Downsizing Buyer: Step 2

Step 2: Choosing an Option?

Down-sizing Buyer: Step 2

Again, It is likely you have thought about this question in advance, but before choosing an option that will suit your situation best. You will need to complete 1 Task from both sides first (BUY side & SELL side). Each providing valuable information that will help to determine which Option is best for you. Both of these Tasks have been included below along with items to consider with each option.

We will begin this process by preforming a 2 Part Market Analysis. This will determine a value for your current home!
Part 1: For this 1^st appointment… I will schedule a time to visit with you at your property to walk the grounds both inside and out. During this walk-through, I will take a number of photos (only for reference sake), and talk to you about any changes (good or bad), updates, or renovations that may have taken place during your time of owning this property. The 1^st appointment will last between 20 to 40 mins on average.
Part 2: For our 2^nd appointment… I like to schedule a ZOOM call (online video/screen sharing service) to discuss all of the information gathered during Part 1 and present all of my findings. This will be done through a detailed & comprehensive Analysis of your home. The 2nd appointment will last between 1 to 1.5 hours on average.
The reason for the 2^nd appointments longer length is that we will be discussing several other topics beyond just the value of your home.

Marketing strategies
Commissions & other fees associated with selling your home!
Repairs OR items to update.
Touch on: Timelines/expectations (Info. gathered from seller questionnaire)
Disclosures/inspections.
Cleaning & staging
Photo shoot & sign installation
Once this meeting is over. Clients are given a few days to talk amongst themselves before determining how they would like to proceed?
The value determined for the sellers home and whether or not they own it outright will may also heavily factor into how this decision is made this time around

Knowing the value of your home AND (IF you own it outright) can provide you with the freedom to choose
Having access to large retirement accounts or assets giving you the option to choose once again by paying Cash for your next home
Being introduced OR re-introduced you one of our preferred Lenders via email. Here, you will be asked to fill out an online application. Although this application may be similar in some ways to past experiences: pulling credit, collecting documentation, etc. You may now be living off of a fixed income, passive income, or social security. All of which will have a major impact on what direction you may want to take with this next purchase.

Once your application has been submitted & you have been pre-approved.You will receive a call from the lender to review your GFE (Good Faith Estimate) and talk through your New monthly payments as well as any Existing monthly payments if any on your current home.

In this option Time is on your side. This means you will have longer to identify your next property and far less pressure to feel the need to simply purchase for the sake of purchasing. You may also use this time to start to organize your personal belongings, pair back on furniture, kitchen essentials, OR even yard equipment (if you plan to purchase a condo or townhome)
Depending on what information was gathered from above for both the sell and buy sides. You may have speak with your financial planner (about accessing retirement funds) OR with a lender (about taking out a bridge loan or equity line).
It is worth noting that as a buyer at this point in time in your life it is going to feel very different and more time may be needed between each step.

Unlike a move-up buyer. This option frankly just is explored far less often as a downsizing buyer. The same things are still true about this option. i.e. TIME is not on your side, you would feel added pressure to find something more quickly and it may result in planning for short term living arrangement or a placing your personal belongings into storage.
However, What makes this option different as a downsizing buyer is that there is a much higher likelihood of equity in your existing home and/or assets/savings in retirement accounts that you can access.
Thus, more often than not downsizing buyers take advantage of these differences and tend to lean towards Option A. If that is not the case than many

If choosing Option A, simply Click the button below and you will continue on to Step 3 of the Downsizing Buyer Process.
If choosing Option B, simply Click the button below and a new window will appear as you are redirected to Step 3 of the Downsizing Home Seller Process