'Empty-nesters' plan to down size
Summer 2010 |
(CNW) As thousands of Canadian students get ready to start college or university this fall, an eBay Canada research study released today revealed that parents have plans of their own.
The survey of more than 1,500 adults examined the lifestyle changes that are likely to occur when a child leaves home for school. More than 450 empty-nesters - Canadians with children older than 18 who no longer live at home - were asked to share how they plan to deal with leftover items, additional space and extra time.
- 80 percent plan to get rid of unwanted items due to lack of space.
- 39 percent plan to downsize to a smaller home or condo.
- 30 percent plan to repurpose a child's room into a home office or storage space.
- 10 percent plan to purchase a recreational vehicle or motor home.
In addition, the survey also revealed that half of Canadians (51 percent) with children older than 18 still living in their household say they plan to encourage their adult-aged kids to move out of the house within the next five years.
"Canadian parents have big plans after their children leave home for school," says Jim Reid, eBay education specialist and trading assistant who specializes in reselling other people's unwanted items.
He offers these tips for Canadians looking to downsize:
- Start with baby steps. Choose a room (possibly your child's room) and take inventory of the items no longer useful or being used in that room. Separate items into piles of "keep," "toss" or "sell".
- Take photos. Decide which items you want to sell and take photos from different angles, including close-ups.
- Research. Find out what prices of what similar items have sold for online to help set your starting sale price.
- Set-up an eBay account. Selling on eBay enables you to instantly access the world market and you could fetch considerably more than you would at a garage sale.
- Consider hiring a professional. If the task seems too daunting, consider bringing your items to a trading assistant who specializes in selling on behalf of others. For a small fee, a trading assistant takes care of everything from taking photos to shipping the item to the seller.
