For adult children
Your parent is moving out of the family home.
You are probably working, probably raising your own family, and now you are project managing the biggest move of somebody else's life. While they are still deciding whether they want to make it.
Decades of belongings, decisions and memories can make it difficult to know where to begin. We bring a clear starting point and carry the logistics so you can focus on your parent.
Free guide: helping a parent move
About a 15 minute read. The order to do things in, what the options cost in Ontario, the long-term care application almost nobody explains properly, and the decisions that quietly cause most of the family arguments.
Read itThe step by step plan
A calm, step by step plan for helping a parent or loved one move on from a longtime home in York Region.
Read itGet your personalized plan
A few short questions, about three minutes, and the plan you get is written for your situation rather than a general one. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Read itYou are the one carrying this, and that is a lot.
Helping a parent leave a home full of memories is part logistics and part heart, and the logistics are the part you can hand over. Below is what the whole process actually looks like, start to finish, so you can see the shape of it before you commit to anything. Most families are surprised by how much of this is not their job.
- Week one One conversation, and a walkthrough
- Weeks two to six, at your parent's pace Sorting, gently
- Weeks four to eight, often overlapping the sorting Getting the home ready
- Weeks eight to twelve, or on your schedule On the market, and sold
Being straight with you
The hardest part is usually not the house, it is the feelings around it. We move at a pace that respects that, even when it means going slower. We will also tell you when we think you are about to spend money that will not come back, even though the easier thing would be to say yes.
Common questions
What people ask us first.
Does the house have to be emptied before you will list it?
No, and please do not empty it first. Most families call us before anything has been sorted. The clearing is part of what we coordinate.
What if my parent changes their mind partway through?
Then we stop, and it happens more often than you would think. We do not charge anything for stopping. What you would still owe is the work that has already been done: if the painters have painted or the movers have moved, those invoices stand, and we would tell you where things sit before anything else is booked. Nothing already paid for is wasted either, because the home is in better shape than it was.
My siblings do not all agree. Can you help with that?
Yes. We put the numbers and the options in writing so everyone is looking at the same information, and we are happy to join a family call so you are not the one relaying it all.
How long does the whole thing usually take?
It depends almost entirely on the size of the home and how much is inside it. A condo or a small bungalow that has been kept on top of can be a matter of weeks. A large house lived in for forty years, with a basement, a garage and an attic, is a different job and is usually two to four months from first conversation to sold. The sorting is what varies, not the sale. We will give you a realistic range after we have walked the home, and it can be compressed if the timing is urgent or stretched out as long as you need.
Where to start
The next step is one conversation, and it costs nothing. Call us on 905-806-6668 and we will arrange a walkthrough at a time that suits your parent.