relish the thought of dying, yet you ultimately have no say as to whether you will die or the details of your demise – even if you try to extend your lifespan by healthy living and excellent medical care. You do have some control over what happens to your assets after your passing by having a current will.
Who Needs A Will
For younger people, having a will protects minor children or special needs family members who need a guardian if the parent dies; even you have no family obligations you want to continue to take care of, a will controls the disposition of property and other items in your estate and makes your final wishes known. Anyone who has children, property, possessions of value, or a business needs a will to make sure that your estate can be handled promptly with minimal administrative costs and probate taxes.
You should draft a power of attorney for someone to handle your affairs and one to appoint someone to make medical decisions if you are in an accident or become ill. If you have special preferences about your funeral or what you what do with your final remains, you should also make your wishes known in your will.
Request Your Complimentary Copy of My “Preparing to Downsize” Report
What Should Your Will Include?
The more complex your estate, the more likely you need to have a lawyer prepare a will and help you develop an estate plan. If you don’t have much, you can prepare your own will or draft something from LegalZoom or other online services. The requirements for a legal will are rather straightforward:
– The Will, must be in writing and must be dated and signed by you, preferably in the presence of two witnesses who are not beneficiaries.
– It should state what you want to be done with at least one of your possessions after death.
– Your Will also lists the person you want to be the executor of your estate, along with the names and addresses of your beneficiaries.
– You should list all your assets and where they’re located, including property, personal effects, jewelry, animals, investments, and designate what you want to be done with each of these assets. Sentimental items or heirlooms that you want to go to a specific person, you should list these in the will.
– If you have dependents, they will specify how you want them to be provided for.
– Your Will, should list all debts and the creditors you owe, as the estate will have to settle these debts before your assets are distributed to your heirs. Certain assets, such as life insurance distributions, go directly to the heir and need not go to clear debt.
Keep Your Will Current
Once you prepare a will, you should update it frequently to make sure it reflects your current situation and wishes. If, for example, you remarry, your Will, should specify whether your estate goes to your children or goes to provide for your spouse. If you acquire additional property, you Will, should specify who gets it.
Looking to sell your home? Give me a call today. When you are buying or selling a home, don’t waste time. Give me a call for experience, market knowledge, correct pricing, and a sincere interest in helping you fulfill your real estate goals. If you are ready to sell your home for maximum value, the best place to start is by clicking here and scheduling an appointment.
Roy Thomas SRES® (Senior’s Real Estate Specialist) is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group Professional Realty. Since 1991, Roy specializes in helping retirees with their later in life real estate transactions. Call Roy at 902-497-3031 or contact Roy here
Whether you plan on selling your home this spring or just want to clean it up, paring down your possessions is a freeing experience. With unused things removed, you can accommodate the grandchildren coming to visit.
The Easy Decisions
You may look around your home and quickly see the importance of getting rid of furniture that is worn out, mismatched, oversized, or no longer usable, but discarding potentially useful can be harder to justify for most people.
Undoubtedly, you know the logic behind donating clothes in your closet that you have not worn in the past year. Plenty of other things that can accumulate don’t seem such obvious stealers of your space, yet can overwhelm drawers, cabinets, closets, basements, storage spaces, and more.
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Small Space Guzzlers
Below find a quick list of items you may find in your household that contribute to clutter long after they have no useful life.
Plastic containers, particularly those without lids
Are your cupboards filled with old margarine tubs along with plastic storage products you have purchased? Many containers that you recycle like yogurt, cottage cheese, or margarine can be unsafe for microwave reheating.
Clear florist vases
If you have been a lucky recipient of gifts of flowers from friends, significant others, and family, you may have a slew of inexpensive, clear vases that take up needed space. Keep a couple if you must, but pass on the rest to a charity or yard sale table.
Plastic grocery bags
While having a few unripped bags on hand can be useful for lining wastebaskets they seem to multiply as quickly as old hangers. Take the extras to the recycling center, and the hangers to a thrift store.
Old media
Many thrift stores want nothing to do with outdated VHS tapes, although a recycling center might put them to good use. Even CDs and DVDs are less popular due to the prevalence of online streaming; only save what you anticipate you will use.
Old sheets and towels
Long after linens become too threadbare to use for their intended purpose, they may be useful for cleaning rags. They are still useful at pet shops and animal shelters.
Reading material
Years ago, you may have sacrificed to purchase a complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica or World Book, but these reference materials are now too outdated to be useful in this Internet age. Their fate may lie at a recycling center or a community center where they might be used for crafting. Donate other paperback bestsellers to a thrift store or give them away as freebies at a yard sale. Recycle old magazines.
