Too Much House
The “GI” Generation Born 1901-1924, The “Silent Generation” Born 1925-1945, and The “Baby-Boomer Generation” Born 1945-1965 have seen your family grow up where many move out of the house and out of the area. Some are still at home. You want a smaller home, see the value of your home now and can take advantage of proposition 60, proposition 90 tax benefits, or a reverse mortgage. Mostly, you are getting tired of maintaining such a big house.
Safety and health forthcoming health issues.
Physical ailments such as knee or back problems make it difficult to climb stairs in a two-story, so a one-story home may be more practical. A trade-off solution is to buy a townhouse with easy upkeep, a condo, or move into an assisted living housing location that has all of the amenities close-by and everything on one level.
Retirement.
Active-adult communities are attracting many buyers like yourself over the age of 55. These planned communities have golf courses, club houses, workout facilities, week-end social gatherings, back-yard barbecue parties and more, all designed for people over 55 where there is commonality and peace and quiet. I can recommend communities and promise you I will steer you in the right direction because I care about you.
Equity
Many homeowners like your self here in the Bay area have a lot of equity in your homes and would like to use that. Some have even decided to sell, downsize, and get a reverse mortgage and open up an “Equity Line of Credit” that will earn you 2-3% a year and end up as a great savings down the road. Some would rather take all of the cash and have some fun.
See your family more often or see less often
Perhaps you want to be closer to your family and will move to be near relatives. Parents you want to be near your children and as grandparents and great grandparents you want to witness the grandchildren start their little lives. Perhaps it would be best to put more distance between you and family. Maybe you want to move out of state to keep harmony within the family. There have been studies that time allowed dysfunctional and fractured families to blossom after being separated so that we can reevaluate our actions to be more of a cohesive family and communicate our love we yearn.
Too Small of a House
First-time home buyers often outgrow their “starter” homes or condos and need the extra square footage. Increased family size is the main reason home owners say they need a larger home.
Bay Area Neighborhood changes
You recall kids playing in the streets, people talking face to face, and waving hello or goodbye. Now it is mute. The community is safer but just not the same. Now, the whole culture (or lack of culture) has changed things considerably. The neighborhood cosmetics might have changed for the best, economically or physically but socially it is sterile. For example, maybe everyone has a dog but nobody has kids and the only time that they talk is if you have a dog otherwise it is mute. Maybe the next-door neighbors who don’t even acknowledge you receive visitors at odd hours of the day or the other neighbor hung sheets over their windows and never takes care of their home.
It is a BIG World
Tired of owning a home and would prefer to travel, pursue a hobby or break free and explore the outer world and your inner self. Home ownership loses its priority to some and turns into the ticket for realizing dreams. If this is you, let us talk because I have traveled all over the world and would like to share with you.
The American Way Upgrade
You are longing for a bigger, more expensive and grander, upscale home because you have the resources and you work hard for it. It’s the American way period.
Fix a Purchase Mistake while values are UP
You believe you made a mistake when purchasing your present home and want to rectify that mistake because you bought prematurely in a competitive market just so that you could own a home. Maybe you thought you could get by without a back yard but yearn to garden, or the dining room in the center of the house annoys you, or you no longer enjoy the planes flying overhead as you write a check to pay your mortgage.
Job Opportunity or Transfer
We live in a very transient area and there are heavy demands to stay employed. Relocation makes it necessary to pick up and move. If the commuting distance exceeds your desire, maybe you would prefer not to spend two hours in traffic every day.
Personal Relationships
Moving in with a partner or getting married can mean one of you may need to sell, especially if you both owned homes prior to the commitment. On the other hand, unfortunately break-ups cause owners to sell as well for three basic reasons:
- One party may need to buy out the other and not have the cash available.
- The home may not be affordable to sustain on one person’s income.
- The home holds bad memories, making a fresh start desirable.
Maintenance
Maybe you don’t want to put on a new roof, replace the siding or buy a new furnace, so it’s easier to buy a newer home. When you figure the life of most home systems is about 15 years, it could make sense to get out before everything goes haywire.However, some enjoy fixing up the house and selling, spending time, money and effort on remodeling, and once the work is completed, become restless because there is nothing left to do. Some of you may call these people obsessed, but for some, it’s a way to maintain balance while mastering a hobby.
Deceased
As we rise, we must fall. Sometimes it is for the best to relocate and start living again after we have gone through our mourning period. It is healthy to get up and out so that we can experience a new paradigm in life. Sometimes it is just too hard to function in the same house and we have to leave to give ourselves a boost.
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