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NOR’WEST NEWS Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz Thursday <strong>March</strong> <strong>11</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 15 RAY WHITE PAPANUI NEWS Top Tips For Downsizing Your children have left home and they’re now hell-bent on living their own exciting lives. The once noisy family house where you’ve lived for 20 odd years shrieks with memories of kids playing and arguing – while simultaneously featuring echoingly empty rooms and extraordinary silence. Yes, it’s the time of your life you never thought would come: downsizing to a smaller place, and possibly a smaller town. But this move doesn’t necessarily have to be scary and sad. Firstly…three important points to consider when downsizing, especially if it’s to a new area, are nice weather and proximity to a hospital and family. At the very least, ensure you’re close to a large town with an airport so that family can visit or stay with you if you need assistance at any time. Ideally, visit the town or holiday there before moving and while doing this, check local real estate prices. Does this new place tick all your boxes when it comes to your preferred lifestyle, budget and health? Are you a sociable person who loves to get involved with the community? If so, an isolated town won’t suit. Either way, it can take time to settle into another place and especially so if your health crumbles and you can no longer drive. Ask your children for ideas and advice too. Next...find a real estate agent. It may have been 20 years since you’ve sold or bought a house and plenty can change in the property market in that time! Plus, after all this time, you’ve got a strong emotional connection to your home. But try to put aside this connection when listing the property. It may be worth millions in memories to you but buyers won’t see it that way! Then there’s your hunt for a real estate agent – for both selling your family house and buying a downsizer. Aim to interview up to three agents or even better, ask for suggestions from friends and family. Well known companies can be the way to go but aim to target a specific agent rather than an agency as a whole. Pick a person who goes out of their way to go the extra mile for you. Packing up...your next home will have much less space, which is great as you’ll save money on maintenance. But as you start the massive task of packing up decades of bits and pieces, be aware some hard choices will need to be made about what to keep and discard. Firstly, tell your kids that any items they still have at the family home need to be picked up ASAP. Then start thinking less is more and better! The more you throw away now, the less cash you’ll need to spend on removalists. On this note, packing up yourself instead of having removalists do this will ensure you’re only taking articles that are 100% necessary. Tell your kids about any objects you’re planning to throw away as they may want them. But for anything neither they or you want to keep, take a trip to an op shop and give away the objects or Residential Tenancies Amendments Act 2020 When do the new rues apply? With the new Residential Tenancies Amendments Act 2020 now well under way I thought that over the next few issues I would break the main changes down for you to give you some understanding of how they impact tenancies. As I have said many times, ensuring you are up to date with the changes is one thing, ensuring you understand them is even more important and even those of us who have been in the industry for a very long time are having to clarify several points with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. So, let’s start with what tenancies the new legislation affects as there is a lot of confusion out there. The rule of thumb is – If the tenancy is a Fixed Term which began prior to <strong>11</strong> February <strong>2021</strong> then the old rules apply. If the tenancy began on or after <strong>11</strong> February <strong>2021</strong> then the amendments are in force. However, if the tenancy is a Periodic Tenancy they automatically revert to the new rules. We were not sure if an existing tenancy which is extended after <strong>11</strong> February <strong>2021</strong> would revert to the new rules, or stay on the same rules, however it has just been clarified that any renewal or extension, even if there are no other variations (like a rent increase), will still be classed as a variation to the initial tenancy and therefore will revert to the new rules. Essentially this will mean that most tenancies will revert to the new legislation over the next 12 months. Of course, the importance of understanding alternatively, organise a garage sale and sell them there. At your new house...It’s not unusual for people to sell their current home while not having bought another one. In this case, you might want to rent for a short period while you search for your dream downsizer. It can mean paying extra money in rent but it also gives you a chance to explore the region and find exactly the right place to suit you. Depending on the size of the rental, you may also be able to cram your family furniture and other bits and pieces into a spare room while you’re house hunting, which will save cash on storage space. Above all else, enjoy your different lifestyle as a downsizer – and if you’ve moved to the beach or bush, don’t be surprised at your newfound popularity with your children, especially during the holidays! Content originally appeared on The Real Estate Voice Vanessa Golightly, Business Owner and Licensee Agent Ray White Papanui 027 664 9292 when the new rules apply to existing tenancies is so that you are aware of the required notice periods you can give tenants to end a tenancy and whether you need to adhere to the new, or old rules. Confused? If you find this all a little hard to get your head around, as always, please feel free to contact me. Next time I will talk about what the new notice periods under the Amendments Act are. Katrina Green, Operations Manager Property Management 027 606 0030 Vanessa Golightly Licensee Agent & Business Owner 027 664 9292 Stuart Morris Licensee Agent & Auctioneer 027 422 6395 Tracy Thomson Licensee Salesperson 027 440 3035 Estelle Schuurman Property Manager Claire Morris Licensee Agent & Business Owner 027 662 4822 Katrina Green Operations Manager Property Management 027 606 0030 Olivia Hendry Executive Assistant Richie Eggelton Property Assistant Feature Properties Sold Properties Joy Coughlan Mortgage Broker 027 223 3572 Cassidy Sprott Property Management Assistant 173 Idris Road, Strowan Vanessa Golightly 14 McKellar Place, Hornby Tracy Thomson 52 John Campbell Crescent, Hillmorton Vanessa Golightly 20A Forth Street, Richmond Vanessa Golightly Level 1, 7 Winston Avenue, Papanui Phone (03) 352 0567 | rwpapanui.co.nz | /RayWhitePapanui Morris & Co Limited | Licenced REAA 2008
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