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Last week, my wife and I listed our home for sale. We bought it in 2003, for almost $100,000 less than what it is currently listed for. We got in just as the housing market was going into overdrive due to easy credit and cheap interest rates and happily rode the appreciation while variable interest rates sank (we had 0.9% below prime, which eventually left us at just over 1% when the Bank of Canada cratered the overnight rates).

So now it’s time to sell, for a number of reasons that might not apply to most other people but seem fitting for our situation:

• most of our current net worth is tied up in real estate, in the form of home equity
• the only way to “tap” home equity is to either sell or borrow against it (not an option for us as we try to avoid debt)
• the market might soon be swamped with listings: baby boomers start turning 65 this year and might have to sell to fund lackluster retirement accounts; some people borrowed heavily against “paper” equity and/or overextended themselves based on cheap borrowing rates, which might cause a few to have to bail on their homes if things turn ugly
• local prices seem to be stalling (or correcting) and who knows how long this will last or how far it will go, something that will only be compounded by the factors above
• everything else is going up: property taxes, energy rates, food costs, interest rates; buyers no longer have access to the same low interest rates and borrowing rules that drove much of the market upswing, so overpriced properties will wait longer for buyers who have pulled back and are waiting for a correction

Of course, there is another option: stay in the house and keep paying it off. Our mortgage is very manageable, but to keep the house we’d also have to continue spending the annual maintenance costs and putting the time and work into keeping it up for both our personal comfort as well as to remain competitive for the resale market. We love our home but lately our lifestyle seems to be resisting activities like yard work, shoveling snow, and DIY appliance repair. We want to travel more. Spend less time cleaning. Be more efficient with our time, space, and belongings. So we feel that now is a good time to unlock the “trapped” equity and convert it to cash for (lagging) retirement accounts and investments.

Thus the decision to sell and try renting a condo-style apartment. Rent is a fixed cost, and someone else pays to upkeep the property. If we want to take a day trip, a spur-of-the-moment overnighter, or fly to New York for a few days, we can just lock the door and leave without worrying too much. There will be a sharp decrease in utility and insurance costs, and we won’t ever have to pay for a new patio, granite counter tops, or new laundry units. No worrying about broken pipes, leaky toilets, or wasp nests in the shed. We only use the space we need as opposed to having “dead” rooms that see little use yet add to our monthly costs.

The money that would have gone to maintenance and upgrades we can now use to fund our savings and vacations. And of course, the equity we haul out will give a nice boost to our savings and investments, which will have a chance to grow in a well-balanced, diversified portfolio if real estate stalls or takes a dive. And it also provides a healthy downpayment should condo living be a rude slap in the face and we decide to buy back into the housing market. Renting also gives us more mobility should the job market, asshole neighbors, or personal whimsy take us elsewhere. Our cash assets will be liquid as opposed to trapped in a home that may or may not provide a decent return versus the time and money invested.

Giving up a home will be a difficult adjustment. We are aware of the emotional aspects of home ownership and that there will be trade-offs to deal with. Some of them pleasant, some of them not so much. We have no illusions that everything will be perfect. However, as to whether or not this is the right decision or a huge mistake only the future can tell. For now we’re looking forward to the change.