Montague · Downsizing
Downsizing in Montague
The sale and the next place sequenced together, at a pace you set rather than one a calendar sets for you.
The Sorting Is What Actually Stalls This
In my experience the thing that holds up a move like this is almost never the market. It is the contents.
A property held a long time holds a long time's worth of things, and somewhere in the planning that becomes an obstacle large enough to postpone the whole idea for another year.
The useful thing to know is that very little of it has to happen first. A valuation does not need an emptied house. Photographs need rooms tidy, not bare. The real deadline for most of it is a closing date that does not exist yet.
Written down in order, it usually turns out to be far less daunting than it felt, and that one conversation unsticks more of these moves than anything else I do.
Where would you like to start?
And Deciding What Goes With the House
On the water here, some of what makes a property desirable is not the building, and that works in your favor on the way out.
The dock and the hoist. The pontoon or the kayaks. Furniture in a place used seasonally. Whatever is in the outbuilding. Buyers in this town often expect some of that included and will sometimes pay for it, which means a few things you were planning to deal with may be an asset rather than a problem.
Deciding early what stays and what comes with you is easier than deciding it under a deadline with a buyer waiting on an answer, and it occasionally changes the number.
In their words
In their words
Going with Tamara as our realtor was a fantastic decision! She is honest, calm, professional, and a fantastic listener. I would most definitely recommend her to anyone!
What I Do, in Both Directions
Two transactions meeting in the middle, worked at once rather than in sequence.
On the sale I establish which of the three waters it is, because White Lake, the White River and the Lake Michigan shore out along Old Channel Trail price differently, and I check usable frontage against the recorded number, depth at the dock and whether a dock is permitted, and what the house needs.
Then I write down the order things can happen in, so nothing is waiting on something that was never actually blocking it.
And a written report every week once it is listed.
More than $4 million in closed sales over my last twelve months, up from under a million the year before. I was born here and have lived here my whole life.
At Your Pace
There is no reason this has to be rushed, and good reasons to do it in an order that suits you rather than one a calendar sets.
More on the three waters is on the Montague area page, the full approach is at downsizing, and the number is at what your home is worth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to clear the house before anything can happen?
No, and believing you do is the single most common reason these moves get postponed another year. A valuation does not need an emptied house and photographs need rooms tidy rather than bare. Written down in order it is usually far less daunting than it feels.
What about the dock, the boat and the furniture?
Some of that may be worth more where it is. Buyers on this water often expect certain things included and will sometimes pay for them, so a few items you were dreading dealing with can be an asset instead. It is worth deciding early rather than under a deadline with a buyer waiting.
How long does a move like this usually take?
Longer than one transaction and entirely dependent on how the two are sequenced, which is the part worth planning rather than guessing at. I would rather fit your timeline than give you an average that turns out to mean nothing for your situation.
Montague
What downsizing looks like in Montague
Three waters in one town: White Lake and the channel, the White River, and Lake Michigan out along Old Channel Trail.
Most people searching Montague are picturing White Lake, and White Lake is a third of it. The White River flows into it and carries its own frontage, and a Montague address reaches west to Lake Michigan itself out along Old Channel Trail.
Those are three products with three sets of questions and three different buyers, so the first useful question here is never how much. It is which of the three you are actually after.
The method
How I do it in Montague
Downsizing: keep exploring
Ready to make your move with Tamara Hekkema?