Cottage Wise

You want to buy a cottage or retirement home?


You want a large family monster you can fill with comfortable sofas and grandchildren and that enormous vintage dining table you saw last week in the antique store...

...and your partner wants a tiny, one bedroom elf house that isn't big enough to swing a cat in!

Help! 

I think it's time to sit down together and discuss the pros and cons and just what is it yer lookin' fer sweetheart? 


Let's talk about some of this stuff and I'm not going to do it all at once on ya either! 


Today's word is SIZE.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Look up size in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The word size may refer to how big something is. In particular:

• Measurement
• Dimensions: length, width, height, diameter, perimeter, area, volume

First of all, you need to figure out what size of house you'll need when you move. No, not where you want to live, because different locals offer different sizes of houses. You can't find a one bedroom cottage at a prestigious address just as you can't likely find a castle in a small lake village.  So you'd better figure out what size of habitat you'll require of compromise on.



Do you want to fill it with furniture or have no furniture to buy?
Do you have forty two grandchildren that will all come over at the same time and you need bedrooms instead of sleeping bags on the floor?
Do you want to spend all your time cleaning or can you afford a cleaning staff? Can you find cleaning staff in the area you think you're going to move to?
Does what you have now suite your lifestyle?
Are you capable of looking after the size you're looking for?


Size. It's always meant more to men than women, but it's the first step to take when relocating and you need to figure it out before looking for a home.

How much did you sell your cottage for?

So, you finally sold the cottage! Congratulations! Your Realtor called and said they accepted your sign back and they'll take it in thirty days.

What's a 'sign back' you ask? Well.

First of all, there came an offer: The buyers have had a meeting with their Realtor and told that person how much money they want to pay you for the place. They have told him how many days go by before they have to pay you that money and when they will 'take possession.' The buyer might, (and likely,) also add things in their offer to buy like, getting a home inspection done. Getting a title search done and do you have a copy of the survey they can have. It always has a deadline for you to consider the offer and it should have a deposit cheque attached that might show you how serious these buyers are!
But mostly it's about the money.
It should be all typed up in a proper legal document and have witnessed signatures of the buyers.

You read their offer. (The Realtor should present it or just tell you what's in it) and then you decide if it's what you want to get for the old place. You can ask your Realtor's advice, but remember the dual agency paper and if he is representing both the buyer and seller, his opinion might not be in your best interest. You can take it to your lawyer, but remember that advice is billed by the hour.
If the offer to purchase is not to your liking either in terms or cash, then you 'Sign it back'.

A sign back is just that. You counter offer their offer to buy. Whether you up the price, ask them to remove the house inspection or tell them if they want a survey, they'll have to get it themselves.

Sign Back's next

What if someone in the family wants the place?

Aw crap! One of the people in the family has decided they should get the cottage off you. I say: 'get the cottage off you' because chances are, they think they can steal it or get it for nothing because they're family, friends or neighbors. Hah! Well here's what I think of that:

Ok, so if it's one of your kids, then OK, they're going to get it in the will anyway, so give them a break on the price. But wait! What about the other siblings? Do you have enough cash to pay them equal share? It's the old making chalk of one... cheese of the other and you just can't do that.

Have you always felt sorry for that cousin that wants it now? Get serious! Did she / he consider your feelings the last time they bought a new car or flew to Jamaica without you? Charge them full pop!

Oh! It's the cute old couple next door who say they want it for their grandkids? Charge them extra if they draw the old 'we're getting on in years' card to get you to drop the price.

Don't let anybody play on your senses when it comes to selling your family cottage or vacation property. You are going to live to a ripe old age and need all the money you can get to pay your own way and not be a detriment to your loved ones.
...And besides.... you're the ones who had the good sense to keep that cottage until it became valuable enough to sell. It used to be that they couldn't give away waterfront property and now everybody wants it. It's an ace in the hole, don't give it away out of sentiment or guilt.

You think you want to sell?

So you think maybe it's time to put the old place up for sale? Let's do the reasoning of that.
First of all, none of your family members want it? I would suggest, if you don't know the answer to that, you may want to start asking the kids, your brother, your sister or that cousin that shows up every August. The very last thing you want to do is start a feud over money! But before you start asking around, do you have any idea of the value of your vacation property?
I, of course, have tons of suggestions about selling your cottage. If you're fairly cognisant of the local real estate market, then you know how much she's worth. If you don't have a clue, there's many vehicles at your fingertips for determining just that.
-One. Call a home inspector who specializes in your neighborhood. Don't be afraid to ask for references with these people. You have a right to check up on them!
-Two. You could call a couple of local Realtors. (Make sure they are local so they know the area market.) Those appraisals are for free, but they want to please you so they can get the listing, so beware of the high, too good to be true price.
-Three. There will be an assessed value on your property from your tax office.
This value is only a guideline, because in my opinion, they really aren't an accurate idea of what you could sell your cottage for.
-Four. Come on! Do your own homework! Buy the local real estate papers and shop the office window posters for properties like yours. When you're talking to these folks, you don't want to come across as a dummy who knows nothin' about nothin', do you?