<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Smith and Joans</title>
	<atom:link href="http://smithandjoans.com/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://smithandjoans.com</link>
	<description>Shrinking Homes</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2020 03:31:49 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en-US</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.37</generator>
	<item>
		<title>At What Age Should Seniors Downsize?</title>
		<link>http://smithandjoans.com/at-what-age-should-seniors-downsize/</link>
		<comments>http://smithandjoans.com/at-what-age-should-seniors-downsize/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2020 03:22:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[smithJOANS]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://smithandjoans.com/?p=126</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you feel like you’ve put your retirement plans in place? Selling your house too early could have some devastating consequences. Again, hanging on for too long may haunt you for many years to come. There isn’t really an exact &#8230; <a href="http://smithandjoans.com/at-what-age-should-seniors-downsize/">Continued</a>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Do you feel like you’ve put your retirement plans in place? Selling your house too early could have some devastating consequences. Again, hanging on for too long may haunt you for many years to come. There isn’t really an exact age at which you should downsize. However, watch out for the following indicators.</p>
<p><b>When the market is in favor of sellers</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sustained growth in home prices over several years is the number one indicator of downsizing. You know it’s time to scale down when the market trends are in favor of home sellers. When you sell at this opportune moment, your profit margins will be high. This works well when you’re able to determine the value of your home and how it fits in the larger local home market. </span></p>
<p><b>Timing with the local seasonal trends</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Buyer behavior tends to be favorable just around some specific seasonal trends. If you’re careful enough, you could tweak the time of selling your home to almost perfect timing. This </span><a href="https://www.homelight.com/blog/tips-for-selling-your-home/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">study</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> indicates that you could boost the profitability of your earnings up by 75% when you sell your house just at the right time. Not only that, but you also reduce your waiting time by several weeks that your house will take before the deal is closed. </span></p>
<p><b>When you feel that it’s a long unending stretch making ends meet</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Home insurance, household, maintenance, utilities, property tax, and private mortgage insurance make up some of the costs that can prove to be unbearable. To add to these, the funds you’ve set aside for the maintenance of the house are depleted and the condition of the house keeps getting worse. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You feel your finances are stretched to the limit and nothing that you do seems to work to alleviate the situation. When you start getting into your savings to maintain the house, then it’s time to downsize. </span></p>
<p><b>You’re able and ready to do a trade-up</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s always a thrilling feeling when the time is due to move to a bigger house. Selling your current home at the right time ensures you get a head start in paying for your new home. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Do you fit any or all of the above four descriptions? If yes, then it’s time to make the big decision. Don’t wait till it’s too late. Get a mortgage expert to walk you through this journey so that you don’t bypass any step that will cost you. </span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://smithandjoans.com/at-what-age-should-seniors-downsize/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What Does it Mean to Scale Back</title>
		<link>http://smithandjoans.com/what-does-it-mean-to-scale-back/</link>
		<comments>http://smithandjoans.com/what-does-it-mean-to-scale-back/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 29 Feb 2020 23:30:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[smithJOANS]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://smithandjoans.com/?p=120</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Scaling back in real estate refers to downsizing your home. This scenario arises when you have more housing space than you need. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean cramping your lifestyle. The following are the signs that it is about time &#8230; <a href="http://smithandjoans.com/what-does-it-mean-to-scale-back/">Continued</a>]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scaling back in real estate refers to downsizing your home. This scenario arises when you have more housing space than you need. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean cramping your lifestyle. The following are the signs that it is about time you scaled down.</span></p>
<p><b>Sign #1: Retirement </b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scaling down is one of the wisest decisions you could ever make when planning on retirement. You want to do everything to ensure that you remain on top of your finances even when you have no active source of income. Scaling down reduces maintenance expenses thus lowering your utilities. </span></p>
<p><b>Sign #2: Too much rarely used space </b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At some point, you had a bigger family and every room in the house was in use. But now time seems to have moved so fast, your children are all grown and have moved out. You walk around and can’t help but notice the unused and dusty rooms that you probably haven’t entered for years. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chances are that you hold a very tight emotional attachment to these, but it’s time to let go. Tough decision to make but it’s worth it. </span></p>
<p><b>Sign#3: The season is ripe to sell your home</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Good timing does a lot of good in ensuring that you boost your profit margins. Watch out and follow the home market trends to know the trends that favor the seller just when the market is at its peak. During such time, the value of your home could be as high as 75% of the original cost of the home. Here, the principle is quite simple; buy low, sell high. </span></p>
<p><b>Sign #4: Making travel arrangements </b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Are you planning to spend less time at home? If so, then there’s no need to have too much space that will be lying idle. Get a smaller home so that you get an upper hand in keeping maintenance costs to the lowest possible level. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scaling down is not a bad thing and instead, works to grant you the freedom you need to live a fulfilling life. Connect with a reliable real estate and mortgage expert for professional assistance. This will ensure that you have access to all the resources you need and financial help. </span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://smithandjoans.com/what-does-it-mean-to-scale-back/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
