Castro Valley Rotarian Bill Nott (read bio here) is a retired engineer who worked on the solar panels on the International Space Station. In retirement, he worked on various STEM projects for students and is deeply involved in robotics for students. Bill recently moved from his house of 35 years in Castro Valley to a new home in Rossmoor. His presentation focused on the trials and tribulations of moving and shared many useful tips and insights.
Bill started by saying that such a move involved a lot of insanity. He mentioned the term “expert” and said that it means knowing enough to be scared. Based on his recent experience, Bill claims that he is now an expert on moving. (Be sure to click on the link below to read more about Bill's presentation.)
They began thinking about moving in December 2020. They started looking seriously in January and found a good home in Rossmoor quite quickly, and then they had to begin to time all of the events of moving. They had to move by April. It seemed like plenty of time, but there is a lot to do. The first consideration was the tax rules, which are complicated and ambiguous. But he was able to figure out a reasonable path.
Their CV home was about 1400 square feet, but had lots of nooks and crannies for squirreling things away, and he and his wife had taken full advantage of that over the years. Bill had many tools that he had probably used once or twice, jars full of assorted screws, bolts, and nuts, lots of dishes and cooking utensils, and thousands of books. All of that had to be moved, given away, or trashed. They took advantage of CVSan’s once-per-calendar year free pick-up of 9 cubic yards of anything. They did one in December 2020 and another early in 2021.
Since they hate garage sales, they had a garage free event: everything was free. But even then, they had to keep an eye on people who wandered beyond the free items and into their garage. They started to take yard decorations that were not in the free area.
They found a neighbor who was happy to take a lot of things and donate them in exchange for the tax write-off. They readily accepted that deal. They also set up a table near the street with items and a “free” sign. Lots of things disappeared, eventually even the table itself.
Finances are a consideration. Should you fix up your house before selling it or let the next person, do it? Bill recommends making the house look good. He invested about $30,000 to do work in his house and it sold for more than $100,000 more than a very similar house across the street that had had no improvements. Also, Bill received 10 offers, and the other house only had two. Additionally, some improvements count as a tax write-off, but others do not. Even seemingly small things can take time and effort. Changing addresses is a big one. We all have our addresses in many places.
Bill made several recommendations for those considering a move. First, plan ahead and get an early start. You can even begin now by moving all of your home expenses into a spread sheet and giving away some of the clutter that inevitably accumulates over the years. Second, you can do it yourself, but consider using professional help to move. They did and it was a good experience. They even used a company to unpack their boxes, and the company even took away all of the boxes and packing material. Finally, remember that moving takes a lot of time.
Watch the video of Bill's presentation here.