Old makeup
Eye shadow, lotions, moisturizers, and other cosmetic products can develop bacteria once they are opened. While you might be lamenting how much you paid for the items, throw them out rather than developing an infection by using them.
Old spices
Besides taking up room in your cupboard, rows of old spices lose their flavor in time. Pitch old spices, 1 to 3 years for dried herbs, 2 to 3 years for ground spices, and 4 years for whole spices that have been kept in a dark, dry container.
Old condiments
Periodically rid your refrigerator of jars of partially used condiments, and toss out condiment packets you have saved from fast-food restaurants. Having a few packets of ketchup or Arby’s Horsey Sauce can be handy for lunches, but the packets can leak and dry out in time, especially after they have multiplied in a drawer.
Unnecessary kitchen paraphernalia
Specialty electrical appliances and bakeware that you only use once every couple of years take up valuable space in a small home and tie you down, even in a larger one. Pass on what you don’t use.
Get Ready For Your Next Stage Of Life
By ridding yourself of the 10 categories of items that are mentioned above, you will have more space, while not compromising the quality of your life. When it comes time for a life change, whether it means moving to a smaller home or devoting more time to travel, you will be happy you made the effort to get rid of what you don’t need.
Looking to sell your home? Give me a call today. When you are buying or selling a home, don’t waste time. Give me a call for experience, market knowledge, correct pricing, and a sincere interest in helping you fulfill your real estate goals. If you are ready to sell your home for maximum value, click here and schedule an appointment.
Roy Thomas SRES® (Senior’s Real Estate Specialist) is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group Professional Realty. Since 1991, Roy specializes in helping retirees with their later in life real estate transactions. Call Roy at 902-497-3031 or contact Roy here
When you list your home for sale, don’t overlook the importance of your exterior landscaping as a tool for increasing the volume of potential buyers and selling your home more quickly.
In real estate, while you can’t always “tell a book by its cover,” having a home with curb appeal is more likely to get people to request an appointment after seeing it on a website or from a drive-by. A home that looks neat and inviting from the outside is likely to be the same way inside.
Landscaping Upgrades That Add Resale Value
Just as with other upgrades you do to your home before the sale, you should not go crazy with exterior landscaping or add features with the questionable resale value, such as a pool, water feature, or a large garden. You want to present property that is well-maintained and attractive, while not seeming overly difficult to maintain.
As a result, planting some colorful flowers, adding a hanging basket to the porch, upgrading the exterior doors, refurbishing an existing deck or adding a new one, and playing an attractive stone walkway may be well worth the money in resale value and speed of sale.
According to Carson Arthur, a landscaping designer, often seen on TV home shows, great landscaping can increase a home’s value by 7%, which amounts to $42,000 on the $600,000 home. Patios may add a 12% return, while decks, especially low to no maintenance types, have a 10% to 15% rate of return. An awning, pergola, or even a tree that offer backyard shade might increase your home value by $2,000-$3,000 each. In general, adding trees, a bench in your front yard, a stone walkway or driveway, and attractive plantings are among the key upgrades that pay off.
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Managing Exterior Landscaping
If you are selling your home because you are no longer able to keep it up as you like, the whole concept of exterior landscaping may be overwhelming. Given the extra value that great landscaping can add to your home, hiring someone to do the work will be well worth your investment. If you are up to it, putting some effort into the outside of your home can be the perfect closure for transitioning to a new place.
Any home will benefit from neatly trimmed lawns, gardens, and shrubs, along with a patch of color. If you don’t have much to spend on updating a moderately priced home, hiring a neighborhood kid to clean up the area, cut your grass, and plant some flowers might offer the boost you need. If you have a higher-end home where you are hoping to extract maximum value, or if your landscaping is outdated and out of shape, you should go to the next level of hiring a landscape designer or landscape architect to plan out your improvements. A professional will be able to suggest the proper plantings and upgrades and even do them in an eco-friendly way that appeals to many modern buyers.
Ask Me About Curb Appeal
If you are ready to sell your home and wonder whether your property needs more curb appeal, give me a call for an honest assessment as to what you need to do before we list your home.
Looking to sell your home? Give me a call today. When you are buying or selling a home, don’t waste time. Give me a call for experience, market knowledge, correct pricing, and a sincere interest in helping you fulfill your real estate goals. If you are ready to sell your home for maximum value, the best place to start is by clicking here and scheduling an appointment.