Home sellers nearing retirement age across the country will soon get a chance to hear this Sacramento REALTOR‘s personal views about downsizing, i.e. moving into smaller quarters. Of course, you won’t hear all of it, like you would in my blog, because most reporters don’t send interview subjects a draft for approval prior to publishing — because that would not be called journalism — unless maybe they were writing for an online newspaper or a national magazine pandering to a subscriber base.

Although this particular reporter did sent me a draft of his article for approval and asked a few more questions he forgot to cover. He mentioned that in his review, it seemed his article wasn’t quite balanced enough and he wanted to cover a few more points about the downside to downsizing and discuss why a person might not want to downsize. He could not print the additional comments I sent in their entirety because his editor would most likely edit them, he explained. His reasoning was their readership has about $35,000 tucked away for retirement, and he didn’t want to offend their readers.

I can see that. I can see that they have far more problems than my comments about a mobile home if all they have is $35,000 in the bank. What I said was not everybody needs to consider downsizing: People who are already living that dream, even if it’s living in a broken-down old tin-roof mobile home on the side of a river bank, should stay put. If you’re happy catching catfish off that dock, who’s to say you need to move? But apparently the aforementioned comments, which I pulled outta thin air, were too close to home, and will never see the light of day except for here.

This is what I get for watching that last episode of  HBO’s True Detective — with Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey down in Louisiana.

For others, those who can see the future and want to change that vision, downsizing is the way to go. When I retire, I plan to downsize as well. I don’t need all that space I have now. Personally, I believe most people have too much crap and need to get rid of it, and downsizing gives you a reason to dump much of it.

A potential seller in West Sacramento called a few days ago to talk about her own downsizing situation and that of her mother, who lives in Greenhaven. She wants her mother to move and her mother wants to stay put. Turns out her mom is 79 and has lived in that home for more than 3 decades. You know what? She ain’t moving. See, now I saved this daughter all of that grief of pleading and begging. Ain’t gonna happen.