There is no one-size-fits-all journey through life. Your decision on WHY, WHEN and WHERE to downsize is as personal as your choice of life partner. However, sometimes the decision may come too late and be forced upon you due to circumstances beyond your control. No-one wants that.
The best way to approach the decision is to consider your options early; when you have time and you’re ready, fit and able. Everyone’s capabilities change as they age and recognizing that sooner rather than later is simply smart planning. Our residents often say that the only regret they have regarding their move to an Edenlife community is that they didn’t do it sooner.
Less to look after = more free time
The stereotypical suburban Australian family home of four bedrooms on a large block is ideal when you’re raising children. But once the nest is empty, that size can become a burden: physically, mentally, financially.
Downsizing can give you a new lease on life, enabling you to choose how you spend your time, instead of being locked into the responsibilities of maintaining an oversized house and garden. Our residents tell us they want to embrace a lifestyle that prioritises experiences over material things. However, downsizing does not mean compromise. On the contrary, LESS IS MORE at Edenlife.
While your home may be smaller, get ready for your life to expand exponentially into the community as you take advantage of an incredible array of communal amenities that facilitate social interaction, fitness, hobbies and fun. And with house designs ranging in size from compact one-bedroom homes up to spacious three-bedders, “downsizing” is what you make it.
Like Goldilocks, you need something that’s “just right” for you.
Free your equity and simplify your finances
A key motivation to downsize is erasing your mortgage and releasing the equity in your larger home when you sell, enabling you to purchase a brand new, smaller, more affordable home in an Edenlife community. And don’t forget, Edenlife is a land lease model, so you’re not paying for the land on which your home sits making it an even more affordable proposition.
Owning your own home mortgage-free is such a vitally important and empowering position to be in. It is one of the most compelling reasons to downsize and a major attraction for the Edenlife way of life. The financial security and ease that comes with not having to pay a mortgage, council rates, water rates or stamp duty (they’re all included in the single weekly rental fee), well, that’s just priceless.
Even if you’re already mortgage-free, there’s most likely a good chunk of your equity tied up in the family home. Downsizing to a more affordable home gives you security for the years ahead by allowing you to top up your superannuation, and it opens the door to opportunity. Put that hard-earned capital to work on more important things, like holidays, passions, hobbies and family.
Take advantage of super incentives
The Federal Government’s “downsizer super contributions” incentive allows Australians aged 55+ to deposit up to $300,000 from the sale of their main residence into a superannuation fund, bypassing contribution caps. Nearly 100,000 Australians have used the downsizer rules to make more than $25 billion worth of contributions to their super, according to ATO figures.
Not only does this help relieve financial burdens, but it’s also designed to free up housing stock owned by older Australians to give younger buyers a chance to enter a tight housing market.
Reduce maintenance time
Edenlife modular homes are new, compact and specifically designed and built to reduce the need for ongoing maintenance. Sited on a small lot (average 230-300sqm) with minimal, easy-care gardens, there’s enough soil to get your hands dirty if you want to, without the overwhelm. Alternatively, take that green thumb over to the community veggie patch to get your growing fix.
Our onsite maintenance team looks after all the community facilities, common areas as well as the maintenance and reticulation to the front garden of your home, so you can concentrate on choosing what you WANT to do, not what you HAVE to do.
Declutter house and mind
“Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy” – Marie Kondo, tidying expert.
Downsizing gives you the opportunity to not only evaluate your home, but your possessions too. Doing a deep audit on your household things can be a cathartic experience. Of course, you will have treasured items from a lifetime of experiences that you’ll take with you to your new home, and some you may pass on to your family. Choosing to sell items that are no longer fit for purpose could give you some extra cash to buy new furniture that better suits your smaller home.
Regardless of how you look at it, embracing the opportunity to mindfully declutter before moving house is a gift to yourself and your future lifestyle.
A new lifestyle to look forward to
Downsizing is a big step towards a new phase of your life that focuses solely on YOU. It gives you the freedom to figure out what you really want to do in the later years of your life.
Edenlife facilitates an independent lifestyle in a welcoming community of like-minded residents. Plenty of residents still work, some are semi-retired, and others are permanently retired. But as neighbours, you’ll enjoy living near people of your own generation who will become your community.
With exclusive access to a wide range of modern community facilities and activities at Edenlife, you’ll have your own wonderful life, no matter what happens outside the front gate.