The Downsizing (again)

And so it begins...

We signed the papers to list our property with a Realtor this morning.

At first, we were convinced to try and sell it ourselves - there are all kinds of resources (and companies) around that will help with the process - Propertyguys.com comes to mind. We spent a lot of time wondering about this, but in the end decided to pay significantly extra and hire someone who does this for a living.

I feel that the real estate business has been as resistant to change, and had a strangle hold on the MLS system for decades. But today you can list on MLS yourself, hire a notary public yourself for all the legal stuff, take your own photos, guide your own open houses, and negotiate your own deals.

But we want none of that. In a declining market like we have here in Vancouver (plus two other properties in the same complex for sale for significantly less than we would want) it's no time for amateur hour. And we would be amateur hour.

Maybe we'll sell ourselves next time. But I don't think there will be a next time.

Owning versus Renting

I've run countless spreadsheets over the last few weeks, and have maintained a very diligent "net worth" process over the last two decades. And the numbers just don't lie.

Although we've made money with several of the houses we've owned, there are several where we didn't. We didn't lose a lot, and we probably lived for less than what it would have cost for rent. Or did we?

Today there's three factors that we considered:

1. Even if we made a profit, we probably didn't make any money on the house. Likely not as much as if we had access to the invested cash. We know that the house is a home, and that it's important to have a home, but people in the rest of the world have homes too, and they rent. So we think at this stage of our lives, renting is the future.
2. The boomers are not getting younger. All the homes we'll want to downsize out of tomorrow will be bought by ..... who? Not our kids ... they can't afford it. There's only so many people in SE Asia that want to buy in Port Coquitlam. We think we're getting out before the mad rush to sell.
3. We're willing to pay for flexibility and freedom. Owning a home ties you down. Owning in a Strata lets you out of the maintenance aspect of a home - but you pay for it. Time to opt out.

The next job is to convince Laura that we don't need a car.....