Do you or someone you know live in the Ottawa area and are interested in learning more about what's involved in being an Executor, what resources are available to assist and how to navigate the various related tasks? If so, join Barry Gordon of Gordon's Downsizing & Estate Services, Antoine Rempp of Rempp Financial along with a variety of other estate related professionals for an informative FREE workshop entitled "Executor, The hardest job you never applied for..." March 27 in Kanata or April 24 in Barrhaven @ 6pm. Complete details can be found in the flyer below. Register at www.ExecutorExperts.com.

We hope to see you there! 

You’ve decided it’s time to downsize and begin to think about your next home. Where do you start your research? Typically our clients choose to move to one of the following: smaller home, a condo, seniors apartment, active adult lifestyle community or a retirement residence. Below are some suggestions and resources to help you research and narrow down your options.

When is the right time to downsize? The facts are that according to the 2016 Canadian census, 6.5% of seniors 65 years and older live in nursing or senior’s retirement residences. Not surprisingly, this figure jumps to 30% of Canadians 85 years and older. In addition, due to improved health, longer life expectancies, and the proliferation of home care options and community support services for seniors (you can visit a Mosaic Community Resource Centre to obtain details on these), about 55% of Canadians 55 years or older indicate that they intend on remaining in their homes as long as possible. So what does all this mean?

We’ve all heard stories of the garage sale that served up a $250,000 painting for a dollar. Anytime the downsize or estate settlement process takes place without the involvement of an Appraiser, the risk of losing potentially valuable things forever goes up. The fact is, that the vast majority of people downsizing or managing an estate are told to throw out hundreds of items averaging $50-$100 in value because the team of experts they’ve hired to guide them through the processes don’t include specialists who are qualified in personal property valuation. Just like you don’t hire a plumber to fix your car or a mechanic to build you a house, unless the professionals you partner with to assist with your downsize or estate settlement projects are appropriately qualified, you could be missing out on unrealized value.

At Gordon’s Downsizing and Estate Services we are passionate about educating on downsizing related topics. Our team members speak at engagements all over Ontario to those interested in: downsize planning, move management, supporting loved ones through a downsize, retirement living, estate management, real estate considerations when downsizing and contents appraisals.

One of the popular themes of these speaking engagements is downsize planning because it is the key for remaining in control when it comes time to downsize. As French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

The move management industry has evolved greatly since it’s inception approximately 20 years ago. Move Managers are professionals trained in working with people, in particular seniors, who are transitioning to a new phase of their lives either via downsizing and moving to new accommodations or aging in place. Move managers help their clients navigate the emotional, physical and logistical challenges of making stage of life transitions. They help manage the preparation for and logistics of a move: including sorting, organizing, coordinating and overseeing move related logistics, and managing the dispersal of additional items that the person moving no longer needs either to friends or family, donation, or disposal as required.

Watch the video below for a summary of Gordon's approach to move management. 

When deciding how to manage the real estate aspect of your downsize or of an estate, you can consider three options:

1. For Sale by Owner

2. Traditional Real Estate Agent

3. Integrated Real Estate & Transition Specialist

When taking on the Estate Trustee role, should you “Do It Yourself” or hire third party partner(s) to help manage your responsibilities? The answer to this depends on a lot of factors about you and about the estate in question. It is important to do a little self discovery and situational analysis before deciding which path to choose. Here are some factors to consider when making your decision:

Imagine you've found the house you want, and it's perfect for you and your family. You examine the house, talk to the owners, think it over, and decide how much you will offer.

Surely, at this late stage there will be no surprises right? 

This is a question I get from time to time - typically when an estate or downsize seller has a familiarity or a relationship with one or more real estate agents already. The fact that a client has been considering agent 1 or 2 for awhile is not a surprise. With what some say is over 48,000 agents in the GTA alone, most people know at least one.

And with the vast majority of real estate advertising being spent on agent promotion - rather than property promotion, it is not uncommon to get the impression that only a select few in your community can get the job done right. Fair thought.