By: P.J Wade

Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz said it best: "There's no place like home."
 

Home means more to people than a building's physical shell

  This statement is as true today as it was in 1939 when the movie was made. "Home" continues to mean more to us than a building's physical shell. Home ownership can represent a person's independence, security, and their sense of personal identity.
 

This excerpt of PJ Wade's book, Have Your Home and Money Too appears courtesy of the author and the publisher, John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd

  That's why it can be very difficult to make a rational decision about whether or when to sell your home. That wrenching moment of reckoning is sure to be faced by ever-more homeowners as the baby-boom generation heads out of middle-age and into their 'golden years'. If you're in that situation, there are a number of considerations that should influence your decision.

THE DECISION: AGE IN PLACE OR SELL THE PLACE?

  You may currently be in your forties or your eighties, or any decade in between, when you ask yourself the question, "Age in place or sell the place?" be sure you take the following into account:
  Be realistic. Is your home a good site for aging in place? A question such as "What do I consider irreplaceable about this?" can be extremely useful if you take the time to write down specific ideas. How does your home revitalize you and nurture your passion for life? For example, think about each season, time of day, and day of the week. "I love the summer" is too vague. What do you specifically love about the summer in your home? How many days of this pleasure do you have in a year? Are you housebound by necessity or choice much of the winter?
  Reflect on the past few weeks. How much time did you spend in your house, in the neighbourhood, or outside of either? Examining the patterns of your life will help you see whether staying is a function of love or habit. Then there's the practical side: Are there many stairs to the bathroom or could you add one to the main floor? Does it take you all week to mow the lawn? Are you actually living in only two rooms?
 

Ask yourself many questions about the physical practicality of the house and your plans to stay in it

  Home equity management goes on. Choosing to age in place means selecting a home equity management approach that preserves and builds home equity over the years using a cost-effective, consistent property maintenance and modernization plan. Benefits must outweigh burdens. Owning a home is a responsibility that requires time, energy, and money. Be sure that investing these resources in your home is a reasonable choice and not just a habit.
  Ask yourself many questions about the physical practicality of the house and of your plans to stay in it. As you age, so does the house. Will it age well? What is it that you really love about living there? Make a list of your needs and desires. Could you satisfy these needs and desires, and perhaps others as well, with other housing? Try to assess the major repairs, modernizations, or renovations that could become necessary over the next 10 or more years.
  Will you need to add a main-floor bathroom or bedroom? Carefully evaluate the time, energy, and stress involved in the annual maintenance tasks. For instance, after 10 years a roof is living on borrowed time. How old are the furnace, the wiring, and the plumbing? Upgrades of these kinds of equipment and material, and any resulting increases in property taxes, must be factors into your budget when you are deciding whether to stay or to move.

Strategist and futurist PJ Wade, president of The Catalyst, is an internationally-acknowledged authority on retirement and the Maturing Marketplace. Her website is www.thecatalyst.com.