Downsizing questions, answered
Straight answers on downsizing, selling the family home, and what the move actually involves.
Getting started
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Ray White Downsizing is a specialist division built for one move: selling the family home so you can get on with what comes next.
We work with downsizers, retirees, and families selling on behalf of a parent, right across Brisbane.
It's led by Kirralee Couch, who has spent 16 years on both sides of this move, in Brisbane residential sales and in retirement living, backed by two established Ray White offices.
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Most agents sell the home and stop there.
We understand where you're going as well as what you're selling: how the timing has to line up, how village and aged care sales offices work, and how these decisions actually get made inside a family.
Very few agents have worked inside that world. We have.
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Not at all. Plenty of our clients are moving to a smaller house, a townhouse, or an apartment closer to family, and some are simply ready to be rid of the stairs and the garden.
The specialist knowledge matters because we understand the whole move, wherever it's heading. The village and aged care experience is the deepest end of that, not the whole of it.
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No, and earlier is usually better.
Most people sit with this decision for months, sometimes years, and the conversations that go best are the ones that start well before anything is decided. There's no cost, no obligation, and no follow-up you didn't ask for.
Timing and the move
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That's completely normal, and it's one of the things we're built for.
Through our network of villages and communities across Brisbane, we can help you explore options that suit, and there's no need to rush the sale while you're deciding.
You don't need it all worked out before we start.
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One of the trickiest parts of the move, and exactly what we plan for.
We line the sale up around your purchase or move-in date, and with your permission, coordinate with the team at the other end so the timelines meet.
You're not left managing a gap on your own.
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It depends on the home and the market, but the bigger factor is usually you. Some people are ready to move quickly, others want months to get comfortable. We work to your timeline, not against it.
The home, and the rest of the move
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Not at all, and you won't have to tackle it alone. We'll advise on what's worth doing and what isn't, and connect you with the right people when you're ready, all managed by our team.
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Usually far less than people expect.
We'll walk through the house with you and tell you plainly what's worth doing, what to skip, and what buyers in your suburb will actually pay for.
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Selling is one piece of it. There's also the packing, the paperwork and settling in at the other end.
We sit at the centre of a network of trusted partners across Brisbane: villages and communities, removalists, downsizing and decluttering services, lawyers, financial advisers, property stylists and trades.
When you need one, we'll introduce you to people we know and work with regularly, chosen because they suit your situation. There's never any obligation to use them.
Selling on behalf of someone else
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Yes, and often. A lot of our clients are adult children handling the sale for a parent: someone moving into care, someone who has asked the family to take it on, or a home being sold after a parent has passed.
We keep everyone in the loop, set the pace around the family rather than the market, and fit around however much you want to be involved.
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Yes. Selling a home after someone has passed is a different job to an ordinary sale, and we treat it that way.
We work closely with the executor and our partners to manage the sale sensitively, at the pace the estate allows, and we're used to the moving pieces that come with it.
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Yes, and it's a common reason families call. These decisions often arrive fast, usually after a fall or a hospital stay.
We can look at the house at short notice and appraise it, so the family can decide with the numbers in front of them.
If you need help working out next steps, we have trusted advisers in our network who can help.
Price, cost and advice
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It's the question that matters most, because for a downsizer the sale price isn't just a number. It decides what you can comfortably afford next, and a rushed or under-priced sale can put the move you want out of reach.
So we treat the result as something to protect: the right sale method for the home rather than a default, a campaign built around the property rather than a template, and the full reach of Ray White behind it.
We'll also tell you if we think you're better off waiting.
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It doesn't. Our fee is in line with what you'd expect from any quality agent, and we set it out clearly before you commit to anything. The difference is someone who understands the whole move, not just the sale.
Practical
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Kirralee. She runs every sale herself, from the first appraisal through to settlement, so you're not handed to someone you've never met once the paperwork starts.
She's backed by the teams at two established Ray White offices, which is what keeps a campaign moving when it needs to.
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We work right across Brisbane. Wherever your home is, we handle the sale ourselves, with the same specialist approach from the first conversation through to settlement.
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Ask for an appraisal. Kirralee will walk through the home, look at what's sold nearby, and give you a clear figure with the reasoning behind it. It's free, there's no obligation, and plenty of people do it a year or two before they sell, just to know where they stand.
Thinking about downsizing?
The simplest next step is a conversation. If you'd like to know what your home could sell for, or just talk through how the move might work, call Kirralee on 0418 871 554, or send a message and she’ll be in touch.