Have You Been Thinking About the Future and Considering Relocation?

Now is the time to start researching your "Exit Strategy". Between the weather and the economy, we hear many people talking about moving out of the area. 

We've been seeing a trend over the last few years of people relocating out of the area due to the high cost of living; especially property taxes. We have helped many clients sell their homes and move to locations throughout the U.S., quite often to the Carolinas and Florida. What's interesting about this current group of clients is their age. While it used to be that we'd see older residents moving out after retirement, we now see younger people in their 40's and 50's making the move. Many want to move soon after their children have completed high school or graduated college. 

We council many clients to start thinking of what we call an "exit strategy". We enjoy sitting down with our clients to completely map out the steps they need to take over the next several years to achieve their goal. For instance, depending on the time-frame, we discuss real estate market trends, what condition their current home is in, improvements that make sense and locations they would consider moving to. We tell our clients that its considerably less stressful to think about their "exit strategy" early on and to discuss these points; this allows plenty of time to research and talk through all options and not having to rush into any decision.

So, do you have an "Exit Strategy"? What is your time frame? Is it 2, 3 or 4 years until you'd like to move? Does it make financial sense to complete those big ticket renovations in your home such as a new bathroom, roof or a new boiler? Should you paint or pull up carpet to re-do hardwood floors? If maintenance is properly scheduled, you will get the enjoyment out of a few years with that new kitchen. Then you will also receive the additional money based on a higher selling price at the time of selling the home. Many buyers in today's market are paying a premium for homes that have been updated. Your home will appeal to a larger group when it's updated and it does not appear that the trend is going to stop any time soon.

We recently listed a house for our client, having met them over a year ago. At that time we were able to give them some pointers about what to do to make it more appealing to buyers, once they were ready to sell. We see this trend even extending to bank-owned properties; banks are now contracting to have kitchens and baths updated on properties in foreclosure, rather than selling in an "as is" condition.

We also have a huge network of qualified professional real estate agents all around the country that we can refer you to. We are able to call someone on the spot to get you regional and local information to help you to make an informed decision on where to relocate. We have even worked with clients that have decided to buy a retirement home now while they have the income to qualify for a mortgage. It's all part of an "exit strategy" that can be worked out in advance. We are here to help!

You may hear from us during the next year as we are reaching out to our home owning contacts to touch base. Let us know what your plans are.....we are totally confident we can help you!  Margaret "Peggy" Shea, Associate Real Estate Broker & Gary Leogrande, Real Estate Broker 914.761.7878