Thinking of downsizing your property in Glasgow? You’re not alone. Hundreds of property owners in Glasgow downsize from their current homes each year for a variety of reasons, including:
- The rise in the cost of living expenses
- The children have moved out and the property is now unnecessarily big
- To unlock capital from an existing property
- A change of preference
Whatever your reason for downsizing might be, it’s a relevant one. So, if you’re thinking of downsizing your Glasgow home in the near future, read this article until the very end. We’re going to cover every little detail that is important for people considering downsizing.
Is Downsizing a Good Idea Overall?
Whether downsizing your Glasgow property is a good idea really depends on your current situation and the reason for downsizing. For instance, downsizing due to rising living costs is a great idea, as nobody should struggle with covering their living expenses. The stress of living in a property that you can’t or can just about afford is not worth it.
An example of when downsizing wouldn’t be a great idea is if you have the intent of spending the new unlocked capital (after the purchase of your new smaller home) and spending it on liabilities or assets that depreciate in value over time.
Things to Consider Before Downsizing
Before you pack your bags and list your property up for sale, there are several crucial things that you need to consider and find a solution to.
Can You Get a Good Price for Your Property at the Moment?
If you’re downsizing for financial reasons, it’s important to get your property valued properly. That way, you’ll see if selling your existing property and moving into a smaller one makes financial sense. Unless you absolutely have to, downsizing when the market is down is best avoided in the large majority of the cases.
How Much Do You Want to Downsize?
One of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make is how much you want to downsize. Generally speaking, depending on your current property, downsizing by around 20-40% is pretty standard. In simple terms, if you own a four-bedroom house, moving into a three or a two-bed would be pretty normal.
Please remember that if you like having a ton of space, moving into too small of a property can make you regret your choices down the line, which is something you definitely want to avoid.
Where Do You Want to Move to?
Before putting your property on the market, you need to decide on a place where you want to move to. This will largely depend on your needs and the reason for downsizing. For instance, for some people, it will make sense to sell a larger property, unlock the cash, and move into a smaller property that is worth the same money, but in a nicer part of the city.
Once you’re set on an area, you need to secure your new home. It’s crucial that you make the downsizing transition as smooth as possible so you don’t end up without a place to stay during the transition period.
What About All Your Belongings?
When downsizing, one of the things many people don’t consider is what they’re going to do with all of their belongings. Remember, when you move into a smaller space, you will have the same amount of belongings as you did in your larger property.
The last thing you want is to not be able to find a place for your existing furniture and other belongings overall. This can not only be extremely stressful, but it can make your home cluttered. It can also cause you to lose a ton of money if you decide to sell items that you can’t find space for in your new home.
How to Downsize Properly
When you have a clear path to downsizing, doing so is actually fairly simple. Below, we’ll outline a clear and simple path to downsizing from your existing property.
Decide Where You Want to Live Next
The first thing you need to do as part of your downsizing journey is to decide where you want to live. Once you’ve considered the pros and cons of an area and are happy to move forward, it’s time to start looking.
Find and Secure a Property
Finding a suitable property that you can downsize to can take some time. Here, it’s important not to rush the process as you want your future property to feel like home – just like it is with your current property. Once you’ve found a property that you like, it’s time to put down and offer and secure it.
Sell Your Current Property
Once you’ve found and have secured your new home, it’s time to sell your current property. Remember, depending on the market, this can take some time, so be prepared to wait a couple of months. That is if you follow the traditional property-selling process of course. In the final section of this article, we’ll let you know how we, at We Buy Any Home can help you downsize much faster.
Move to Your New Property
Once your current property is sold, it’s time to move into your new home. This can be a long and stressful process, but it’s a new beginning, and you should be happy for it.
How We Buy Any Home Can Help You Downsize
Selling your house fast in Glasgow can be quite tricky, especially if the demand is low and property prices are high. If you don’t want to go through the traditional property-selling process, which can take several months, at We Buy Any Home, we can help you sell your house fast and unlock the money locked in the property within days.
If you’re interested and would like to find out more about how we can do that, please get in touch with us today and one of our friendly team members will reach out to you.