Downsizing, is it worth it?

Why am I doing this?

I’m still asking this question since I started the roller coaster ride of moving house after 30 years. And roller coast ride it feels like, with all the ups and downs of finding and buying an apartment. The upheaval of giving up my home, moving and storing a family’s 30 years of bits and pieces. And most unexpected – having to go actually go back to a bank for finance: coming to grips with terms like bridging finance, relocation finance, line of credit.

Surprisingly, the answer to the “why move “ is now revealing itself after some interesting twists and turns. It needs a leap of faith to move from a comfortable home, with expansive gardens and located in a quiet, appealing area. Hence the “”big plunge””, which for me symbolises some of the psychology involved in making this kind of decision. Much could be said about that process, which for me - a controlling, security conscious type, has been something of a revelation.

As well as the decision to give up a home and move to an apartment, have come a lot of other hard questions.

Do I sell my home first - then buy something? So much advice has been given to me about this: the most prudent course, always sell first. But that has it’s risks too.

What did we do? Bought first. Decided to sell later. That has financial risks.

And lot’s of other questions. What sort of apartment? How do we choose the right area. How do you know what’s good value? How do you know you’re negotiating a good price. How much is my own house worth? Will it cover the purchase? Will I be able to afford bridging finance? What happens if I don’t sell my place?

And we haven’t even moved in. What it’s going to be like living in an apartment after so many years in a house?

I wonder who else has travelled down this path already, or is about to take the plunge?