Moving On: Helping seniors sell the family home
Published in the Toronto Star, July 31, 2007, Written by Catherine Mulroney
After his mother moved to an extended care facility this past spring, Burnett knew it was time to put the Scarborough property on the market - but it needed work. An only child, he also faced the draining task of sorting through a lifetime of memories alone.
His biggest hurdle, however, was having to deal long-distance with all the issues because he lives in Barcelona.
"My lawyer told me to sell the house, but how was I going to do that without disrupting my family?" he says. "It was too difficult to move back but I was considering it."
Then a friend here suggested Transition Squad, a Toronto firm specializing in helping seniors and their relatives when the time comes to sell the family home. The company, based at Dufferin and Lawrence, has been in business for nine months.
"There is a huge need and it's such a daunting task," says Transition Squad manager Jennifer Bishop.
One of the things that makes the job so difficult is the emotional aspect of helping parents move on, says Bishop, who has seen first-hand how stressed families can get when it comes to deciding what to do with Grandma's good china or Aunt Bessie's buffet.
Aware of how hard it can be for seniors to see strangers come in and cart items away, staff take time to introduce themselves and to chat with the person having the often-painful move, she says.
Bishop says her firm can handle everything from assessing the value of the property and contents, to arranging repairs and garage sales, through to cleaning up and clearing out, all the while shovelling snow, cutting grass and maintaining the property.
For the Burnetts, that meant bringing the Scarborough house's wiring up to code and arranging a realtor to list and sell the property. Transition Squad even contacted Burnett when $300 was found under a mattress.
Paperwork was easily handled by email and fax.
Burnett is coming home one last time to ship the items he'll keep, including his mother's hairdresser's chair, which he fondly remembers helping her pick out when he was a little boy.
While Ron Geno found these services to be helpful when his mother moved into an assisted living facility, the most practical service Transition Squad offered him was the discipline to sort through the contents of his mother's Thornhill home.
"When I'd go over I'd putter, going through drawers and things," recalls Geno, describing staff as "very good and very understanding.
"They didn't have the emotional attachments I did and they had an objective view" on how to deal with his mother's belongings.
A technician with Bell Canada, Geno found himself stopping by the house every day after work and soon realized that, while also looking after his own family, he might not have enough time to complete his mother's move.
"If I'd had more time I might have put the furniture on Craigslist (an online buy-and-sell bulletin board) and made more money but I was dealing with boxes of photographs and things, and it was a nightmare," he recalls.
Transition Squad helped sort items into groups, including what to keep, what to auction off, what to donate to shelters and other charities, and what simply should be tossed.
"They even called the Toxic Taxi to pick up paint cans and thinner. You name it, we had it, including my Dad's old wine," laughs Geno. "They called it toxic!"
Transition Squad's initial visit is free. Their in-house organizational experts appraise the contents and property, make a plan and then return with an estimate, including a timetable and menu of services. Customers can take either the entire package or individual services.
While the firm can take on tasks like cleaning out basements and setting up garage sales, it also has a lengthy contact list of tradespeople, real estate agents and moving experts.
Staff have all had police checks and everyone they work with is bonded and insured, Bishop says.
The firm charges $75 an hour per staff member on the job, with seniors charged $65 an hour per person.
Price was the one sticking point for Geno when his move was finally complete. He had been under the impression the fee was a flat $65 an hour and found the final bill higher than expected but negotiated a compromise with the company, paying about $3,000.
In Burnett's case, "It wasn't $5 but, at the same time, I was saved the expense of several trips and I also had peace of mind."
Transition Squad handled everything from fixing the wiring to cleaning out and arranging the sale of the property.
Although the bill for everything was $24,000, the house sold for $300,000, which was $40,000 more than the initial appraised price, so Burnett still came out ahead, Bishop says.
The one thing Transition Squad doesn't handle is individual, small items.
"I got a call the other day from someone asking if we'd sell a bike. I suggested the person try himself."