Twin Lake · Downsizing
Downsizing in Twin Lake
The sale and the next place sequenced together, at a pace you set rather than one a calendar sets for you.
The Numbers Can Work Better Here Than People Expect
Around these lakes there is a genuine range of property, which means a move that reduces what you are spending does not have to mean giving up being near water.
Where there is real equity in the place you are selling, two things can happen that people rarely plan for. The next property can be bought with a much smaller loan, and in some situations without one. And the monthly cost can fall twice over, once on the payment and again on the tax bill, since a lower assessed value generally means lower property taxes year after year.
Whether that is available to you depends entirely on your numbers, and it is worth establishing early rather than assumed in either direction. That is a conversation for your lender and your tax adviser. What I can tell you is what the property you are selling is realistically worth, which is where it all starts.
Where would you like to start?
But Check What You Are Buying Reaches the Water
There is a local trap worth knowing before you fall for something smaller.
Some parcels around these lakes touch the water and others reach it over a shared easement, a deeded right or a walking trail, and all of them get described in the same words. They carry different rights and they are worth materially different money.
If part of the point of the move is being near the water, that difference is not a technicality. It is the thing you are buying, and it is the one thing no photograph will settle for you.
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 that have to meet in the middle, so both ends get worked at once.
On the purchase I walk the route to the water and time it rather than estimating, and I read whether the right is deeded, an easement or an association membership. On the sale I price your current property properly rather than optimistically, because the whole plan rests on that number being real.
And a written report every week once it is listed, so you are never guessing about where things stand.
More than $4 million in closed sales over my last twelve months, up from under a million the year before.
At Your Pace
Tell me what you are actually trying to achieve, whether that is a smaller payment, less to look after, or money freed up for something else, and the right move follows from it.
More on the lakes is on the Twin Lake area page, the full approach is at downsizing, and the number comes first at what your home is worth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I spend less and still be near the water here?
Often, because there is a real range of property around these lakes rather than one price band. What varies enormously is how a given property actually reaches the water, so the saving is real but the thing you are buying needs checking rather than assuming from a listing.
Would the sale cover the next place outright?
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on your numbers rather than on a rule. A much smaller loan is a common outcome. Whether buying without one is available to you is a question for your lender and your tax adviser; what I can give you is an honest value on what you are selling, which is where the arithmetic starts.
Does a smaller place mean a smaller tax bill?
Generally a lower assessed value means lower property taxes, and that saving repeats every year rather than once. How it works out for your specific situation is a question for your tax adviser, and it is worth asking before you decide rather than after.
Twin Lake
What downsizing looks like in Twin Lake
Several connected lakes and a quiet town, where the real question is whether a parcel touches the water or reaches it over shared ground.
Twin Lake itself is two lakes rather than one, and there is Middle Lake, West Lake and Big Blue Lake, the deepest inland lake in Muskegon County, with smaller ones between them. They are a short drive apart and they are not interchangeable.
Some parcels run down to the water and others reach it over a shared easement or a walking trail. Both get advertised as lake access, they carry different rights, and no photograph tells you which one you are looking at. I walk the route and I time it.
The method
How I do it in Twin Lake
Downsizing: keep exploring
Ready to make your move with Tamara Hekkema?