Before selling a large house, work out the costs of your next home too. Compare the spending needed to stay, possible adaptations and the full cost of moving. A smaller floor area does not guarantee a cheaper life. Our method separates cash outgoings, works and remaining assets, without assuming that you should sell.
What is becoming difficult about your home?
In autumn, the first periods of heating offer a practical moment to review your bills. Note what the figures do not show too: stairs, maintenance time, unused rooms and the distance from your loved ones. Your attachment to the house matters without needing a price attached to it.
Compare three scenarios: staying without major alterations, staying with adaptations, or selling to buy or rent elsewhere. An accessible bedroom or help with the garden could change daily life. Have feasibility and cost confirmed in a quotation before choosing that option.
Which expenses should you gather?
Reconstruct a full year from your documents rather than using a standard budget:
- energy and water, over comparable periods;
- insurance, property tax (précompte immobilier) and local taxes;
- maintenance of the house and outdoor areas, and paid services;
- mortgage, planned works and exceptional spending, distinguished from regular running costs.
For electricity and gas, check the dates and meter readings on the annual statement. The CWaPE distinguishes advance payments from reconciliation: advances are credited against the annual bill. Do not add them to the total cost a second time. For heating oil or wood, compare purchases with stocks at the beginning and end of the period.
For property tax, start with your latest tax assessment notice. SPW Finances explains its calculation using indexed cadastral income and provincial and municipal surcharges. Do not infer the tax on your next home from its floor area alone.
How do you distinguish monthly payments, costs and works?
Count the entire monthly mortgage payment when measuring cash outgoings. Then use the repayment schedule to distinguish interest from capital repaid. Wikifin explains this distinction and its exceptions. Capital repaid reduces the debt; it is not money available to pay another bill.
For the roof, heating or windows, request dated quotations based on the condition found. Separate urgent work, likely replacement and comfort improvements. A reserve set aside for works and the eventual invoice should not both be counted as separate works costs. Keep the gross cost until any support is confirmed for your circumstances.
What would your next home actually cost?
Study a specific home: energy, insurance, any co-ownership charges, work before moving in and travel. If buying, specify the price, your own funds and the mortgage needed, then add the applicable acquisition and financing costs. Your own funds and the mortgage finance the price: do not add them to it a second time. Fednot presents the costs of buying; ask the notary for a personalised breakdown rather than using a general percentage. If renting, distinguish rent, charges and funds tied up at the outset.
Your house's estimated price is not your available budget. Ask the bank and notary to specify the debt to repay, costs and applicable deductions for the intended date. Check what their statements include before adding an item. Also allow for moving, any temporary accommodation and a period of overlapping housing costs.
How can you compare the scenarios without rushing a decision?
Choose the same period for each scenario. Compare regular spending, one-off costs, remaining debt and available savings separately. Also indicate whether you own or rent your home at the end of that period. Capital tied up in a home is neither a running expense nor available savings. If comparing final net assets, state the assumed home value explicitly, without assuming an increase, then subtract the remaining debt and add savings without counting these items twice. Keep travel and maintenance time in a separate column. Test a lower sale price, more expensive works or a longer transition, without presenting these assumptions as forecasts.
Our valuation and marketing report method helps establish the house's value before organising your next project. It replaces neither quotations nor confirmation of financing.
What are the answers to frequently asked questions?
Does a smaller house always cost less?
No. Compare its own running costs, works and travel, then add transition costs. Floor area alone is not enough.
Should you sell before planning works?
Not automatically. Have adaptations that address your difficulties costed, then compare them with the full cost of moving to another home. You may decide to stay.
Will the sale price be fully available?
No. Debt to repay, costs and applicable deductions reduce the balance. The timing of its availability matters too: money received later cannot pay an immediate bill.
To put your property plans in context, you can request your valuation report.
