Lower Mainland Living Blog

Recently we commented on a Vancouver Sun article indicating that there was a 53% growth in seniors deferring property taxes in the past four years.
 
This sparked the larger discussion, when is the best time for anybody to make a move? Just answering that question on the basis of market conditions is straight forward - the best time to buy is when there's lots of inventory of what you want and very few buyers. Conversely the best time to sell is when there's very little competition to what you own and lots of buyers. The only challenge, is its very difficult to accomplish both in the same market conditions!
 
This seniors’ article has us thinking about times we've heard people say, “ I'm never ever gonna move, they can carry me outta here in a box”. “They”, more often than not, are family members, who often live away, who now must deal with 50 years worth of stuff, get a property ready to sell and then possibly have to go through the probate process. Even prior to this, “they” could be dealing with an individual whose health really dictates not living on their own anymore. Perhaps the better approach and more considerate one for family, would be to downsize sooner, clean out the 50 years of stuff and invest excess equity to cover potential long term health care costs.
 
At other end of the spectrum there's the young couple starting a family while still living in a studio apartment. What they have done is put themselves in a position of needing to move and burdened themselves with the cost of not only the move but also the costs and responsibilities of the new family member. Ideally it would be better to make the move first, get settled, pay down debts and then start the family.

Many people are inclined to get themselves into situations, business and personal relationships, career paths, real estate and so on with no clear plan on where it is all heading, i.e. an exit plan. When parking a car, most drive straight into the parking stall, not thinking that when they leave they will be backing into the busy lane of traffic . Not only is it easier (if you understand the mechanics of a forklift ) to back into a parking spot, it is also much safer to drive forward out of it. Parking as a life metaphor – who would have thought?
 
We’ve been told by one expert that the best time to move is “when you want to”, yet in our experience, more people move on a “need to” basis. Our advice is, to make the move “when it’s right” for you – for your stage of life – for your finances – for your family. Sure, the market could be up, down or flat, but there are effective buying and selling strategies for all markets.
 
It is really about having that long term “exit plan” – where do I want to be in 10, 15, 20, 50 years? And the timing of the move should fit into that plan
 
We’re happy to share our experience over a coffee, so please feel free to get in touch – and oh, for gosh sakes, start backing into the parking spaces of life!

Here is a link to the original Vancouver Sun article on Property tax deferrals by seniors. 

Regards, 

Dan and Sue Bennett
604-250-5227 / 604-250-4424
www.lowermainlandliving.com